The maths are in: 31.25% of Nicholas Galtizine’s roles are of the limp-wrist nature. With five out of 16 of his characters (not including his trailblazing role as “barista” in After Louise) identifying as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, the British actor has become one of the most notable faces in queer storytelling over the past decade.
(That number increases to 37.5% with the inclusion of Bottoms, the lesbian comedy in which he stars as a straight himbo jock.)
In an interview with HuffPost UK, Galitzine – who identifies as a straight – explained that his attraction to queer roles stems from his intrigue in “that underbelly of vulnerability and having to hide oneself,” adding: “I’m very interested in identity. […] I think they’ve all just been really rich characters in of themselves.”
To commemorate the lovely rainbow tint over Galtizine’s filmography, we’ve ranked all of his queer characters (so far!), from his debut television performance as an MI6 agent’s secret lover in Legends to his lauded performance as a versatile king-fucker in Sky Atlantic’s Mary & George. Extremely important journalism lies ahead.
5. Legends (2015)
In 2015, a 20-year-old Galitzine made his first-ever small-screen appearance with a guest role on TNT’s short-lived crime drama Legends, which stars Sean Bean as an undercover FBI agent who transforms into a different person for each case. (I wonder if he perishes in this one?) The season two episode ‘The Legend of Terrence Graves’ tells the story of former MI6 handler Terrence Graves, who has been blackmailed for years over his homo romance with a man called Angelo (Galitzine). Although it’s a very minor appearance via flashbacks, the scenes are still referenced by thirsty social media accounts – I haven’t looked, I swear! – as a result of Galitzine’s lack of… wardrobe. Angelo may be the cellar dweller here, but he deserves his flowers as the star’s first rainbow role. Come through, Angelo!
4. The Craft: Legacy (2020)
Galitzine embraced his inner bi-con in The Craft: Legacy (2020), Prime Video’s long-awaited sequel to the 90s sapphic witch classic The Craft (1996). As the classic high school bully archetype, Timmy Andrews, Galitzine subverts expectations when he comes out to the central quartet – played by Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone and Zoey Luna – by revealing that he “hooked up” with Lily’s (Spaeny) stepbrother Isaiah (Donald Maclean). With his tears, the girls – and the audience – see a new side to Tommy, realising his macho facade is a result of trying to fit in with society’s cis-het expectations of young men. Tommy then opens up about how ‘hard it is for dudes’ to be bisexual, telling them: “I feel like there’s no room to be… Everyone assumes you’re just gay, and that’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. I just like both.” At the time of its release, bisexual representation for men was scarce (still is, sadly), so this scene was lauded as one of the The Craft: Legacy’s finest moments, while Galitzine received praise for his layered performance.
3. Handsome Devil (2016)
In one of his first major film roles, Galitzine had viewers swooning in Handsome Devil as Conor Masters, the star rugby player at an elite all-boys boarding school in Ireland. With the school’s rampant homophobia, Conor is forced to conceal his sexuality from the students – especially the rugby team’s vile coach Pascal (Moe Dunford) – but finds solace in his straight roommate Ned Roche (Finn O’Shea) and teacher Dan Sherry (Adam Scott). Eight years on, the charming dramedy has stood the test of time thanks to Galitzine’s multifaceted performance and progressive portrayal of a straight-gay friendship, as well as its exploration of the way toxic masculinity at school – particularly within sports – can affect gay men in their formative years. While Conor wasn’t Galitzine’s first queer character, he was his first queer character as a lead, and undeniably paved the way for future limp-wrist performances as Timmy Andrews, Prince Henry and George Villiers. Give Connor Masters his flowers!
2. Mary & George (2024)
Galitzine’s latest queer role proved that raunchy sex (in mainstream media) is so back. Sky Atlantic’s period drama stars Oscar winner Julianne Moore as Mary Villiers, a conniving (yet fierce) widow who forces her son George (Galitzine) to boink King James VI of Scotland and I of England (Tony Curran) to rise up the Jacobean era’s social and political ranks. From George topping the king in a field to George topping his future attempted murderer in an alleyway to George bottoming (we love a vers king!) for the Earl of Somerset (Laurie Davidson)… Yeah, there’s a lot of rainbow sex here. But, it’s not just the sex scenes that make this one of Galitzine’s best roles; the actor’s transformation from whiny teenage naif to corrupt, sexually-liberated adult in a span of seven episodes is some of his best character work to date. Emmy, now!
1. Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)
Prince Henry isn’t just Galitzine’s most iconic queer character, he’s rapidly become one of the most iconic queer characters of the decade (so far). For those who are somehow unaware of Prime Video’s Red, White & Royal Blue (we’ve banged on about it enough, haven’t we?), the rom-com follows the star-crossed romance between the aforementioned British royal and Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of America’s first-ever female president (Kill Bill icon and legend Uma Thurman). Galitzine’s electric chemistry with Zakhar Perez elevates RWRB from a cutesy rom-com to a modern queer classic, while their scenes include some of Galitzine’s most championed work to date: Henry and Alex’s first kiss in the snow (shivers-down-the-spine, honestly), his dramatic squabble with a rain-soaked Alex (wish that was me) and their Omar Apollo-assisted hotel romp. There’s a reason why fans (including us – especially us) are demanding a sequel: we need and deserve more of Prince Henry (and Alex, of course). Prime Video, hurry! the! f**k! up!
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