Henry Cavill's appearance has always been a topic of discussion. From that notorious mustache to his willingness to go all the way for that bathtub scene for The Witcher, fans just can't seem to stop talking about his looks. Now, Cavill is addressing an issue few have to face – concerns that he is too good looking to play Geralt of Rivia.
Yes, that has been an issue – apparently. While many are probably appreciative of everything Henry Cavill has done to make The Witcher’s bathtub sequence iconic, there have been concerns, the main one being that Cavill is apparently just too good looking to play the lead character. Addressing how little Geralt smiles, Cavill told Variety:
Geralt doesn’t smile much and even when he does in the books it’s called a “hideous smile.” … It’s up for much discussion online. Especially after I got cast, there were a lot of people saying, ‘It says he’s hideous!’ or ‘it’s an ugly smile.’ I dunno what the direct translation is from Polish. But it’s one of those things where I always saw it not necessarily as the person being hideous, but as the intent with the smile. Or there was something that the smile was trying to achieve that struck horror or made someone feel a certain way. That was the kind of thing that I was expecting to play with.
Just because Geralt’s smile may be on the “ugly” side, doesn't mean that his overall aesthetic matches that. Or at least, that's how Henry Cavill approached taking on the role, believing it spoke to Geralt’s appearance.
Now, The Witcher is in the thick of things and prepping to restart production on Season 2 on August 17. So it's a little late in the game for those thinking Geralt should be less attractive to get their way. Henry Cavill is here to stay, though when Cavill returns for the second season, there will be alterations made to fix a different controversial element on the show.
Fans will be happy to know that Henry Cavill won't be taking down his attractiveness a notch. And actually, Cavill doesn't believe that the Geralt of the original novel was all that bad-looking. It's just a description of his smile that's made many readers think otherwise. Cavill also has some back-up in his beliefs, as Andrzej Sapkowski, who penned The Witcher’s source material, has mightily approved of Cavill’s casting. If he had an issue with Henry Cavill’s attractiveness and it potentially interfering with him taking on the role, he did not mention it then.
And who could really complain about Cavill’s casting at this point? Not only has he proven to be perfect for the role, but he utterly through himself into The Witcher by doing all of his own stunts, a decision that many fans owe Tom Cruise for.
Of course, Cavill didn't stop there, either. He was almost blinded himself wearing the color contacts necessary for the part, but he still pushed through that first season.
It's interesting to think that being attractive can actually hurt someone when being cast in a role, though it does happen from time to time. Nevertheless, after watching the first season of The Witcher, I think we can all agree that Henry Cavill is definitely the right fit for Geralt and has proven to be more than passionate about the role. With this, the prospect of seeing him play the character again is an exciting one.
The Witcher will return to Netflix eventually as more 2020 content arrives. While you wait for a premiere date, check out this summer’s slate of new offerings. You can also re-watch and enjoy Season 1 on Netflix.
