Inside Nicholas Galitzine’s Masters of the Universe Transformation

by

Yes, Nicholas Galitzine has the power. 

Transforming into He-Man for the new Masters of the Universe movie, which came out on June 5th, was a constant process, according to 31-year-old actor Nicholas Galitzine. He told Will Marfuggi of TopMob News at the film’s premiere on May 18th that getting into shape as Prince Adam was an ongoing effort. Galitzine also noted that he had very little time between filming Masters of the Universe and his previous roles in 100 Nights of Hero and The Mosquito Bowl.

The actor, originally from London, mentioned it would be great to have spent a year fully immersing themselves in the role beforehand. However, the preparation process evolved significantly as filming progressed.

To convincingly play Skeletor opposite Jared Leto in the new live-action movie, the actor followed an incredibly demanding training schedule with no days off.

He described their daily routine: whenever they had a ten-minute break between scenes, they’d quickly run outside and do a sprint on an exercise bike before immediately returning to shoot the next scene. This went on for roughly five months.

And, yes, it required a bit of a Herculean effort. 

He described how he initially focused on gaining a lot of weight, sometimes eating up to 5,000 calories a day and lifting weights for three hours. Eventually, he shifted to a more efficient approach.

Among the bits they trimmed: His daily calorie count. 

It was a really intense experience – we were filming, and I actually had to stop production mid-shoot. That left me feeling mentally foggy. It’s especially tough when you’re doing action scenes, because you need a lot of energy to keep going.

He also relied heavily on his determination. He explained on the Fandango podcast Big Ticket that he would sometimes fast for 18 hours, then immediately do a three-hour weight workout before performing stunts. He said it was a huge test of his mental strength.

Honestly, seeing the final results made all the grueling workouts so worth it! By the time filming wrapped, I’d gotten so huge, it was actually hilarious. I even told People magazine about it – my mom is so small, she literally couldn’t wrap her arms all the way around me for a hug! It was the sweetest, funniest thing, and it just proves how much I transformed for the role.

Soon after, though, he was back to wrapping his fam in embraces. 

After finishing filming, his first indulgence was a combination of sushi and pizza. He explained to People magazine, ‘I just wanted to have it all!’ For him, food is incredibly important – it really is everything.

Which made the next part of the process particularly delicious. 

He was scheduled to start filming a role as a soldier in The Mosquito Bowl just weeks away, and he told TopMob that the director jokingly warned him, “I’m having nightmares you’ll show up on set looking incredibly muscular. Could you just avoid working out for the next three weeks?”

Hearing that request was exactly what I wanted,” the Red, White and Royal Blue actor explained. “I relaxed on the couch with some potato chips and thought, ‘This is perfect – this is how I love to prepare!'”

He’s not the only actor who’s drastically changed his body for a role. Check out more incredible on-screen transformations ahead.

(TopMob and Fandango are both part of Versant Media.) 

Channing Tatum’s weight has changed a lot over time, particularly in 2024, because he prepared for two movies filmed one after the other by significantly altering his physique for each role.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve been following this actor’s transformations closely! He recently shared on Instagram in March 2025 that he was at 205 pounds. It’s fascinating because just before filming Roofman (you can see a photo on the right), he weighed in at 172 pounds. And even earlier, for his role in Josephine (pictured on the left), he was up to 235 pounds! It really shows his dedication to fully embodying each character.

To prepare for his 2024 Oscar-nominated performance as Bob Dylan in the film A Complete Unknown, the actor from Dune taught himself to sing and play the guitar.

He also revealed on the January 2025 episode of NPR’s All Things Considered podcast that he’d gained twenty pounds, explaining he was actually lighter than the actor he was portraying.

To portray J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film Oppenheimer, the Irish actor had to lose a significant amount of weight. He described Oppenheimer as being very thin, almost frail, and surviving on a diet of mostly martinis and cigarettes.

Emily Blunt, his costar, revealed that his dedication to the role was extreme – he limited himself to eating just one almond each day.

 

Joaquin Phoenix, who won an Oscar for his performance as the Joker, revealed he lost 52 pounds for the role. He told the Associated Press in 2019 that hitting his target weight was a turning point, explaining that the most challenging part was fixating on even small weight changes – ‘like 0.3 pounds’ – and that it almost became an unhealthy obsession.

Fans were surprised to see the former Spider-Man actor with noticeably larger biceps before he played Commissioner Gordon in the 2017 film Justice League.

He recalled his mother being concerned when he lost thirty pounds for his role in the 2014 film Nightcrawler. He said she simply wanted him to be safe, but also understood and admired his dedication to his work.

Johnny Depp, known for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean, described how difficult it was, both physically and emotionally, to lose 52 pounds for his upcoming 2024 boxing film, The Cut.

He explained on This Morning that he was completely drained, both mentally and physically, and really irritable from being hungry. He admitted he was difficult to be around, struggling with paranoia and unwanted, intrusive thoughts.

Let me tell you, I really wouldn’t advise anyone to try this on their own. It’s far more complicated – and potentially risky – than it looks, so definitely don’t underestimate it!

I was absolutely blown away by Michael B. Jordan’s dedication to his role in Creed! He seriously transformed his body, gaining almost 30 pounds of muscle to convincingly play a boxer rising through the ranks. It really added so much to the film!

The Mindy Project alum had to gain 40 pounds for his role in the 2016 action drama Live by Night.

Renée Zellweger, the actress known for playing Bridget Jones, famously gained weight to accurately portray the character in the first two Bridget Jones movies.

Matthew McConaughey famously lost 30 pounds to play the lead role in The Dallas Buyer’s Club, a film based on the true story of a man with AIDS in the 1980s who sought out and imported experimental treatments from Mexico when conventional medicine offered little hope.

The actor and musician won an Academy Award for his powerful performance in the 2013 film The Dallas Buyers Club. He dramatically lost 40 pounds to play the part of a man living with HIV/AIDS.

The actress was in excellent physical shape for her lead role in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and she gave a powerful, dedicated performance. She told Allure that the extensive tattoos, makeup, and piercings – along with the physical changes she underwent – made her feel like she was always in character, even without clothes.

Although Anne Hathaway won an Academy Award for her role as a starving orphan in Les Misérables, losing 25 pounds so quickly was definitely hard on her.

She told People magazine that she’d lost a lot of weight very quickly – in just two weeks. She admitted she didn’t understand nutrition and pushed her body too hard, which really affected her mental state. She felt incredibly anxious and disoriented during that period.

Christian Bale is famous for dramatically changing his body for film roles. He’s lost significant weight for movies like The Machinist and The Fighter, and gained weight for American Hustle. He also underwent a major weight loss to play in Ford v Ferrari.

For his part as the Prince in the 2010 film Prince of Persia, the actor appeared more like a deity than a royal. Jake Gyllenhaal trained in Parkour, a French discipline of movement and obstacle navigation, to build muscle for the role.

The Oscar-winning actor explained to Time magazine that preparing for his role in the 2000 film Cast Away simply required dedication and self-control. He lost over 50 pounds to convincingly portray a man stranded on a deserted island.

The rapper surprised fans when an old photo from 2010 surfaced, showing him much thinner than he is now. He apparently lost 54 pounds – dropping from 214 to 160 – in about nine weeks to prepare for his role as a football player battling cancer in the 2011 film All Things Fall Apart.

It’s common for actors to transform themselves for roles, and one famous example is when the acclaimed actor received an Academy Award nomination for portraying the frightening character Max Cady, a tattooed rapist, in the 1991 film Cape Fear.

To play Dick Cheney in the 2018 movie Vice, the actor gained weight to more closely resemble the former Vice President.

Read More

2026-06-05 13:18