SDCC 2019: Henry Cavill on playing monster hunter Geralt in 'The Witcher': 'He's not your average hero'
The cast and creator of Netflix show 'The Witcher' were present at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2019 where Henry Cavill unveiled the trailer of the show followed by which a panel was moderated by Yvette Nicole Brown. Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra and Henry Cavill along with creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich were present and each of them shared some interesting insights about the show.
Cavill started by explaining that his first connection with the series was the fact that he is a gamer. He said, "What attracted me to Geralt? I'm a big gamer. I played the games a lot. There was something about Geralt that really struck a chord with me, he's not your average hero. He won't treat everyone perfectly, and at the same time, deep down, he's a real hero." He then added, "Ultimately, just a group of badasses that kill monsters."
Then Hissrich revealed that Cavill was initially annoying and he confessed that he would call her every day because he wanted this role pretty bad. Hissrich then said that she even heard his voice when she began to develop the series further and that is why out of the many actors out there, she still went with Cavill. "It was something that I wasn't going to let pass me by," recalled Cavill about his persistence in waiting for the show to be built up and take form.
Cavill also shared about why he said no to stunt doubles explaining: "It's important for me that when you look at Geralt, it's Geralt." Speaking on training for the role, "I spent all of my free time when I wasn't on set with a sword in my head. It was getting used to the weight of the sword, using it day in and day out. I had three swords where I lived, and four at work."
We also heard from Hissrich about why she was fascinated with 'The Witcher' and she said, "I absolutely fell in love with the short stories and Netflix came to me and asked me if I wanted to adapt it, and I said no.... but what's great about The Witcher is that it's more than just fantasy... it's a story about a family, and that's what I thought that I could bring to it."
For actor Freya Allen, who plays the role of Princess Ciri, 'The Witcher' is her first major series in which she plays a lead role and about being a part of the show she said, "I've always wanted to be in some fantasy epic... it's weird to think this time last year I was studying for my exams, and now I'm in a lead part." About working with other cast members, she said, "I've learned so much just absorbing constantly. Freya also revealed her character's journey in the show and said, "She's had a very sheltered upbringing, she's been very privileged and as a result, she's naive about what the real world is. She's never experienced a different perspective on life, and that's a huge part of her journey. This season is putting herself in other people's shoes.
Cavill also spoke about Geralt's horse Roach and said, "Geralt isn't Geralt without Roach. We meet Roach with Geralt at the beginning of the story, and as a lot of you know, Roach is more than just a horse. Roach is actually an essence of Geralt... no, more like an anchor to Geralt's honest and true self. It's a name and character he gives to every horse he's had... he's gone through a few Roachs already, and the Roach that he's on, she's everything to him. She's the one source of humanity he has left... kind of like a therapy horse." On the note about Geralt's morality, Cavill added, "In truth, deep deep down, there's this man who has a belief in who a man can be. He makes moral decisions along the way and all of them get him in trouble."
'The Witcher' is an eight-episode series on Netflix which will premiere this fall.
