He may be earning rave reviews for his transformation into He-Man now, but British actor Nicholas Galitzine was not convinced of his own casting. In a recent interview, the actor said he ‘felt like a fraud’ when he first tried on the costume, even asking director Travis Knight if he was sure about the casting choice.
Nicholas Galitzine on self-doubt
In a conversation with People magazine, Nicholas said, “When I first tried on the costume, I felt like a fraud. I said to Travis Knight, ‘Are you sure you don’t want anyone else?,’”
The actor portrays the legendary character previously played by Dolph Lundgren in the 1987 live-action film. But he was certain that he did not want to let the self-doubt consume him. In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, Nicholas said, “I know Travis trusted me, our producers, Mattel, and Amazon trusted me. They cast the guy who was not He-Man shape just yet. But they believed I embodied his essence and his soul. For me, it was figuring that part out. When I read it, I just knew that I could play him. The rest follows.”
When Nicholas first felt like He-Man
He said that he was thankful to have the time to undergo a significant physical transformation for the role. Nicholas revealed that preparation included consuming up to 5,000 calories a day and months of intensive weight training.
“Luckily, they gave me enough time to eat a lot of food and lift a lot of weights. I knew that the physical transformation was going to be a challenge. Nothing of that magnitude was ever going to be easy,” he told People.
In his interview with HT ahead of the film’s release, Nicholas had said that he only truly ‘felt like’ He-Man when he saw others’ reactions to his transformation on set. actions from others on set, particularly the makers. “It was the first day on set when I had the costume on, I had the tan, my hair was done. This is a character and a film our director and producers have been working on for a really long time. It was seeing other people’s reactions to me as He-Man that solidified it, really,” said the actor.
About Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is currently running in theatres. The film, directed by Travis Knight, also stars Camila Mendes, Jared Leto, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Kristen Wiig, Morena Baccarin, and Idris Elba.