Babygirl star Harris Dickinson’s life from popstar girlfriend to iconic new role
Harris Dickinson stars in A24's erotic thriller, Babygirl, in which a powerful CEO falls into a forbidden affair with one of her interns - but what is there to know about the star's life off screen?
Harris Dickinson is back on the big screen in a raunchy thriller from Bodies Bodies Bodies director Halina Reijn.
Released on January 10, Babygirl follows a forbidden affair between a respected CEO (portrayed by Nicole Kidman) and her 20-something intern (played by Dickinson).
The erotic thriller premiered to a seven-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival last year and has similarly garnered praise from viewers since its Christmas Day debut in America.
As film-goers tune into the steamy drama, which also stars Antonio Banderas (Paddington in Peru), Sophie Wilde (Everything Now) and Esther McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), here is a look at the Londoner's life on and off-screen.
Early life
Born in June 1996 in Leytonstone, East London, Dickinson is the youngest of four siblings. Raised in a quiet neighbourhood in Waltham Forest, his dad was a social worker and mum a hairdresser.
The 28-year-old had a fascination with filmmaking from a young age and started uploading sketches on YouTube at just 11 years old. Although the videos are no longer online, Dickinson recalls making spoof clips of Bear Grylls and weekly skits, which his classmates were eager to watch.
However, he did not consider filmmaking as a viable career path until he was 17 years old. Before then, he had been in the cadets and was set to join the military.
The movie star revealed his original career plan on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show in 2022, saying: "I was in the Marine cadets from age, like, 14, and I really enjoyed it. It sort of gave me this purpose that I otherwise didn’t have, and acting was something I was simultaneously doing. But I never imagined it would be a career."
During this time he was attending a Walthamstow arts club run by actors, called the RAW Academy. It was his acting teacher who inspired the BAFTA-nominated actor to consider the profession. Speaking to fellow Hollywood heartthrob Andrew Garfield on The A24 Podcast, he admitted: "I almost joined the military and my acting teacher was like, 'Why are you doing that?'"
Ultimately, he swapped the cadets for life in front of the camera and embarked on a successful career. He landed his first role at just 18 years old in Pauline McLynn's play Angels, at the National Theatre.
Where you've seen him before
Dickinson's breakout role came in Eliza Hittman's 2017 drama Beach Rats, in which he portrays a troublesome teenage boy exploring his sexuality.
Following his big break, the British performer has starred in Ruben Östlund's acclaimed dark comedy Triangle of Sadness; Sean Durkin's sports biopic The Iron Claw; and Steve McQueen's war drama Blitz, alongside Saoirse Ronan.
Dickinson also featured in the 2022 thriller, Where the Crawdads Sing, an adaptation of Delia Owens' bestselling novel of the same name.
Rumoured Beatles role
Dickinson is reported to be part of the star-studded ensemble for Sam Mendes' four The Beatles biopics. The iconic band are set to be portrayed by Paul Mescal (reportedly playing Paul McCartney), Barry Keoghan (playing Ringo Starr) and Joseph Quinn (rumoured to be playing George Harrison.)
While the actor has not confirmed the reports, fans have noted a moment in his A24 interview with Andrew Garfield where he seems to hint at the part. When asked what book he is currently reading, he replies: "I'm reading a book about the sixties." He goes on to reveal that he is reading it for an upcoming film.
Elsewhere, Dickinson has been quick to divert suspicion. In a recent chat with MTV journalist Josh Horowitz, he was asked about the biopics, and jokingly responded: "Who are The Beatles? Who are they?"
Love life
Dickinson has been in a long-term relationship with up-and-coming singer Rose Gray since the couple were in school.
Set to release her first album, titled Louder, Please, on January 17, the singer garners an impressive 745.8K monthly listeners on Spotify.
Despite occasionally appearing at industry events together, the duo have kept their relationship private. They have also collaborated on two of Gray's music videos, Blue and Afraid Of Nothing, with Dickinson taking on the role of director.
Reflection on their collaborations, the Babygirl star told Hunger: "It’s [...] testing for a relationship because you’ve got to open yourself up to a different kind of dynamic. But it definitely helps with the closeness because you can get to things quicker without that sense of carefulness and trepidation around being offensive.
"We’re so close that we can just be very direct. And I think she was the same with me, where if I had a crap idea, she’d say, "No, we’re not doing that."
Babygirl is in cinemas now