Nicholas Galitzine Ate 5,000 Calories a Day to Bulk Up for He-Man Role

Cara Lynn ShultzTue, May 19, 2026 at 10:45 PM UTC

0

Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man in 'Masters of the Universe'
Credit: Giles Keyte/Amazon MGM Studios -

Nicholas Galitzine followed an intense training regimen to play He-Man in Masters of the Universe

The actor says that each day he ate up to 5,000 calories a day and lifted weights for three hours

He maintained workouts on set, squeezing in exercises between scenes during the five-month shoot

Masters of the Universe star Nicholas Galitzine ate 5,000 calories a day to "pack on as much size as possible" to play muscular '80s icon, He-Man.

“It was an everyday a week thing,” Galitzine, 31, told E! News about his intense training routine. “It was a pretty short amount of time. You kind of would love to live in this character for a year beforehand, but the training very much changed as the movie went on.”

Nicholas Galitzine shows off his flex appeal in the gym
Credit: Nicholas Galitzine/Instagram

“We started out really trying to pack on as much size as possible,” he explained. “You know, having up to 5,000 calories sometimes, weightlifting for three hours a day and then we streamlined it.”

Galitzine shared that they added workouts whenever possible: “You're shooting a scene [and] they say, ‘You have 10 minutes until the next setup,' you run outside, you hop on the assault bike, run back in, shoot a scene again, and that kind of goes on for about five months.”

The Red, White & Royal Blue actor shared that the regimen was "something I had to really work through on a day-to-day basis,” but noted, "I really enjoyed the challenge.” But as the actor told PEOPLE, his first meal after filming wrapped was "a combination of sushi and pizza."

Advertisement

"I just was like, 'Give it. Give it all to me,' " Galitzine said. "Food is everything to me. It truly is."

Nicholas Galitzine at the L.A> premiere of 'Masters of the Universe'
Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"Straight away" after Masters of the Universe filming ended, Galitzine started a different kind of prep to play a World War II soldier in The Mosquito Bowl, he told E! News. “The director said, ‘I've got terrifying nightmares that you're gonna show up on set on day one looking like He-Man. Can you just do nothing for the next three weeks?' ”

“So, it was kind of music to my ears,” he said. “I'd lay on a couch, I ate potato chips and I said, ‘This is the kind of prep I love.' ”

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”