Nicholas Galitzineis rapidly becoming one of the most talked about new talents in the acting world and his best movies and television shows demonstrate his wide range of talent. Galatzine has only been acting professionally since 2014, and in that time he has amassed a small roster of projects, but they are quality projects. He is a star on the rise, tapped to star as the titular He-Man in the live-action reboot ofHe-Man: Masters of the Universe.
Because Galatzine does not yet have a huge body of work behind him, his best movies and TV shows provide glimpses of the star he can become in the future. They also offer a great look at his range of talent as he has appeared in romantic comedies, dramas, musicals, and satires. Galatzine has done a terrific job at landing roles that allow casting directors and audiences to see just what he can do in a short amount of time in the acting world.
Cinderella
Cast
Cinderella (2021) is a musical romantic comedy film directed by Kay Cannon starring Camila Cabello in the titular role. This modern retelling of the classic fairy tale follows Cinderella, a young woman with dreams of becoming a fashion designer, as she navigates societal obstacles and finds herself with the help of her Fab G, played by Billy Porter. Idina Menzel, Nicholas Galitzine, and Pierce Brosnan co-star in this contemporary reimagining.
There have been manyadaptations ofCinderellafor the screen, but only a few of them are musicals. This 2021 version of the tale features Camila Cabello, formerly of Fifth Harmony, as the titular character and Nicholas Galitzine as the prince.
The movie was largely lambasted by critics for trying to do too many things with the classic story that just did not fit together. Not everyone loved that it was a jukebox musical either, expecting it to utilize music already associated withCinderellafrom one of its other musical versions.
Despite all of that,Galitzine’s performance as Prince Robert has not been a criticism of the film. He is fully charming and capable as the handsome prince who falls for Cinderella but also wants to make a better life for himself instead of simply remaining comfortable.
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Purple Hearts
Purple Hearts follows Cassie, a bartender who happens to be an aspiring singer-songwriter, and Luke, a delinquent-turned-marine, who happen upon each other and share several differences in their views about the government and more. When the two fall on hard times, they decide to truce and marry one another to take advantage of military benefits. Once Luke is shipped off to Iraq, Cassie’s singing career begins to pick up steam, but things become complicated when tragedy strikes. With Luke returning, the relationship of convenience begins to blossom into a genuine love for one another that the two will uncover through their new union.
Purple Heartsis a very divisive Netflix original movie.It helped to get Galitzine more notice for his dramatic abilities, but it also drew some heavy criticism from critics.
The movie sees Galitzine as a soldier and Sofia Carson as a waitress and aspiring singer who agree to get married solely to share the military benefits that would come with it. When he is injured in the line of duty, their fake marriage becomes much more real.
Both dramatic and romantic, the movie can definitely tug at the heartstrings. Its Netflix numbers benefitted from Carson’s fanbase growing up with her while watching her on the Disney Channel and wanting to see her in a more mature role.While Galitzine showed great dramatic range, the content of the movie itself was criticizedfor being so pro-military, using racist language, and having too much going on in the script.
The Beat Beneath My Feet
The Beat Beneath My Feet is a film about a teenage boy in South London who discovers his reclusive neighbor is a former rock star who faked his death. The teenager blackmails him into providing rock guitar lessons, leading to unexpected lessons in life and music.
The Beat Beneath My Feetmarks Nicholas Galtizine’s screen debut.It’s unusual for someone’s first movie to also be considered one of their best, but Galitzine also has a relatively young on-screen career at the time of writing. It’s entirely possible that many movies and TV shows will one day surpassThe Beat Beneath My Feet. Right now, however,it is one of Galitzine’s best movies and one of his best coming-of-age stories.
Galitzine stars as a young man who discovers that a new neighbor who does not get along with his mother is actually a rock star that many believe is dead. He extorts the neighbor for help: he will not tell anyone the man is alive as long as he teaches him to play guitar like a rock star.
That premise is a little quirky for a musically inclined coming-of-age story, but it works. It provides a little edge for the story as the guitar riffs are learned. Luke Perry also shines as the aging rock star.
Share
Share is a film that follows sixteen-year-old Mandy as she discovers a troubling video revealing events from a night she cannot recall. Confronted with the task of uncovering the truth, Mandy faces the challenges of dealing with the significant repercussions that arise from her discovery.
Shareis not an easy watch.While many Galitzine fans might be used to lighter fare from the actor because of projects likeCinderellaand other rom-coms,Shareis not one of those.Galitzine also plays a supporting role rather than a starring role in it.
Sharefollows a teenage girl (Rhianne Barreto) who finds out a video of herself unconscious, surrounded by teenage boys, and with very little clothing on, has been shared online. She has no memory associated with anything in the video and seeks to find out what happened to her. The deeper she digs, however, the more she is ostracized by her classmates.
It’s an affecting movie and everyone’s performances in it, not just Barreto and Galitzine, are top-notch.Sharefeatures a compelling story that is sure to make audiences, especially younger ones living in the digital age, think.
High Strung
High Strung follows the story of a hip hop violinist and a classical dancer from the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts. As they prepare for a life-changing competition, they collaborate with a hip hop dance crew to bridge the gap between their distinct artistic backgrounds.
While on the surface, this movie sounds like almost any other artistic story, it also provides the audience with some modern social commentary.
Galitzine appears to have a particular fondness for movies involving music.In addition to movies involving singing and guitar, he also appears in a movie that involves dance and violin. Here, he plays a violinist.
High Strungfollows a young dancer (Keenan Kampa) who is accepted into a prestigious program in New York on a scholarship. She struggles with the contemporary instructions. Her path crosses with a violinist playing for his rent in the subway who ends up with his violin and earnings being stolen. The two team up to create a new program to save her scholarship and earn him a place in the program.
Galitzine learned to play violin for the movie. Before the movie, he had only played guitar.
While on the surface, this movie sounds like almost any other artistic story, it also provides the audience with some modern social commentary. Galitzine’s violinist is a young British man living in New York illegally, which is why he does not report the theft of his grandfather’s violin. That also provides the catalyst for him to be interested in becoming a student so he can get a student visa.
Galitzine does a great job at capturing both the love for the music and the desperation of someone who just wants to live their life.
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Mary & George
Based on the 2017 book The King’s Assassin, Mary & George is a historical drama television series created for Starz by D. C. Moore. The series follows the tale of the Countess of Buckingham, Mary, as she plots to influence England’s development from the shadows by training her son to seduce the king.
Contemporary television has certainly had a love affair with historical dramas. From the CW’sReignto Netflix’sBridgerton, there is a sense that audiences do not just want the history, but also the scandal, andMary & Georgedeliverson that.
The limited series chronicles the relationship between James VI of Scotland and George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham. Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore) manipulates her son George (Galitzine) into seducing James VI (Tony Curran) to help their family maintain power as James is set to become king of both Scotland and England.
Critics maintain that the show plays fast and loose with historical facts, but fans will be more intrigued by the political power plays in the series and the scandalous performances of the cast. Galitzine gets to be in a much soapier project with this one than he would usually take on.
Mary & George Cast & Character Guide
Real-life historical figures like King James VI and the Duke and Dutchess of Villiers are brought to life by a talented cast in Starz’s Mary & George.
Handsome Devil
Handsome Devil follows a music-loving 16-year-old outcast at a rugby-focused boarding school who forms an unlikely friendship with his charismatic new roommate, exploring themes of identity and camaraderie. Released in 2017, this coming-of-age film navigates the challenges of teenage life in a competitive environment.
Early in Galitzine’s career, he starred in this Irish cinematic gem.The movie is part sports drama and part coming-of-age story.
The movie follows an Irish teenager (Fionn O’Shea) as he attends an Irish boarding school for boys that has an elite rugby team. His roommate happens to be the star rugby player (Galitzine). While O’Shea’s character finds himself treated poorly by the other students, the two form a firm friendship.
The movie tackles themes of growing up, homophobia, and elitism, providing commentary on the Irish boarding school system, which is based on writer/director John Butler’s own experiences in the 1980s.
Handsome Devilproved to be quite popular with Irish film critics and at festivals.It won Best Irish Feature at the Dublin International Film Festival and was nominated for a slew of Irish Film and Television Awards.
Red, White & Royal Blue
Red, White & Royal Blue is a romantic comedy film based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Casey McQuiston. The film follows the President of the United States son, Alex, and Britain’s Prince Henry, who are at odds over nearly everything. However, the two get into an altercation at a significant event, further causing a divide between the two nations; they are forced to reconcile their differences on paper. But as the two spend time together, their rivalry evolves into something more.
Though Nicholas Galitzine had been acting for several years by the time he was cast inRed, White, & Royal Blue, the movie could easily be considered the actor’s big break.The Amazon movie helped to introduce Galitzine to an even bigger audience outside of Britain, especially since the movieadapts the 2019 novel of the same name, which already had a large following.
The romantic comedy follows the son (Taylor Zakhar Perez) of the US President and the British Prince (Galitzine) as the two teens fall for one another. Their previous feud sees the two of them forced to do public relations damage control by their parents, and spending so much time together allows the two to get to know one another and grow closer.
Red, White, & Royal Bluewas nominated for Outstanding Television Movie at the Primetime Emmys and won Queer Fan Favorite at the GLAAD Media Awards.
The Idea of You
Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.
Galitzine shines as much in this role as he does inRed, White & Royal Blue, demonstrating a great affinity for rom-coms.
WhenThe Idea Of Youfirst released, it earned comparisons to fan fiction featuring members of boy bands like One Direction. The romantic comedy, however, captured hearts even more than its source material, a novel of the same name by Robinne Lee, did. That is largely due to the charismatic rom-com performances of both Galitzine and leading ladyAnne Hathaway.
The Idea Of Youfocuses on a single mom (Hathaway) to a teenage girl who ends up taking her daughter and her friends to Coachella and a meet-and-greet with a popular band when her husband is unable to attend. There, she meets one of the musicians (Galitzine), who is 16 years younger than her, but sparks fly. They first form a friendship after he makes grand gestures like dedicating songs to her on stage and buying up art from the gallery she runs. They eventually begin an on-again-off-again romance.
Part of the appeal ofThe Idea Of Youis that the story is wellaware of the age gap between its charactersand tackles those differences head-on.Hathaway’s character is initially resistant to dating someone younger, which is why there is so much back and forth in their relationship.They have believable chemistry, and they provide the audience with a satisfying conclusion when it appears his celebrity might get in the way of her relationship with her daughter.
Bottoms
Bottoms is a sex comedy film that follows two high school girls determined to hook up with cheerleaders before they graduate. To accomplish this, they decide to start a fight club to power their way up to the top of the food chain.
Nicholas Galitzine is a more versatile actor than some might have given him credit for.
Though Galitzine is not the star ofBottoms, the movie still provides his best performance to date.It is so far removed from his recent rom-com characters, but it also proves how great his comedic range is.
Bottomsis a satirical teen comedy, so all of the characters play up their heightened personalities, bordering on stereotypical. It follows a pair of high school girls who start a fight club at their school with the hopes of using the club to hook up with cheerleaders themselves. Galitzine stars as the quarterback of the football team, dating one of those cheerleaders. He also continually cheats on her and comes up with excuses for doing so, butGalitzine’s delivery of those excuses is impeccable.
The movie saw itself nominated for a slew of awards on the film festival circuit, but did not pick up many of them.It did, however, win GLAAD Media’s Outstanding Film - Wide Release award.It’s a great sign thatNicholas Galitzineis a more versatile actor than some might have given him credit for.
