Henry is also featured in this month’s issue of Esquire Singapore! The photoshoot used here isn’t exactly new though, they are outtakes from the shoot that Henry did for Inquirer during the promotion of The Witcher in Manila two years ago. Check them out and the scans in our gallery!

Esquire: What attracted you to the role of Geralt besides already having an interest in the medieval-fantasy genre and knowing The Witcher through the book and game adaptations?
Henry Cavill: I’d played the games extensively and enjoyed them enormously. But what really drew me to the character was Sapkowski’s writing—the way he’s written extraordinary characters that have so many layers and depth.[Geralt’s] a bit morbid at times. But he’s also a philosopher and intellectual; a white knight but also incredibly cynical. He tries to do the best thing but always ends up in terrible situations because of it. The cynicism comes from what he’s been through. Yet, he still continues to do what he thinks is the right thing. He’s also quite funny at times and witty as well. In that, there are wonderful character moments throughout the books with opportunities to dive into that character as honestly as possible. That has drawn me to portray the live-action version.

ESQ: How do you depict notable character nuances of Geralt from both the book and games to make him familiar with the audience? And did you inject bits of yourself into this live-action adaption?
Cavill: For me, it has to have a fine balance. Because this is very much Lauren [Schmidt Hissrich’s] version of the story. So, it’s about me trying to bring as much of Geralt that’s true to the books to fit into that story—that fine line of playing a character who is necessary for the plot and also trying to colour in as much of Sapkowski’s character of Geralt into dialogue and behaviours. And then, of course, the editing process can alter the characterisation too. But for me, it’s finding that balance between Hissrich’s version of the story and bringing as much of Sapkowski’s into that.

ESQ: The concept of destiny and fate makes recurring appearances like through the Law of Surprise and is even emphasised by Visenna (Geralt’s mother). Do you believe that it’ll happen in real life too?
Cavill: There’s always the potential for it to happen. For that to be realised, one has to work towards it. It won’t happen if I’m sitting on a sofa and not doing anything. But I am a bit of a romantic and I do like to believe in the idea of a state of destiny. I also think that it should be worked for as it won’t happen by itself.

ESQ: What did you learn from being Geralt after two seasons?
Cavill: For the first season, he didn’t do much talking; he wasn’t very vocal and verbal. Since this was the case, I thought, let’s try and make him not going to speak much [but] more of a watcher and listener instead. That’s my portrayal of his intellect and wisdom. He’s between 90 [and] 100 years old after all, so he’s not going to be hyper like a young man and jump into a conversation unnecessarily.

For the second season, I wanted to portray that a little more. I pushed for sounding more intellectual and as someone who’s actually got a plan and [an] opinion. Like a sense of wisdom. For me, I’ve been trying to convey that as much as I possibly can and create this paradigm character.

ESQ: Tell us about the dynamics of working with an expanded cast that was added for season two, particularly Geralt appearing with the witcher clan at his childhood home.
Cavill: I got some interactions with the witchers and others whom I’ve worked with previously. But there are a lot of new characters I would not be interacting with because the focus will also be on Cirilla and [sorcerer] Yennefer’s storyline too. With Geralt, it was about me trying to find those moments to assert the things that I loved in the book with the time that was allowed in Lauren’s version of the story. There are similarities to the book, but it’s loosely based on [Sapkowski’s] Blood of Elves. So, there’ll be story points and events that can be even surprising for fans of the book.

ESQ: You’ve dealt with both magic CGI battles and hands-on combat on the show. Which do you prefer?
Cavill: I really enjoy doing the sword fights. That was a lot of fun for me. I think the magic aspect is fun too. But there’s got to be a set of rules in place and it could be tricky to play around with magic. For now, I really love sword fights because of its wonderful storytelling potential. It could look absolutely fantastic if done right. Like with the Blaviken fight in season one that was arranged by stunt and fight coordinator Wolfgang Stegemann. This fantastic fight contains so much story although there’s hardly any dialogue. So, I really love doing films where we get to do a different way of storytelling so people get absorbed in a way that is beyond dialogue.

ESQ: What are some of Geralt’s traits you identify with and why?
Cavill: One of Geralt’s traits that I identify with is that he always tries to do the right thing; his intentions are honest. That’s something I’ll definitely aim towards doing. But thankfully, I don’t experience the same outcome as Geralt because he always ends up in trouble whenever he does it. I don’t suffer from that same ‘curse’, fortunately.

The year is coming to a close and we still got blessed with a gorgeous new photoshoot! Henry spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and talked about a lot of things, including the new season of The Witcher, Highlander, his future on Superman and Mission Impossible, and taking on the mantle of James Bond.

Henry Cavill stands in a Miami hotel room looking like a comic book drawing made real.

He’s 6-foot-2 but seems taller because he’s so broad. His muscles stretch an ordinary camel-colored knit shirt into a bulky superhero outfit. “I’m amazed how many people recognize me with a mask on,” the actor says, and it’s unclear if he’s being modest or truly doesn’t know how cinematic he looks — even his wavy jet-black hair with its jagged widow’s peak would give him away (you may recognize this hairline from films such as Mission Impossible: Fallout).

Yet as we sit down for the first of our two interviews, Cavill’s brawn is quickly contrasted by his genteel demeanor that his colleagues say is typical of the 38-year-old Englishman. Take the way the Witcher actor typically starts his days on set: Cavill will select a crewmember, say hello, shake their hand and ask how their day is going. Then he’ll approach another crewmember and do the same — then another and another and …

“It’s to the point where sometimes our ADs are like, ‘OK, we have a huge crew, you can’t ask everyone,’ ” says The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.

Explains Cavill: “A set is often rush-rush-rush, and we forget the basic human decencies. I want people to know I respect everything they do and they’re just doing a job like I am. To me, it’s just respect and good manners.”

It’s a characteristically nonchalant answer from somebody whose approach to his work is anything but casual. From Cavill’s recent selection of roles to his work ethic to his social media engagement, his strategic deliberation reflects the hard-core gamer that he is.

He’s played Superman in a trio of DC films (which have grossed more than $2 billion), launched The Witcher franchise (Netflix’s most watched original series until Bridgerton came along) and had a scene-stealing turn in 2018’s Mission Impossible: Fallout (which brought in $800 million worldwide as the highest-grossing film in the franchise). All of this has positioned Cavill as arguably the biggest action hero in the world who isn’t a household name — yet.

Zack Snyder calls Cavill “a warrior monk.” Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie sees Cavill a bit differently: In a town full of celebrities, “Henry is a classic movie star.”

“It’s not like there was something in the water in the 1930s and ’40s that there isn’t today,” McQuarrie says. “Movie stars are not as abundant now for two simple reasons: The industry wanted and cultivated stars, and there were people ready to do the work required to be stars. Henry is in the category of somebody hell-bent on doing the work, and that work is hard.”

Cavill is certainly working more than ever, set to star in John Wick director Chad Stahelski’s reboot of the action-fantasy Highlander, reprise his role as Sherlock Holmes in the Netflix sequel movie Enola Holmes 2, and head the all-star cast of Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn’s spy thriller Argylle. And Dec. 17, The Witcher returns for season two (with Cavill having just signed a new deal paying more than $1 million per episode, sources say). There’s also never-ending speculation that Cavill might be in line to play the most highly coveted character in action cinema — James Bond.

For his part, Cavill acts vaguely perplexed by all this. “Something has changed, something has shifted,” he says of his busy coming slate. “After 21 years of hard work, I have three jobs lined up. Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s my approach, maybe my value as a commodity increases being attached to things like The Witcher. Now I can really focus on the storytelling and grow from here.”

You can read the full interview at The Hollywood Reporter!

Henry has graced the cover of next month’s Men’s Health magazine! In the interview, he talked about his movie projects, The Witcher, and whether he’ll play Superman again. You can read the full feature at Men’s Health website, but here’s an excerpt:

The Witcher combines the sneaky charisma Cavill displayed in U.N.C.L.E. and Fallout with the sinew and strength he built up for his superhero roles. After working on Fallout, Cavill was keen to do his own stunts on The Witcher, including rigorously choreographed sword fights. But he was most excited, he says, about the chance to understand Geralt’s place in the world. “It’s funny how much he’s actually like us,” he says. “Geralt has that thing of trying so damn hard and being misconstrued or not appreciated—of people having a negative opinion of you, despite you actually trying to do the right thing.”

Which brings to mind Cavill’s lengthy stretch as Superman—the three movies that made him an international star while also leaving a large segment of fans unsatisfied. He’s cautious when discussing the films themselves, so consider these assessments the height of his candor: Man of Steel? “A great starting point. If I were to go back, I don’t think I’d change anything.” Batman v Superman? “Very much a Batman movie. And I think that realm of darkness is great for a Batman movie.” Justice League? “It didn’t work.”

Cavill almost reprised his Superman role for a blip-sized cameo in this year’s Shazam! but says he couldn’t do it because of his Fallout schedule. That absence—coupled with the fact that The Witcher could wind up as a Game of Thrones–like epic that eats up a huge chunk of his calendar—furthered the speculation that his time in the cape was finished. “I’m not just going to sit quietly in the dark as all this stuff is going on,” Cavill says of the rumors. “I’ve not given up the role. There’s a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do. A lot of real, true depths to the honesty of the character I want to get into. I want to reflect the comic books. That’s important to me. There’s a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You’ll see.”