How Old Is Hayes Campbell in ‘The Idea of You’? Director Michael Showalter Explains Why He Changed the Ages From the Book

Folks, we did it: No one cares about the age gap in The Idea of You.

Perhaps if director Michael Showalter and his co-writer Jennifer Westfeldt—who adapted the 2017 book by Robinne Lee—hadn’t made the changes that they did from the source material, we’d be wading through tiresome “hot takes” about pedophilia, grooming, and the like right now. But, thanks to some smart changes from the book, which aged up a few characters ever-so-slightly, I’m pleased to report that it’s been five days since this romance about two adults—one 24, and one 40—began streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and the age gap discourse has been a non-issue.

It helps, too, that Nicholas Galitzine, is, in fact, 29 years-old in real life, and looks like the grown man that he is; while Anne Hathaway, who is 41, remains one of the most beautiful, vibrant women in Hollywood. It’s hard to watch this film and see anything but adults with amazing chemistry having enthusiastic, consensual sex.

Still, I’m proud of us. Instead of arguing over something that could not matter less, we all just sat back and enjoyed this indulgent, escapist, romantic fantasy. Based on the 2017 book by Robinne Lee, The Idea of You stars Hathaway as Solène, a divorced mom who takes her 16-year-old daughter, Izzy (Ella Rubin), to Coachella to see her favorite boyband, August Moon. When Solène accidentally walks into the trailer of the 24-year-old frontman, Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), there are immediate sparks. Solène insists she’s too old for him, but Hayes is persistent, and, eventually, their love story blooms.

And what a love story it is! Galitzine and Hathaway’s chemistry is electric. Director Michael Showalter, who co-wrote the script with Jennifer Westfeldt, hits on every delicious beat of angst and vulnerability. You’ll be aching for this two unconventional lovebirds to make it work, and you won’t care about their age. After all, the real issue with “problematic” age gaps is an imbalance of power in a relationship. If one party is young enough to be easily manipulated, that’s a problem. That’s not the case with Solène and Hayes. If anything, Hayes—the super famous pop star with a private jet and millions of adoring fans—holds a certain amount of power over Solène. But—and this is key—he never abuses that power.

How old is Hayes Campbell in The Idea of You?

Hayes Campbell is 24 years old in The Idea of You. He’s played by actor Nicholas Galitzine, who is 29 years old IRL.

In the The Idea of You book, Hayes Campbell is 20 years old. In an interview with Indiewire, director Michael Showalter explained that the movie version of Hayes was aged up because “we are trying to make a movie is broadly appealing … and we wanted the audience to feel good about them, to feel good about their love affair and to root for them. I think if he’s 20 years old and she’s 40, again, it just adds a layer of sort of impropriety or whatever that is great, but just not for this story, for this tone that we were going for.”

How old is Solène in The Idea of You?

Solène is 39 and 40 years in The Idea of You—she celebrates her 40th birthday over the course of the film. She is played by Anne Hathaway, who is 41 years old.

How old is Izzy in The Idea of You?

Solène’s daughter Izzy is 16 years old in The Idea of You movie. She is played by actor Ella Rubin, who is 22 years old. As with Hayes, Izzy’s character was aged up from the book. In the novel, she is 12. She’s also still very much in her boy band phase, and in love with Hayes Campbell. (In the movie, her favorite member is Rory.)

In that same Indiewire interview with Showalter, the director said, “I think that was a really good change for the movie that we wanted to do. [In the book], it was a combination of that she was younger, and even more so that Hayes was her favorite August Moon member. There was this element of you’re cheating, you’re betraying your best friend essentially, you’re betraying your closest loved one by having an affair with that’s the one I love. It added a layer of scandal to it that is really intriguing and interesting, but felt like for what we were trying to do, it makes it a little harder to root for Solene and Hayes.”