Henry Cavill is one of the most in-demand actors in the industry, known for his role as DCEU’s Superman. The British star has given some of his iconic roles in films like Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Enola Holmes, Mission Impossible- Fallout, and more. He is already an ace cinematic star, however, he proved his mettle in the television world with the role of Geralt in the Netflix show The Witcher. However, you would be stunned to know that the caped superhero had to audition for his role in the TV series.
Henry Cavill as Superman
The Tudors actor shared in an interview about how he was recruited for his legendary role in The Witcher, saying even his agent advised him against auditioning for the show.
Henry Cavill’s agent tried to prevent him from auditioning for The Witcher
The Witcher is a fantasy drama television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix. The series is based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher books and video games. Actor Henry Cavill had always been a fan of the video game and had an excellent understanding of the character. When the show was announced in 2017, he began to actively pursue the role of the protagonist. He wanted to bag the role of Geralt of Rivia, a mystical monster hunter, who had silver hair and glowing eyes.
Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia
Henry Cavill was already a prominent actor when the casting of the show was announced. However, being Superman did not come in handy for the actor as he had to audition for the role. He shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter,
“I pursued, pursued, pursued.”
“A couple months after they had gone through their casting process, my agent called and said, ‘They’ve asked you do an audition — you don’t have to do this.’ I’m like, ‘I’ll do it.’ They said, ‘Really? Are you sure?’ I said, ‘Of course. It’s The Witcher.’”
The actor was cast for the role, and he owned it. He was part of the series for three seasons.
Henry Cavill’s salary in The Witcher series
The persistence of the actor for the role paid off, and he debuted the character in 2019. The actor was paid handsomely for the show, which justified his hard work for the character. As per Variety, the actor earned about half a million per episode in the first season. His total earning for the season was approximately $3.2 million.
Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher
The 40-year-old actor increased his fees and charged around $1 million per episode for season 2 of The Witcher. Cavill earned a whopping $11.2 million for the second season.
Henry Cavill announced his exit from The Witcher after three seasons in October 2022. He will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia from season 4 onward. As per fan speculations, the actor left the show due to creative differences with the production house. The actor is Netflix’s one of the highest-paid stars.
All three seasons of The Witcher are streaming on Netflix.
