If you’re reading this, there’s a fairly good change that you know who Henry Cavill is and what he’s known for.
While nowadays he might be best known for his iconic role in The Witcher , for many of us, he will always be Superman .
In a recent interview with Variety , Henry opened up about how playing Superman has affected and helped him with subsequent roles.
As you may already know, Henry Cavill has swapped out his Superman unitard in favor of a white wig and hefty armor, starring at Geralt in *The Witcher*.
And if you haven’t seen The Witcher yet, please do yourself a favor and do that ASAP.
The Netflix series is based off of a fantasy novel series and video game by the same name.
All of which follow the story of Geralt of Rivia — a lone, monster hunter struggling with his identity.
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Fans have been raving about Netflix’s adaptation of the story, and of course, the lead actor, Henry Cavill.
He’s done a fantastic job with the part thus far, and we can’t wait to see how his character develops in season two!
Anyways, in a recent interview with Patrick Stewart for *Variety*, Henry opened up about how shedding his “Superman” persona has helped him change.
“I didn’t recognize you when you first appeared as Geralt,” Patrick began.
“Were they your ideas that he should have this mane of hair hanging in front of his face?”
“And you look massive on the screen, seven foot tall and broad,” he added.
“The wonders of good camerawork,” Henry joked .
“When it came to the character and how he looks, there are descriptions in the books, and there’s a very popular video game series.”
“I wanted to draw on elements of all of those things,” he continued.
“It was about an hour-and-a-half to two-hour process every morning before rehearsals. And by the time I was in my full Geralt rig, as I call it, it was like I was looking at a different person”.
“I felt halfway to the character just through the physicality,” Henry explained.
“I would move slightly differently, and then as soon as the contact lenses went in, everything shifted,” he said .
He explained that he *really* got into his character — so much so, that it was difficult to turn off at times.
“And my interactions were completely different, and the only time they went back to being truly Henry was when I was passed out asleep in a chair in my trailer for 20-minute breaks. “
“You did a lot of your own stunts, didn’t you?,” Patrick asked.
“I did, yes. For me, when it comes to that kind of thing like stunts, I’ve always enjoyed doing the physical stuff. Working with Tom Cruise [on Mission: Impossible — Fallout ] really helped — or maybe, in the eyes of the producers, made worse my enjoyment for stunts,” Henry said .
“I really want to do them now, and I think it’s an essential piece to the character. If an audience is watching Geralt on-screen, they must believe that it is me.”
“If it’s not me, I feel like I’ve betrayed the character in some way, and so I try and do as much as a production will let me .”
Patrick then asked if Henry was ever worried about a stunt going wrong while filming *Superman* and accidentally hurting somebody — or himself, and if he thought that particular role was profound in his entire body of work.
“I’ve always been a fan of Superman. With a character like that, you carry the mantle with you off set,” Henry said .
“And it becomes part of your public representation,” he went on.
“When you meet children, children don’t necessarily see me as Henry Cavill, but they might see Superman, and there’s a responsibility which comes with that.”
“Because it’s such a wonderful character, it’s actually a responsibility I’m happy to have, and I hope that I get to play more of Superman in years to come.”
“My life has changed dramatically because of it,” he added .
“And it has given me plenty of opportunity for roles, and yeah, it’s been one of those characters which changed the entire course of my career. I’m incredibly grateful for it, and it’s also taught me a lot about myself.”
“In what way, Henry?,” Patrick said, asking Henry to elaborate.
“He’s so good, he’s so kind,” Henry replied .
“And when you start to compare yourself to him, because you’re playing him, you start to really look inwards.”
“You say, ‘Am I a good person? Can I be a good enough person to play Superman?’ and if you ever hear a whisper in there which is like, ‘Hmm, hold on a second. Maybe not,’ then you adjust it, and you make sure you are a better person. I think that’s all we can do in life,” he concluded .
