The actor had been on a strict regimen to play the character in the upcoming “Masters of the Universe” movie.

Nicholas Galitzine celebrated the end of playing He-Man with a ‘disgusting’ cheat meal after eating 5,000 calories a day while training

The actor had been on a strict regimen to play the character in the upcoming "Masters of the Universe" movie.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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May 19, 2026 10:44 p.m. ET

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Nicholas Galitzine stars as He-Man in 'Masters of the Universe'. Credit:

Giles Keyte/Amazon MGM Studios

- Nicholas Galitzine plays He-Man in next month's *Masters of the Universe*.

- The actor has said that he ate up to 5,000 calories per day and worked out constantly to bulk up.

- When he was done filming, Galitzine says he was told by the director of his next project to eat as much as he wants.

Nicholas Galitzine worked brutally hard to achieve the physique needed to star as He-Man in this summer's *Masters of the Universe*. And when filming was done, he was ready to celebrate.

"I was so mentally ready to eat something disgusting," the 31-year-old actor told PEOPLE at the movie's premiere Monday in L.A. "I want to say I had a combination of sushi and pizza, and I just was like, 'Give it. Give it all to me.' So no, it wasn't hard to go there. Given the fact that my next director did not want me to look like He-Man for his movie, he said, 'Eat as much as you want and stop working out.'"

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That was a big lifestyle change for Galitzine, who ate up to 5,000 calories per day alongside constant workouts leading up to filming to add bulk.

His reward, then, was everything that he'd hoped.

"Better," Galitzine said. "Food is everything to me. It truly is."

Nicholas Galitzine at the 'Masters of the Universe' premiere May 18.

Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty

The *Bottoms* actor had previously told PEOPLE that bulking up was "the hardest thing I've ever done."

But his work paid off big.

In April, the film's director, Travis Knight, explained to ** that he'd been stunned when he laid eyes on Galitzine after not seeing him for a few weeks.

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"He was training on set as we were in prep," Knight said. "And when I saw him again, I was like, holy s---. I couldn't believe how much he had changed. He had put on so much muscle in such a short period of time. Sometimes I'll look at photos back when I first met him, and it looks like a totally different dude."

The muscles were needed not only because the character — which began as an '80s toy — had to defend his home, Castle Grayskull, but because He-Man requires a barely-there ensemble.

"It's a peculiar thing," Galitzine said, "being in a miniskirt and harness while everyone's fully dressed in puffer jackets and whatnot."

*Masters of the Universe* arrives in theaters June 5.

- Superhero Movies

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Source: “EW Superhero”