Henry Cavill Unlike Geralt Of Rivia Who's A Man Of Few Words

Unlike Geralt of Rivia who’s a man of few words, Henry Cavill unreservedly tells us how to fulfil destiny while helming the live-action lead role on Netflix’s The Witcher.

There are those who seek out adventure. But that comes naturally to Geralt of Rivia, a magically enhanced monster hunter-for-hire known as a witcher. Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s popular book series The Witcher, the fictitious medieval tale that explores the destiny between protagonists Geralt and Princess Cirilla gained further fame as fantasy action role-playing video games.

In 2019, the story was brought to life via a live-action television adaptation on Netflix created by American producer and screenwriter Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. Henry Cavill, 38, who returns as the titular character in the second season, shares his affinity for The Witcher.

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.