Henry Cavill Got So Buff For The Witcher He Kept Ripping His Costume

Netflix/PA

Despite all my very best intentions for 2019, I haven’t exactly been the most regular gym goer, and am currently sinking into a complete fitness hiatus until the very last mince pie has been digested.

This probably isn’t something Henry Cavill can relate to, with The Witcher star being quite literally too buff for his own clothes to handle.

Yup. In order to truly embody the character of Geralt of Rivia for Netflix’s new show, Cavill, 36, bulked up big time. To the extent that his bulging muscles repeatedly wore down his leather costumes to the point of replacement.

Netflix

I mean, I once split the seat of my jeans after a particularly indulgent holiday, but I very much doubt this would be considered to be quite as impressive.

This information – which has sent many a Twitter user into a tizzy – has been divulged by The Witcher’s costume designer Tim Aslam during a Polygon interview about the new fantasy show.

Aslam revealed Cavill was very particular about his Medieval costume, and took great interest in the design process. However, his Herculean biceps proved somewhat difficult to contain, with replacements constantly being made to meet the production’s demand.

Reflecting on how he created Geralt’s ‘badass’ look, Aslam said:

Hair and makeup stuff has become an essential component of becoming the character in the morning. One, because it takes so damn long, and two, it’s such a particular look. I wanted to make sure Geralt looked like a witcher who was a badass and still remained raw.

Netflix

Screenwriter Lauren Schmidt Hissrich reportedly wanted to incorporate ‘an air of high fashion’ within the costume design process, which also had to be practical enough to wear day in, day out.

Hissrich said:

We had to make sure we could have something that stayed true to the books but [was] also very practical.

We have something that books and video games don’t have — actual actors who have to wear these things and perform in them on a daily basis.

And the costume must have been far comfier than it looks onscreen, with committed Cavill apparently being quite happy to spend his down-time armoured up.

Amazingly, Hissrich spotted Cavill preparing breakfast and even having a sleep while still in his armour, in a bid to give the costume ‘a sense of bespoke history’.

The Witcher is on Netflix now.

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Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.