Nicholas Galitzine admits He-Man transformation was 'the most difficult thing he's ever done'

Nicholas Galitzine has admitted that achieving He-Man's physique for the Masters of the Universe movie was an "extremely daunting" task.

The Idea of You actor admitted that once he booked the role of Prince Adam Glenn/ He-Man, he began the "extremely daunting" task of getting the Prince of Eternia's ripped physique, which has been immortalised for years via comics, animated series and action figures.

"I think anyone seeing that iconic physique would find it extremely daunting," the British actor told Empire magazine. "Even the animations put Arnold Schwarzenegger to shame: the proportions, the minuscule waist, the boulder shoulders..."

Galitzine spent four or five months hitting the gym hard to achieve the look and confessed that the transformation "was the most difficult thing (he's) ever done".

However, his hard work paid off when he saw how he looked in He-Man's scant armour.

"You just become kind of abnormally confident in it," he shared. "It's like when you do sex scenes. Everyone else in the room is more uncomfortable than you are, you know? Wandering around in this costume was empowering."

Masters of the Universe is the second live-action movie following the 1987 film of the same name, starring Dolph Lundgren.

The latest movie, directed by Bumblebee's Travis Knight, also stars Jared Leto as the evil villain Skeletor, Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn and Camila Mendes as Teela.

Knight told the publication that his movie leans into the "inherent silliness" of the swords and sorcery franchise.

"There's an inherent silliness to it, which we are acknowledging and embracing," he explained. "I think it's a virtue, actually. And it's woven into the script to help some of these things make sense to a modern audience."

Masters of the Universe will be released in cinemas on 5 June.