Nicholas Galitzine shed He-Man physique in three weeks for next film

Nicholas Galitzine had to lose his ripped He-Man physique within three weeks of wrapping Masters of the Universe.

The British actor told E! News that he consumed up to 5,000 calories a day and trained seven days a week to "pack on as much size as possible" in a "pretty short amount of time" to look like Prince Adam of Eternia/He-Man.

Once he wrapped, he had to look ahead to his next project and shed his bulked-up physique within three weeks. But rather than be daunted by the prospect, Galitzine gave himself permission to drop his workout regimen and eat whatever he wanted.

"I had to go into a movie three weeks later where the director said, 'I need you to not look the way you look right now, so eat what you want, stop weightlifting,'" he told Variety at the Hollywood premiere on Monday. "I said, 'That is music to my ears. I'm not going to do anything for three weeks.' And I'll tell you, it's depressing. It takes so long to put on, (but) it's so quick to come off."

The Idea of You star told People that he was "so mentally ready to eat something disgusting" after sticking to a strict diet for months.

"I want to say I had a combination of sushi and pizza, and I just was like, 'Give it. Give it all to me,'" he shared. "So no, it wasn't hard to go there. Given the fact that my next director did not want me to look like He-Man for his movie, he said, 'Eat as much as you want and stop working out.'"

Asked if his first cheat meal lived up to his expectations, he replied, "Better. Food is everything to me. It truly is."

In his next film, The Mosquito Bowl, Galitizine plays an American football player who enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. After that, he filmed the romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Wedding and the mystery thriller, The Return of Stanley Atwell.

Masters of the Universe, based on the franchise of comic books, toys and animated series, also stars Idris Elba, Alison Brie, Jared Leto and Camila Mendes. It will be released on 5 June.