Henry Cavill has proved he doesn’t do things by halves, as he revealed he dehydrated himself for three days for his role in The Witcher.
The sight of the actor in the bathtub has become a pretty common one on social media recently, and while many celebrities would be horrified to learn an image of themselves spreadeagled in the bath had gone viral, Cavill is probably grateful for the recognition of his hard work.
The 36-year-old, who plays Geralt of Rivia in the well-received Netflix series The Witcher, spoke about his preparation for the role on The Graham Norton Show, where he admitted he had to undergo a lot of training in order to ‘look a certain way’ and keep up with the physical side of the job.
Now, it pretty much goes without saying that Cavill bulked up big time in order to bring Geralt to life – so much so that his bulging muscles repeatedly wore down his leather costumes to the point of replacement.
It wasn’t all about lifting weights, however, as the actor spoke about dehydrating himself in order to make his muscles really pop.
Cavill described the tactic as the ‘worst part’ of his preparation, explaining:
Diet is difficult, and you’re hungry, but when you’re dehydrating for three days you get to the point, on the last day, where you can smell water nearby…
Check out his interview here:
He went on to explain limiting his liquid intake made his ‘skin really thin’, causing it to sit tightly on the muscles and make them appear even more prominent.
The 36-year-old pointed out that the process didn’t involve banning drinks altogether, but rather slowly decreasing his intake from a litre and a half on the first day, to half a litre on the second and finally none on the third, before filming took place on the fourth day.
While the technique paid off for Cavill in giving him that perfect ‘bathtub ready’ appearance, it’s definitely not something you should try at home, as being dehydrated can quickly become dangerous.
Cavill added the process has the effect of making you the ‘most miserable person on the planet’, so it’s definitely not worth it.
His dedication to the role should certainly be commended, however, and his efforts have even had the effect of making fans ‘horny’.
And many viewers have taken to social media to compliment the actor on his appearance:
Cavill would definitely have been in need of a drink after three days of dehydrating himself, but I’d bet good money he wasn’t half as thirsty as his fans are.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.