Henry tried to push through the pain after ignoring advice over his contacts (Picture: Netflix/Getty)

Henry Cavill is becoming the ultimate anti-hero as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher – and that meant a fair bit of transformation.

Geralt, a magical demon hunter and one of the last of his kind, is known for his platinum white hair and yellow eyes in the books and the game, and Henry took on both to get into character.

But it turns out that coloured contact lenses are actually not that fun, and Henry told us that even though he thought they were ‘really cool’, he ran into some serious problems with pros warning the actor he could turn blind if he didn’t take them out.



Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Henry told us: ‘I was only allowed to keep them in for three hours at a time, well I supposed to only keep them in three hours at a time.’


‘Drying out isn’t the problem, it’s that part of your eye, it’s the only part of your body that receives oxygen from the air rather than blood,’ he said. ‘And so if you’re covering it up, you’re not getting any oxygen to it, and over a long period of time, you will do damage to your eyes. It’s just not worth it.’

‘My eye-technician was always pushing me to say like, “No, I don’t care. I don’t care what you need to shoot, take, take the bloody contacts out, because you will start to go blind after a while”.’

‘I was sure she was probably selling a slightly more dramatic version of the truth, because I do tend to be a bit stubborn like that,’ the star joked. ‘And I’ll say, no, it’s alright we can shoot couple more hours will be fine. And she said, we won’t be fine. You’ve got to take them out now.’

The new series sees Geralt battle against the elements, humans and monsters (Picture: Netflix)

Unfortunately for Henry, his stubbornness came back to haunt him while filming scenes on location in the Canary Islands.

‘There’s lot of volcanic rock in the Canary Island, and when it picks up a lot and it’s all this stuff, which becomes very, very light and dusty,’ he revealed. ‘It got in behind the contacts, so my eyes ended up being scratched.

‘I didn’t realise it was scratching so we went back to Budapest after our trip to Canary Islands. But it got to the point where I couldn’t really keep my eyes open, my eyes were watering, had to try and wash everything out.

‘Very, very stingy, very painful, but I just thought it’s just because I’m tired and not getting much sleep and I just need to muscle through it.’

The Witcher is one of the most anticipated series of the year (Picture: Netflix)

Thankfully someone realised the problem before it got too dangerous, and Henry added: ‘It got to the point where my technician found me hiding in the shadows of my eyes closed because it was was very bright. She said take them out. And I said, No, No, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. Just give me some things to dab my eyes before a scene will be good.



‘She put her foot down and said, “No, I’m stopping shooting until you take them out”.’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

‘So the contacts, as cool as they were, they did come with some challenges!’ he laughed.

The Witcher fans will be able to see if all the trouble is worth it when season one launches this Friday on Netflix.

More: Henry Cavill Enola Holmes viewers already calling for sequel as first reactions roll in Enola Holmes review: Does Millie Bobby Brown Netflix detective jaunt deliver on the buzz? The Witcher season 2 finally back filming after coronavirus delay

Already being hyped online as the show to finally fill the void Game Of Thrones left behind, Henry is aware he has some big shoes to fill.

If you’re new to the series and the world we’re about to enter into, don’t worry – Henry’s got you covered for that too.

The Witcher is released this Friday on Netflix.

Got a showbiz story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you.

MORE: Henry Cavill thought he would die performing Mission Impossible stunts as he recalls ‘close calls’ on The Witcher

MORE: The Witcher: Henry Cavill explains what a witcher is as Netflix drops new trailer for epic TV show