As anticipation continues to build for Masters of the Universe, actor Nicholas Galitzine is stepping into one of fantasy’s most iconic dual roles: Prince Adam and He-Man. In this new live-action interpretation, Galitzine is not just inheriting a legacy, he is reshaping what it means to carry the power of Eternia.
In conversation with Black Girl Nerds, Galitzine opens up about how he approached the emotional duality of Prince Adam, balancing vulnerability with strength, humor with responsibility, and humanity with myth.
At the core of Adam’s transformation is not just physical power, but emotional complexity. For Galitzine, that tension between who Adam is and who he becomes was essential to understanding the character.
“You balance them in the way that they’re both completely integral parts of the character,” he explains. “He doesn’t quite know what to do with himself once he’s imbued with the power. He still has a lot of self-doubt.”
Rather than portraying He-Man as a complete departure from Adam, Galitzine leans into continuity. The power, he suggests, does not erase insecurity, it intensifies everything already inside him.
“As he starts to feel this power, it slightly starts to turn into hubris in some ways,” he adds. “And he kind of learns the lesson that a lot of the heroes of Eternia have learned before him, which is if you work by yourself, more often than not, you could fail. It’s really important to work with the people around you. Empower yourself, but empower the people around you too.”
It is a striking interpretation of a character often defined by physical dominance. Here, heroism is reframed as collaboration and not isolation.
While He-Man’s muscular silhouette has long defined the franchise’s cultural footprint, Galitzine is equally focused on redefining Prince Adam’s personality.
One of the biggest surprises, he says, is just how much humor exists within the character.
“I think he’s very funny. I think he’s self-deprecating,” Galitzine says. “He has a really deep well of emotion that exists within him and is a superpower to him in a lot of ways, how he sees people.”
This emotional sensitivity becomes, in his view, a defining strength rather than a weakness. It allows Adam to read the world differently, and to connect more deeply with those around him.
“That’s a side of Adam that we’ve not really seen,” he explains. “My favorite thing about the original animation is when you see Prince Adam and you see He-Man, they actually kind of seem very, very similar in a lot of ways.”
Still, he notes that playing Adam required a clear separation in performance.
“My Adam really felt like playing two different characters,” he says. “He’s certainly a goofy guy to play.”
What emerges from Galitzine’s interpretation is a version of Prince Adam who is less archetype and more person. Humor is not just comic relief, but emotional survival. Self-doubt is not an obstacle, but a companion. And transformation is not escape, but expansion.
For Galitzine, that balance is what makes the role compelling.
“The power doesn’t erase who he is,” he says. “It amplifies it.”
That amplification, however, is not without risk. As Adam grows into He-Man, he must learn to manage not just external threats, but internal ones like pride and isolation. It is in that tension that Galitzine finds the emotional core of the story.
“He’s still learning. He’s still figuring it out in real time,” he says. “And I think that makes him more human, even when he becomes something mythic.”
At its heart, this new iteration of Masters of the Universe is not simply about strength, but growth. Galitzine’s take on Adam emphasizes evolution over perfection, and connection over solitude.
“I hope they see that heroism isn’t about perfection,” he reflects. “It’s about growth. It’s about learning how to show up for people and realizing you don’t have to do everything alone.”
In a landscape filled with larger-than-life heroes, this version of Prince Adam offers something more grounded: a reminder that even legends are still learning who they are.
And in Eternia, that may be the most powerful transformation of all.
Masters of the Universe premieres in theaters June 5th.
