Harris Dickinson reveals ‘deeply inappropriate’ fan request on the plane as he admits he hates being sexualised after starring in erotic film Babygirl

Harris Dickinson has revealed he has been left shaken by the way fans have sexualised him since starring in the steamy drama Babygirl.

The actor, 29, who is currently preparing to play John Lennon in Sam Mendes’ hotly anticipated Beatles biopic series, said he struggled with the fallout from the erotic film.

In the hit movie, he starred opposite Nicole Kidman in a provocative tale of obsession and desire.

‘If I’m honest, there was a big part of that that I really didn’t enjoy,’ Harris told the Happy Sad Confused podcast on Thursday.

‘I’m proud to have worked on it, I love Halina [Rejin, the writer, director and producer] and working with Nicole was the most exciting thing for me.

‘But the way the fans reduced some of it was quite strange. You can’t really control that and you can’t really get caught up in it, but people are strange.’

Harris Dickinson has revealed he has been left shaken by the way fans have sexualised him since starring in the steamy drama Babygirl during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast

The actor, 29, starred opposite Nicole Kidman in a provocative tale of obsession and desire

In the film, the BAFTA-nominated star plays an intern who becomes entangled in a dangerous affair with Nicole’s much older, married character. 

The movie was lauded for its raw, erotic energy but Harris now admits the attention it drew to him personally was hard to deal with.

‘I think it’s OK to do this to male actors, weirdly. That’s the problem,’ he added. ‘I think it’s become OK and acceptable to do that to younger male actors.

‘I get a lot of women say things to me that are deeply inappropriate. Like when I was doing press [for Babygirl] and when we were doing the Q&A afterwards, there were some situations that were completely unacceptable. 

‘And you’re expected to just laugh it off. I think that’s why I struggled with that experience.’

He added the behaviour has followed him since the film came out last year, recalling one particularly uncomfortable encounter while travelling to the US recently.

‘On the plane, someone was like, can you dance for me?’ he said. 

‘Then she’s like, “Oh, you won’t believe what I was [doing] when I watched that film. I won’t say the rest.” And it’s like, that is not okay. I don’t want to know about your sexual experiences with this story. It is odd.’

He said: ‘I get a lot of women say things to me that are deeply inappropriate’

He continued: ‘On the plane, someone was like, can you dance for me? Then she’s like, “Oh, you won’t believe what I was [doing] when I watched that film. I won’t say the rest.” And it’s like, that is not okay. I don’t want to know about your sexual experiences with this story. It is odd’

Harris added: ‘People could say, “Oh, well, you did a film that you knew was going to be somewhat erotic,” and it’s like yeah, but the film that we made and the approach that Halina spoke about, for me, it was something way more unique. 

‘It wasn’t a reductive thing in my mind. 

‘I guess you can’t control the perception of it and the way that people want to talk about it and the narrative… I feel like I’m constantly rejecting that a little bit.’

Earlier this year, Harris, who is in a long-term relationship with the British musician Rose Gray, 28, admitted in an interview with The Independent that he finds being cast as a heartthrob ‘strange’ and remains uneasy with being desired.

He added that insecurities from his childhood – growing up as what he described as a ‘really chubby boy’ – have left him struggling to reconcile his past with the way he is now perceived.

‘I didn’t shed that until I was in my late teens,’ he explained. 

‘So I’ve always got that in my mind, and I don’t think that ever leaves you. And it feels kind of strange to me, because it’s not something I’ve been particularly used to… “being desired”.

‘I’m happy to lean into it for the right film, but it’s not something I’m comfortable with.’