Unlike many actors of his generation, Nicholas Galitzine has had a pretty interesting rise to fame over the last few years. He didn’t break out because of one massive career-defining role. Instead, he built his career one project at a time, taking on role after role until he became one of the most recognizable faces in both streaming and film. And the best part is that, along the way, he managed to put together a more diverse filmography than many people realize. Simply put, he’s been booked and busy, and he has already proven that he can handle a wide range of genres.
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Of course, many people still primarily associate him with romantic movies, since those are the projects that generated the most buzz. However, some of his strongest performances have come when he stepped outside of that comfort zone and took on something different. So, with that in mind, here are the 5 best movies of his career, ranked.
5) Handsome Devil
Very few people have even heard of Handsome Devil, and when it comes to Galitzine, the truth is that this movie is a solid coming-of-age drama, but it doesn’t reveal much about him as an actor. It essentially represents an early stage of his career. The story follows Ned (Fionn O’Shea) and Conor (Galitzine), two boarding school students in Ireland who form an unlikely friendship while facing athletic expectations and questions of identity in a deeply conservative environment.
However, even though the movie has its flaws, it still holds an important place in Galitzine’s career since it’s one of the first projects that hints at the type of actor he would eventually become. But when it comes to this ranking, the problem is that the screenplay never digs deep enough to make the story feel really memorable. Compared to the other films on the list, it simply lacks the material and overall impact needed to compete.
4) Masters of the Universe
One of his most recent and interesting projects, Masters of the Universe is also one of the most divisive entries on this list. The reboot of the classic animated franchise follows Prince Adam (Galitzine) as he steps into his destiny as He-Man and returns to Eternia to face Skeletor (Jared Leto). There’s no denying that the movie goes all in on nostalgia and camp, which makes it especially entertaining for fans of the property. But at the same time, when viewed beyond that built-in affection for the source material, it feels somewhat uneven in terms of direction and overall narrative identity.
The most compelling aspect of the movie is Galitzine himself. This is a role that pushes him outside the type of character audiences have become used to seeing him play, and he makes an effort to bring a more grounded and human side to the legendary hero. The problem is that the film never really settles on a consistent tone around him, always shifting between sincerity, spectacle, and self-aware humor. As a result, while his performance is one of the strongest elements of the movie, it sometimes feels disconnected from the larger film surrounding it.
3) The Idea of You
The Idea of You is where the actor really starts settling into the role of a leading man, though still within the familiar framework of romance movies. The story follows Hayes Campbell (Galitzine), a globally famous boy band star who unexpectedly falls for Solène (Anne Hathaway), an older woman, with the film exploring how their relationship is shaped by fame, age differences, and public scrutiny. And overall, it approaches those themes with a surprising level of maturity, giving the plot a little more weight than the genre typically demands. That’s a big reason why it earns a spot this high on the list.
Galitzine is excellent as the “attainable heartthrob” the movie needs him to be, and he has enough charisma to make his character believable, while also bringing enough vulnerability to keep him from feeling like a one-dimensional fantasy. The downside is that the whole production rarely takes major risks with its premise. It gives exactly what it promises (and does so very well), but it never really pushes beyond that, which makes it feel slightly less impactful than the titles ranked above it.
2) Red, White & Royal Blue
Many people discovered Galitzine through other projects, but Red, White & Royal Blue was the movie that truly turned him into a breakout star (no wonder it’s still the role most people associate him with). The story follows Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the President of the United States, as he develops a secret relationship with Henry (Galitzine), the British prince, forcing both to deal with political expectations, public image, and personal desire. And he totally understands exactly what his character requires from the very beginning.
Galitzine’s performance is so good here because he handles Henry’s reserved nature without reducing him to the stereotypical distant royal. There’s a clear emotional vulnerability underneath the character’s carefully controlled exterior, and the gradual unveiling of that side is the backbone of the entire arc. And it’s not wrong to say that his performance played a major role in the film’s popularity. The only reason it falls short of the top spot is that it’s not quite as ambitious from a narrative standpoint.
1) Bottoms
In many ways, Bottoms feels like the movie that completely dismantles the image audiences had of Galitzine up to that point. The film follows PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri), two unpopular high school girls who start a female fight club as a way to gain social status and get closer to the girls they have crushes on, while Jeff (Galitzine) is the ultimate stereotypical high school quarterback taken to absurd extremes. Basically, the movie is a satire that pokes fun at every cliché associated with teen comedies, constantly pushing its characters and situations into increasingly ridiculous territory.
But here, Galitzine steals the show because he never tries to soften his character or make him more relatable than he needs to be. He completely embraces the role as a self-aware parody of the shallow masculinity that has long been a staple of the genre. The film might look like a goofy teen comedy, but it’s far smarter than that, and the actor clearly understands this, proving he’s willing to make fun of his own image. So that’s a big reason why this is the most interesting project (and performance) of his career so far.
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