Warner Bros./Henry Cavill/InstagramHenry Cavill, aka the Man of Steel himself, was told he was too fat to play James Bond. Yes, seriously.
The Batman v Superman star is mostly known for taking up the red cape, but once upon a time he was eyeing up another classic hero.
Back when Daniel Craig’s first outing as James Bond, Casino Royale, was being developed, Cavill put himself up for the role – but his weight got in the way.
Warner Bros.The actor is clearly adept at being a spy – just watch Mission: Impossible – Fallout or The Man From U.N.C.L.E if you’re unconvinced.
However, the 2006 Bond film’s director, Martin Campbell, commented on the actor’s weight when they met.
In a recent interview, as per CinemaBlend, Cavill explained:
I probably could have prepared better. I remember the director, Martin Campbell, saying: ‘Looking a little chubby there, Henry.’ I didn’t know how to train or diet. And I’m glad Martin said something, because I respond well to truth. It helps me get better.
Paramount PicturesOf course, in the years following that harsh criticism, Cavill ascended to the realms of super-stardom actors can only dream of.
After becoming Superman, he became a household name – and he’s set to transform into another iconic character soon: Geralt of Rivia, in Netflix’s The Witcher.
NetflixThe synopsis for the show reads:
Based on the best-selling fantasy series of books, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. The story of the intertwined destinies of three individuals in the vast world of The Continent, where humans, elves, witchers, gnomes, and monsters battle to survive and thrive, and where good and evil is not easily identified.
Geralt, beloved by bookworms and gamers around the world, is a monster hunter who kills mythical beasts for money. Despite his cynicism, Geralt does help those who need his help as he travels across the fictional land of The Continent.
Alongside Cavill, Anya Chalotra will play sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Freya Allan will star as powerful young princess Ciri.
NetflixThe first season has yet to drop on the streaming platform – however, Netflix are clearly confident it’ll be a post-Game of Thrones hit, as a second season has already been commissioned for 2021.
Commenting on the season two announcement, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said:
I am so excited that before viewers dive into season one, we are already able to confirm that we’ll be returning to The Continent again to continue telling the stories of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri, and to showcase more of the amazing work that our cast and crew have delivered.
Describing it as an ‘adult show’ (to anyone familiar with the source material, that really isn’t a surprise), Hissrich told Entertainment Weekly that it was important to her that ‘any violence or sex drives the story and is not there just for shock value’.
The first season of The Witcher drops on Netflix on December 20.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.