Director praises Nicholas Galitzine for He-Man performance
MANILA, Philippines — "Masters of the Universe" director Travis Knight showered his film's lead star Nicholas Galitzine with praises for his seamless performance as Adam Glenn and the superhero He-Man.
The heroic fantasy movie is based on the media franchise of the same name popularized in the 1980s. It is the second live-action feature attempt after the 1987 film that starred Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as the villain Skeletor.
The upcoming film sees Adam reuniting with the Sword of Power after 15 years and returning to Eternia, his destroyed home now under Skeletor's rule.
"In order to reclaim his family legacy and save the world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies and embrace who he is truly meant to be: He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe," the synopsis goes.
Galitzine is best known for romance and comedy works like "Red, White & Royal Blue," "The Idea of You," and "Bottoms," but he went through a lot of effort to physically and mentally transform into He-Man.
It was all worth it though, the actor said in an interview, recalling how much he had endured upon doing a camera test as the character.
"That's kind of the joy of playing a character like this. Every single week, you feel pushed to come in better, to work harder, to lift more," Galitzine said. "It's been the greatest physical challenge of my career, and the mental growth as well as the physical growth that I achieved during this period of time has been so rewarding."
Knight also recalled the special moment Galitzine first appeared in the full He-Man outfit, joining his fellow actors looking like real-life action figures.
"Nick Galitzine transformed into He-Man for the first time, and he said the iconic line ('By the power of Grayskull... I have the power!') with the sword held aloft," said the filmmaker. "I felt emotional about it because of how much these characters and this world has meant to me over the course of my life."
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This is just the director's second live-action film after the 2018 "Transformers" movie "Bumblebee." He is best known for heading Laika, the stop-motion animation studio behind "Coraline" and "ParaNorman," which Knight worked on.
He received Oscar nominations for Laika's three most recent features: "The Boxtrolls," "Kubo and the Two Strings" (which he helmed), and "Missing Link." He will direct its upcoming film "Wildwood."
Knight admitted that Galitzine was cast for already embodying many of Adam's aspects, "Nick's just a sweet-hearted guy, and that aspect of Adam really comes through because that's kind of who Nick is."
"The way I think about Adam is that he's sincere, he's empathetic, and he's thoughtful, but he also needs somewhere to go," Knight added. "He needs to come into his own. He needs to understand his own bravery in a way that he doesn't at the beginning of the movie."
The director further praised the actor for stepping up to the plate and exceededing expection, again noting his background in romantic comedies and costume drama, which may surprise people to see Galitzine as an action hero.
"Nick has all the qualities that I'd want in a lead for this movie. He's charming. He can move you to tears with his performances, but He-Man is the most powerful man in the universe, so he has to embody a physical form that, where you can see that manifested, takes incredible hard work and dedication," Knight said.
Galitzine ended by acknowledging all the challenges he went through to become He-Man was worth telling the film's story, "It's a story of self-acceptance, of becoming empowered, of realizing that power does not lie in anything else but yourself."
"Masters of the Universe" also stars Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin, Charlotte Purefoy, James Purefoy, and Jared Leto as Skeletor. It will premiere in Philippine cinemas on June 3.
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