Nicholas Galitzine has discussed his love and “respect” for the art-form of drag.
In the latest episode of the Just for Variety with Mark Malkin podcast, the actor reminisced on when he “became a drag queen” on the set of Mary & George and revealed his favourite contestant from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Towards the end of their conversation (around the 52 minute mark!), the host asked Galitzine if he’s a fan of the Emmy Award-winning series after he reshared a post from judge Michelle Visage.
In the post, Visage shared her love for the LGBTQIA+ sex teen comedy Bottoms, in which Galitzine received acclaim for his role as a himbo jock.
“It’s so funny, I never was [a fan of Drag Race] and my sister is a huge, huge fan,” he responded. “I sat down [to watch it] and was entirely engrossed by it. These people are so talented, oh my god.”
Galitzine praised the diverse range of skills that are required of a drag queen, from ‘dancing, performing, humour, makeup and costumes’: “It’s really wonderful, and my sister is getting into the UK season as well.
“I just texted her a screenshot of [Michelle Visage’s post] and she’s freaking out. She’s very much living vicariously through me at the moment.”
Although fans of Galitzine would love to see him appear on the series, he said he’s unsure “what the classification is” to be a guest judge and has “no expertise whatsoever” to critique a drag queen.
He went on to reveal that he “had some favourites” from the season he watched, before naming one queen in particular: season 12 runner-up Crystal Methyd. (This means Galitzine had the privilege of witnessing the Madonna Rusical and Jaida Essence Hall‘s iconic call-to-action, “Look over there!”)
It doesn’t stop there: Galitzine then shared that he was given a drag name by one of the drag queen “costumers on Purple Hearts”: “Mine would be Anita Greencard, which I think is, as a Brit in the US, pretty apt.
“Funnily enough, on Mary & George we had this day where it was snowing torrentially and we could not get out to film so we were stuck in this makeup trailer for hours. The makeup artist was so talented, under Paul Gooch’s leadership, who is a fantastic makeup artist. My costumer became a drag king and I became a drag queen.
“We did the makeup for a few hours and I went around tormenting people.”
After Malkin questioned whether there are photos of Galitzine in drag, he said: “I’m sure they’re online somewhere because, I can’t remember, they were posted at some point. God, I mean it’s so much joy.
“Again, I have to say the talent and time that goes into doing these things is incredible. I have so much respect for them.”
With stars such as Vanessa Williams, Kevin McHale and Hayley Kiyoko embracing their inner charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent on RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race, Galitzine making a future appearance as Anita Greencard is not… beyond the realms of possibility, let’s say that.
Throughout his career, Galitzine has garnered a passionate LGBTQIA+ following with queer roles in Handsome Devil (2016), The Craft: Legacy (2020) and Red, White & Royal Blue (2023). (Sequel to the latter, when?!)
Earlier this year, he starred alongside Oscar winner Julianne Moore in Sky Atlantic’s period drama Mary & George.
Directed by Oliver Hermanus, the series follows Mary Villiers (Moore), “a woman of humble beginnings and formidable ambition who moulded her second son, George (Galitzine), to seduce King James VI of Scotland and I of England (Tony Curran) and become his all-powerful lover.”
Mary & George, released to critical acclaim, made headlines for its plethora of queer sex scenes – check out the eight raunchiest ones here.
Galitzine will next star in Prime Video’s The Idea of You. The rom-com stars Anne Hathaway as Soléne, a 40-year-old single mother who begins an “unexpected romance” with a 24-year-old pop star (Galitzine).
The Idea of You premieres 2 May on Prime Video – watch the trailer here or below.