Why The Star Of The Idea Of You Nicholas Galitzine Looks Familiar

In Prime Video's adorable rom-com, "The Idea of You," Nicholas Galitzine plays a lead singer in a boy band who falls in love with a much older art gallery owner played by Anne Hathaway. One look at Galitzine and it's easy to see why Hathaway's character, along with audiences everywhere, was swept off her feet by his pouty-lipped, pin-up good looks.

It is hard to believe that Galitzine's acting gig is a career that almost wasn't. Growing up in London, Galitzine was a talented athlete who had set his sights on becoming a professional rugby player until multiple injuries forced him to rethink his plans. A self-described "little sh*t" who wasn't sure what to do after high school, Galitzine went to Edinburgh to audition for a play, at the urging of his friends. "There was a girl going up to Edinburgh that I really liked," he admitted to The Cut. We don't know whether he got the girl, but he did land a significant role, an agent, and a new passion. "I did this production, and I just loved it," the actor told GQ. He added, "It felt like pure life."

If you were watching "The Idea of You" and found yourself thinking his gorgeous face looked familiar, chances are you have seen him in one of his earlier roles. Although the heartthrob has been enjoying a major moment, starring in several projects since 2022, the British actor has actually been honing his craft for a little more than a decade.

Once Nicholas Galitzine was bitten by the acting bug, it seemed like the universe began conspiring to help him out. In one of those rare overnight success stories, he walked into his first movie audition and walked out with the leading role. The film was "The Beat Beneath My Feet," and Galitzine played a nerdy high-school rock 'n' roll wannabe who befriends a former rock god played by the late Luke Perry. The whole experience led Galitzine to believe that a successful acting career would be a breeze. "There was a period of time where I thought, 'Oh this acting thing, I mean it's very easy,'" he confessed in an interview with Teen Vogue. He said he assumed that "the rest of [his] career is going to be exactly like this." Of course, he later discovered it doesn't quite work like that. 

Nevertheless, Galitzine received high praise for his big-screen debut. In 2015, Screen International named the actor in their annual "Stars of Tomorrow" list, which showcases emerging young actors from across the United Kingdom. David Rooney, chief film critic at The Hollywood Reporter, sung Galitzine's praises in his review of the film: "Its chief asset ... is the disarming performance of newcomer Nicholas Galitzine as Tom, who sings with an emo catch in his voice and loops of achy falsetto that sometimes resembles the vocals of Brit singer-songwriter Tom McRae."

When the supernatural love story "The Changeover" debuted in 2017, it immediately drew comparisons to another popular otherworldly romance between a sexy vampire and his mortal girlfriend. The truth is, however, that "The Changeover" was a popular young adult novel written by Margaret Mahy in the 1980s, long before the great debate over Team Edward or Team Jacob had begun. Led by Erana James and Nicholas Galitzine who play Laura Chant and Sorensen Carlisle, respectively, "The Changeover" tells the story of a young girl in New Zealand whose family is subjected to witchcraft. More psychologically creepy than downright scary, it earned a good review in The New York Times for its smooth storyline that is easy to swallow. 

Although comparing it to "Twilight" is like comparing witches to vampires, there's no denying the influence of Robert Pattinson on Galitzine's brooding, mysterious portrayal of the handsome outlier, which may not have been an accident. "The Idea of You" star grew up within a mile of Pattinson and has been vocal about his admiration for his fellow Brit. In an interview with The Cut he reflected on how he's been inspired by Pattinson's work. "He's made some amazing choices since Twilight," he said. "And I feel like I'm sort of in the process of doing that now — shifting people's perception of me or the parts I should play." 

From supernatural to sci-fi, Nicholas Galitzine followed up "The Changeover" with the 2019 Netflix release, "Chambers." Set in the fictitious town of Crystal Valley, "Chambers" tells the story of a teenager who receives a heart transplant and is haunted by the ghost of the donor. Galitzine plays Elliot LeFevre, the donor's twin brother who is recovering from a heroin addiction. "His predicament is not your typical addict story," the actor told Wonderland. "He very much becomes the moral compass of the show," Galitzine continued. "He has a very strong moral code and knows exactly what's right and what's wrong when everyone, especially his family, seems to still be trying to figure that out." 

Playing a recovering addict was a challenge for Galitzine, who told The Face that he attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings both online and in person to embody his character. "I don't know if I'll ever truly be able to understand what it's like to be in the mind of an addict because I think there's a certain darkness that comes with being in that place," he said. ​There was a bright side to the film for Galitzine, though — he got to act alongside his childhood crush, Uma Thurman, who played his mother, Nancy LeFevre. The experience was surreal for the young actor, who told The Face, "I have a one-on-one scene with her in the car and I'm like, ​'Nick, you're sitting in a car with Uma Thurman.' How did I get to this point?"

With a face that looks like it was chiseled from stone, Nicholas Galitzine seems to have been born to play a Disney prince, so it's a bit surprising to learn that he had to work really hard to convince the powers that be to cast him as Prince Robert opposite Camila Cabello in 2021s Cinderella. In an interview with WWD, he explained that there were many hopefuls auditioning for the part, and he thought the studio probably wanted a bigger or more familiar name than his. "So they really put me through the ringer to kind of convince everyone that the role was mine," he said. 

Galitzine, who had recently auditioned for and didn't get another Disney prince role (he declined to name names), told his agent that he wasn't interested in any more royal roles. So what changed his mind? "I think it's a much more humanized version of a fairy-tale prince. He's much more real, he's much more honest, less archetypal," he told WWD. As a foreshadowing of his boyband character in "The Idea of You," the role also required Galitzine to sing. For his audition, he had to belt out "Somebody to Love" by Queen for two whole minutes, a capella. "It was an absolute train wreck of an audition," he recalled, adding that although he has musical aspirations, he has no formal training. It couldn't have been too bad, however, since he landed the role and now seems to be living happily ever after. 

When he takes on a role, Nicholas Galitzine immerses himself in learning all he can about the character in order to deliver the most authentic performance. While his role in "Chambers" took him to Narcotics Anonymous, his role as a U.S. Marine in the 2022 Netflix film "Purple Hearts," Galitzine went through basic training in the hopes of portraying a believable character. He focused on cardio but right before filming, he was asked to "beef up." As the actor told "Today," "For the last few weeks, I had to desperately force feed myself to try and just gain a little bit of mass," he said. 

"Purple Hearts" tells the story of Cassie, played by Sofia Carson, and Luke, played by Galitzine. The unlikely couple marry solely for Cassie to use Luke's military health benefits, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear there is more going on than meets the eye. Directed by Liz Allen, it's not just a love story — it's a story of healing and hope.

While some questioned whether a female director was the right choice for a military movie, Galitzine shut down the negativity in an exclusive interview with The List. "The fact that she's a woman is immaterial to the fact that she wanted to pursue a story that was honest and was real," he said. The movie was a huge hit for Netflix, something Galitzine told "Today" was something he hadn't expected.

A far cry from princes and pop stars, Nicholas Galitzine took on the role of Jeff, a stereotypical, hypermasculine high school jock, in the 2023 comedy film "Bottoms" while still riding high on the success of "Purple Hearts." Although it might have required a complete mindset shift, the actor said he was excited to tackle the role (pun intended), telling "Today," "We all have very human experiences, regardless of whether you're a prince or whether you're a Marine." Galitzine added that working on a comedy is something that has always interested him, and he described making the movie with costars Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri as a "fever dream experience." He added, "Being able to use my funny bone and learn from (Sennott and Edebiri) and improvise was just so much fun."

Fun as it was, it was also a little daunting as Galitzine had never done a true comedy. "It's really scary, you know, trying to make people laugh," he said in a TikTok interview with Liv Marks-Howarth. "You almost have to forget all about that and just be present and tell the truth." It was also a departure for someone who is often cast for his physical appeal — something he says he hopes is not his legacy. "I think that being my defining feature is something I'm constantly terrified of," he admitted to GQ. "I think the most important thing to me is that I'm taken seriously as a performer," he told the outlet.

It was a return to royalty when Nicholas Galitzine played an English prince having a hush-hush romantic relationship with the son of the U.S. president, played by Taylor Zakhar Perez, in the 2023 Prime Video hit "Red, White & Royal Blue." The movie was such a success that both actors are said to be returning for a sequel. This is not the first time that Galitzine, who previously told GQ that he identifies as straight, has played a queer role, most notably in the movie "Handsome Devil" and more recently in the Starz hit series, "Mary & George."

While it may not be a conscious choice, he's aware that it's a thread that runs through many of the parts he's drawn to, and he wants to make one thing clear. "I never want to be taking up a space that feels like it would be best played by someone who is queer," he told The Washington Post. "For me, I just saw these people as wonderfully textured humans."

Sexuality is something that Galitzine seems comfortable with, heating up the screens with men and women in ways that feel completely uninhibited. "I think you can gain a lot of insight into [characters] at their most primal, their most emotionally and physically vulnerable. So, yeah, I'm all for the sex scene," he told GQ. We're betting that audiences are here for it, too. 

There is a moment in the 2024 Starz mini-series "Mary & George" where Julianne Moore's character says to her son, played by Nicholas Galitzine, "If I were a man and looked like you, I'd rule the f**king planet." She's not wrong. Galitzine is one of those men who exudes sex appeal without even trying and can have anyone eating out of the palm of his hand. All that sexual prowess is on full display as seduces the King of England in this story based on the real George Villiers, a man who served as not only the 1st Duke of Buckingham but also as King James' lover. 

"[It] was an opportunity to do something unfamiliar to me — a period piece — that was edgy and challenging," Galitzine told Vogue. "The way critics and audiences have taken to it has been so exciting." 

It was also an opportunity to work with Julianne Moore, an actor he described to Vogue as "one of the most gracious, talented, brilliant people I've ever met." Earlier, he told Bustle, "Just getting to watch [Moore] was so enlightening." Galitzine was a fan of Moore's long before they became an onscreen duo. In fact, he was watching her movie "Still Alice" when he got the call for "Mary & George." As he told The Hollywood Reporter, "I was watching it and thinking, 'I would love to work with Julianne Moore one day.'" Wonder what he'll manifest next?

With his good looks and sex appeal, it was only a matter of time before Nicholas Galitzine was snatched up by the fashion powers that be. If you haven't seen any of Galitzine's earlier films or shows, you may have recognized the actor from his work as Fendi's first global ambassador for menswear. The actor told L'Officiel, "[I] always wanted to be part of that world"; however, he didn't want to pull focus from his first love of acting. "Sometimes it can negatively impact an actor's career to see him on the market too much," he said. But the Fendi campaign felt like a good fit, so to speak, and the actor told WWD that shooting it was an exciting experience. "The campaign was a lot of fun. I came straight from the show where disco was the theme, and that vibe continued into the shoot," he said. 

Galitzine expressed his appreciation at being selected to represent the brand, telling Wonderland, "I'm overwhelmingly honoured to be the first ambassador of the FENDI Men's campaign." The importance of the role resonated with the actor at the end of the shoot when the Fendi family gathered and gave him a round of applause — a moment he told WWD was the highlight of the experience. "Seeing their faces and feeling their satisfaction warmed my heart and is a moment that will stay with me throughout my career, " he said.