Nicholas Galitzine revealed he pitched Dolph Lundgren for a cameo in Masters of the Universe—only to find director Travis Knight had been working on the idea for a long time. The actor says the moment plays like a “real passing of the torch” between the franch
Nicholas Galitzine didn’t expect his suggestion to come with a twist: he remembers pitching Dolph Lundgren for Masters of the Universe, then learning director Travis Knight had already been trying to make it happen.
The new film is now playing in theaters, and Galitzine, speaking in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly alongside Knight, opened up about Lundgren’s special cameo—one that lands during a montage showing Prince Adam’s life on Earth before he embraces his destiny.
For longtime fans, Lundgren’s name carries instant history. He famously portrayed He-Man in the 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe movie. In this new chapter, his on-screen appearance is timed like a deliberate nod to the franchise’s roots.
Galitzine said he brought the idea to Knight directly. “I seem to remember sort of quite brightly going to [director Travis Knight] and going, ‘You know what would be a great idea, is if we had Dolph Lundgren in the movie,’” he told the outlet.
Knight’s response, according to Galitzine’s account, wasn’t a surprise—it was a confirmation. Knight described how convincing Lundgren to join the movie was something he had hoped to achieve for a long time, and that it ultimately became more than just a guest spot.
“I never knew that I’d be able to convince Dolph Lundgren to be in our movie. I certainly had hoped that we could get Dolph to be in the movie. and it was something that I’d been working for for a long time. ” Knight said. He added that Lundgren didn’t just appear—he also contributed ideas that helped shape the scene.
Galitzine, for his part, framed the cameo as a handoff between eras. He described the collaboration as “a very real passing of the torch.”
“I hope Dolph feels this way, but there was a very real passing of the torch, which felt very special, certainly for me,” Galitzine told EW.
That idea of continuity is exactly what Knight emphasized: the cameo became a meaningful moment connecting He-Men from the franchise’s past to the present. The film’s montage. the longtime role Lundgren is known for. and the long-running effort Knight says he’d been working on all align to make the surprise feel earned rather than decorative.
Galitzine also recently opened up about advice he was given by Hugh Jackman and about how he really feels about being called a “heartthrob.”
Nicholas Galitzine Travis Knight Dolph Lundgren Masters of the Universe He-Man Prince Adam Hugh Jackman heartthrob