Nicholas Galitzine is quickly turning into one of Hollywood’s rising stars with steamy roles in last year’s British rom-com “Red, White, and Royal Blue” (now with a sequel on approach) and this year’s age-gap romance “The Idea of You.” However, in an interview with British GQ recently, Galitzine admitted that having the opportunity to take on quality roles is a relatively new phenomenon for him.
“I’ve had to cut my teeth on a lot of projects, which, I find the result of them, admittedly, maybe not great,” Galitzine said. “But for me, it was always, ‘OK, this job won’t take me from point A to Z, but it is at least pushing me in the right direction?’”
Galitzine’s early roles include his performance as a moody violinist in the film “High Strung,” as well as playing Prince Robert in the critically panned jukebox musical version of “Cinderella” co-starring Camilla Cabello. Without specifying any particular film, Galitzine said of crafting his early work, “To create chemistry and charm on screen, oftentimes not necessarily having the most lively script to work with, is a skill in itself.”
In trying to explain the positive spin he had to embrace during the making of these films, Galitzine added, “Maybe that [film] doesn’t speak to me artistically, but it speaks to someone else.”
Performing in these roles, Galitzine was also given the opportunity to explore parts of himself he didn’t know how to face at the time.
“I was a very scared young man,” he said. “And I think a lot of men are really scared. I think they’re scared of their own mortality. I think they’re scared of being found out. There’s this notion in masculinity that you have to be in control and certain of everything.”
As Galitzine has advanced his career, he seems to have been offered more and more opportunities at roles that break traditional notions of masculinity.
“I think the most important thing to me,” said Galitzine, “is that I’m taken seriously as a performer. I’m not gonna ask you to cry me a river here, but it’s been difficult being part of a conversation that feels very much like I am a cut of beef at a meat market.”
