Nicholas Hoult pictured in rare photo with son Joaquin, 5, as he unveils major transformation

X-Men star Nicholas Hoult is a superhero on screen and as he showed off a major transformation for his next big film he showed he's a super dad too.

The 34-year-old actor, who had his breakthrough role in About A Boy more than 20 years ago, keeps his private life very private.

But the star gave a rare glimpse of his family life when he took his five-year-old son Joaquin to see an NBA game in Atlanta, where he’s currently shooting the upcoming Superman reboot.

Sitting front row at the city’s State Farm Arena with his adorable little boy, who was cheering on the home team wearing a Hawks jersey and carrying a Hawks plush toy, Nicholas was nearly unrecognizable with his new bald-headed look – a big makeover for the father-of-two’s upcoming role as comic book villain Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy.

© Kevin C. Cox

And while we can’t quite see his physique under the dark shirt and jeans Nicholas wore to see the Atlanta Hawks take on the Milwaukee Bucks on 30 March, it looks like he’s been bulking up for his turn as Superman’s nemesis.

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“I have been working out,” he previously confirmed during the Inside of You podcast, as reported by Variety. “There’s that bit in [the] ‘All-Star Superman’ [comic book series] where he talks about his muscles being real and hard work and all that. I kind of took that as a little bit of a fuel for the fire.”

While starring in films like Tolkien and The Menu, Nicholas has also quietly been raising a family. He and his equally discreet longtime partner, model Bryana Holly, secretly welcomed their first child Joaquin together in 2018, and as noted in The Guardian, baby number two in 2022.

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The children’s lives are very much kept under wraps, but Nicholas and Bryana have been seen together, for example last year when they jetted to Venice to attend attend the wedding of his The Menu co-star Anya Taylor-Joy.

At the time, eagle-eyed fans noticed the couple were wearing gold wedding bands, and speculated whether the super-private couple might have secretly got married.

Nicholas has yet to comment on his marital status and it is unclear if the mega-private actor ever will.

For example, after his first baby’s arrival, the Mad Max star was asked about his baby's gender, but he opted not to respond, telling W magazine: "Someone will find out soon enough and that's fine. But for now it's my precious little thing and I'm keeping it."