Where Are the Original ‘Masters of the Universe’ Stars Today?
The 1987 fantasy film Masters of the Universe, based on the He-Man line of toys and starring Dolph Lundgren and Courteney Cox, is getting the reboot treatment, with Cinderella and The Idea of You star Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man himself, Academy Award winner Jared Leto as Skeletor, Golden Globe winner Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms, and Community and Mad Men star Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn. The film, to be released in June 2026, is largely under wraps, although Galitzine has released photos of himself bulking up for his role as the Defender of Grayskull.
What are the original stars of the Masters of the Universe film up to today? One beat cancer, one turned out to be a famous Friend, and one has caught some controversy …
Dolph Lundgren (67)
He-Man
(c)Cannon Films/courtesy Everett Collection/ Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
The muscle-bound Swede was a staple of ’80s action cinema, debuting as a KGB thug in 1985’s A View to A Kill and quickly attaining big screen stardom as Ivan Drago in the same year’s Rocky IV (say it with me: “If he dies, he dies.”). Soon after, he landed the role of He-Man, the heroic and frequently shirtless warrior, at the heart of Masters of the Universe. Lundgren continued to play the heavy hitter in action movies like The Punisher (1989) and the Universal Soldier franchise (1993-2012).
Things quieted down for Lundgren — who has a master’s degree in chemical engineering, and ditched a scholarship to MIT to become an actor (!) — in the ’90s, but he experienced a comeback in 2010 when he starred, alongside former Rocky co-star Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables franchise. He reprised the role of Ivan Drago in Creed II (2018), and appeared in Aquaman (2018).
However, Lundgren began a battle with liver cancer in 2015, which slowed his film renaissance. Though he had been given three years to live at his time of diagnosis, in a 2024 Instagram video, he announced that he was now cancer-free, and proclaimed “It’s been a rough ride and really taught me how to live in the moment and enjoy every moment of life.”
Lundgren married his second wife, personal trainer Emma Krokdal, in 2023. His most recent film was 2024’s A Wanted Man, which he starred in, wrote, and directed.
Frank Langella (87)
Skeletor
(c)Cannon Films/courtesy Everett Collection/ Rich Polk/Getty Images for Center Theatre Group
Academy Award-nominated character actor Langella, known for everything from 1970’s Diary of a Mad Housewife to his recurring role on FX series The Americans, took on the role of main villain Skeletor because his four-year-old son loved the character. In a 2012 interview, Langella noted that Skeletor was “one of my very favorite parts. I played him because my son was four years old and walked around with a sword yelling, ‘I [have] the power!’ And he loved, loved, loved Skeletor. I didn’t even blink [when I was offered the role]. I couldn’t wait to play him.”
In the decades since he donned Skeletor’s skull makeup, Langella has had many successes, including a 2008 Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role as Richard Nixon in Frost/ Nixon. He also had some controversy: in 2022, he was fired from the Netflix show The Fall of the House of Usher after cast members alleged the actor had participated in “unacceptable conduct” on set. In a 2022 op-ed in Deadline, Langella refuted the claims and alleged that he was cancelled. His most recent role was in the 2022 film Angry Neighbors.
Courteney Cox (60)
Julie
(c)Cannon Films/courtesy Everett Collection/ John Nacion/Getty Images
Cox got her big break in Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 “Dancing in the Dark” video, but Masters of the Universe was her first major film role, released the same year she landed her first big TV role, as Alex P. Keaton’s girlfriend on Family Ties. In the film, Cox played Julie, a modern high schooler, who accidentally brings He-Man, Skeletor, and the rest to present-day earth.
Though best known for her 10-year run as the charmingly neurotic Monica Gellar on Friends, Cox also starred in six seasons of the romantic sitcom Cougar Town (2009-2016), as well as the dark paranormal comedy Shining Vale (2022-2023). She’s also famous for her role as reporter Gale Weathers in the Scream series of films — she appeared in 2023’s Scream VI, which she also executive produced, and is scheduled to appear in 2026’s Scream 7. She is also starring in and producing the upcoming college football drama series Last Chance U.
Cox married Scream co-star David Arquette in 1999, and began going professionally by the name Courteney Cox-Arquette. The couple had one child, and split in 2012. She has been dating musician Johnny McDaid of band Snow Patrol since 2013; the pair became engaged in 2014, called off their engagement in 2019, but continue to date.
Barry Livingston (71)
Charlie
Valerie Macon/Getty Images
My Three Sons star Livingston went on to numerous TV guest star roles before landing the role of Charlie, a music store owner who accidentally gets mixed up in a whole lot of supernatural chaos in Masters of the Universe. Livingston continues to have a robust career guest-starring on TV shows, most recently on 2022’s Bosch: Legacy. He also released a memoir in 2021, The Importance of Being Ernie about his time on My Three Sons and his life as a child star.
Meg Foster (76)
Evil-Lyn
Ben Cohen/©FX/courtesy Everett Collection/ (c)Cannon Films/courtesy Everett Collection
Known for her piercing blue eyes, Foster is perhaps most famous for playing Christine Cagney in the first season of Cagney and Lacey in 1982, before being replaced by Sharon Gless. After appearing as an evil henchwoman (appropriately named Evil-Lyn) in Masters of the Universe, Foster played Holly in the 1988 John Carpenter cult classic They Live.
Foster is still active as a TV guest star and film actress; she appeared in the 2022 action-horror film Hellblazers alongside Bruce Dern, and in 2024, provided the voice of Motherboard on four episodes of the animated series Masters of the Universe: Revolution.
Chelsea Field (67)
Teela
Morgan Lieberman/Getty Images/ © Cannon Films/courtesy Everett Collection, Photo by: Everett Collection
A former Solid Gold dancer, Field’s first major role was playing mystical heroine Teela in Masters of the Universe. Field has appeared in many small roles in film and TV, but is likely best known for her five-season run as lawyer Rita Deveraux on NCIS: New Orleans, where she acted alongside her husband, Scott Bakula. The two tied the knot in 2009 and share two sons.
Remind 
’80s Where Are They Now
March 2023
Who can forget all the great TV shows, movies and music of the ‘80s? See what your favs are up to now!
Buy This Issue