Henry Cavill got so caught up in the role of Geralt of Rivia he took his entire costume home with him so he could bring the character to life at his leisure.
Cavill plays the monster hunter in Netflix’s The Witcher, which went on to become a huge hit with TV fans following its release on December 20.
The series is based on best-selling novels written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which have also been adapted into video games. As a result, the franchise already had a big fanbase, so Cavill was determined to do his character justice.
The actor’s preparation included an intense workout routine and a dramatic dehydration period that made his muscles pop on screen, though it turns out the actor did more than work on his body for the role as he literally ate, slept and breathed Geralt.
Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich told NME the 36-year-old wore his costume, which includes a weathered suit of armour and a silver wig, even when he wasn’t on set to get into the mindset of the monster hunter.
Hissrich explained:
It’s not just a role to him. He wanted, for instance, for the armour to look like it had been worn for years and years. So he made breakfast in it and he would sleep in it.
We were like, ‘You don’t have to do that by the way,’ but he’s that invested in embodying his character.
After spending weeks in the role, Cavill apparently became so attached that he couldn’t bear to part with Geralt’s costume, so he took the entire ensemble home to live with him.
However, now filming for The Witcher is out of the way and Cavill’s hard work has been successfully shared with the world, the actor is less inclined to wear the elaborate outfit around the house.
He explained:
I took it all home… It’s not so easy to put on. And it took two hours of hair and make-up every day, so that’s just sitting at home looking cool.
After securing the role of Geralt, Cavill researched the character by reading The Witcher books and playing the video games. He told Polygon he feels a connection with the monster hunter – to ‘who he is and his nature’.
Cavill said:
I just feel an affiliation with the character. And that actually could be from just having lived in the fantasy genre for so long; a lot of these characters have similar links to one another, and that can often be through one’s own psyche or through writers borrowing off each other.
Geralt felt very familiar to me from the very beginning.
The actor’s dedication to the role has paid off, as The Witcher has earned praise from Netflix viewers across the globe. Hopefully Geralt will live on for a long time, even if it’s just around Cavill’s breakfast table.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com
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.