Certain actors are known for taking their job very seriously, but Henry Cavill has raised the bar with his preparation for new Netflix fantasy series, The Witcher.

Adapted from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s best-selling novels, The Witcher TV series follows Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, who takes down scary beasts for money. The books have also been successfully made into video games, with the franchise ranking amongst the highest-grossing on PlayStation, Xbox and PC.


Now Henry Cavill, who plays the titular lead in The Witcher, has revealed he couldn’t be parted from the already-iconic costume he wears in the show. “I took it all home, yeah,” he told NME in an exclusive interview. “It’s not so easy to put on. And it took two hours of hair and make-up every day, so that’s just sitting at home looking cool.”

In a later interview, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich revealed Cavill was so attached to the outfit, which includes a weathered suit of armour and a silver-haired wig, that he wore it even when he wasn’t on set.

“It’s because it’s not just a role to him,” she said. “He wanted, for instance, for the armour to look like it had been worn for years and years. So he made breakfast in it and he would sleep in it. We were like ‘you don’t have to do that by the way’, but he’s that invested in embodying his character.”

She added: “It was important to him. It’s one of the reasons why Henry is such an important member of our team.”


The Witcher, which arrives on Netflix at the end of this week (December 20), has already drawn comparisons to fellow fantasy adaptation Game Of Thrones, with some fans claiming the new series “makes Game Of Thrones look like two drunks fighting”.

Cavill, however, is keen to avoid any comparisons to the HBO behemoth. “It’s very flattering,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s a fair comparison yet, time will tell. Because the only comparison you can truly make is popularity and how well this does versus how well that does, but that’s where the similarities end. Yes, they both exist within the fantasy genre, but they’re very much a different end to that spectrum and for me, [that’s the way] I’ve always thought of it.

“Ever since I’ve been hearing about those Game Of Thrones comparisons, it’s like saying: ‘This actor is going to be the next Tom Cruise.’ There is no next Tom Cruise, there’s only Tom Cruise and Tom Cruise exists as the incredible performer and producer that he is. In the same way that Game Of Thrones will exist all by itself, and that’s it. The Witcher might be the next successful fantasy series, but time will tell.”

Asked if he would be open to a long stint on the new fantasy epic, Cavill said: “It would be lovely to be able to tell the story for many years to come.”

‘The Witcher’ arrives on Netflix on Friday December 20.