British actor, Henry Cavill, (38), famous for his role as the Man of Steel, otherwise known as Superman, talks about his other iconic role, in which he plays the eponymous lead in The Witcher, aka Geralt of Rivia. 

Comparing the fanbase of both otherworldly creatures, he says, “I wouldn’t say The Witcher is a different experience [from Superman] necessarily. But we did The Witcher tour recently with Covid rules still in place. So, not being able to interact with everyone was a real shame because I love going to different countries and being able to say thank you, in my own way, by spending time with the fans. 

“But as far as fan groups are concerned, it’s the same. It’s that same passion, that same protectiveness over the thing that they love so much. And I love it because I’m one of them! I’m the same as they are!” He laughs: “The 12-year-old in me comes out.”

Evidently, Cavill takes the role seriously. “I want to make sure that the Geralt from the books is represented properly. I’d like to impress a more intellectual, wiser Geralt. He’s been around for 70-plus years so chances are that he’s not going to be a dolt, especially if he’s survived this long. He’s got to have some wiliness, at least, if not wisdom.”

For those unversed in The Witcher world, it’s based on a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author, Andrzej Sapkowski. 

Set on an unnamed continent, it was colonized by humans who established themselves as the dominant race ruling over such ‘second class citizens’ comprising of elves, dwarves, gnomes, werebubbs, and halflings who live mostly in settlements and are referred to as ‘nonhumans.’

The stories are centered around Geralt of Rivia, a mysterious creature endowed with supernatural abilities and is specially trained to slay monsters. The fantasy novels spawned successful video games which eclipsed the phenomenal success of the novels (which have sold over 15 million copies worldwide).

The second season picks up with witcher-in-training Ciri (Freya Allan) and Geralt traveling to meet with his old friend Nivellen (Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju).  It’s been many years since Geralt reunited with Nivellen, who unbeknownst to Geralt, has fallen in love with a creature whom he must keep hidden from Geralt, a monster hunter. 

“Kristofer is absolutely brilliant,” Cavill says with a smile. “I loved working with him. He’s recognizable from his incredible bombastic performances in Game of Thrones. And this is also very bombastic, but there’s such a beautiful performance he does right at the end, which is really deep and soulful and Shakespearean in its nature, that it really touched me.”

Cavill’s career didn’t begin by design. A casting agent visited his school in the Channel Islands, where he was born and raised, and immediately cast him in The Count of Monte Cristo, in 2002. He’s worked consistently ever since and taken on such other notable roles in Tristan and Isolde (2006), Stardust (2007) and landed a leading role in The Tudors from 2007 to 2010. 

He scored the role of Clark Kent/Superman in 2011 in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and reprised the role many times including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and again in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, last year. 

Other performances include Mission Impossible: Fallout, in 2018, and he played Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes, in 2020, and its sequel, due to come out later this year.

Cavill is an unabashed fan of The Witcher. “I go to the Reddit forums, and I go online to see what everyone has to say. I try to work out the best way to represent this show that I love so much. So, I soak it all up,” he says, enthusiastically. “People are so well versed with the character, so I want to give it my best.”