The first casting decision for the Witcher Netflix series was recently announced; Henry Cavill has been cast in the role of Geralt of Rivia. According to the series’ showrunner, she met with Cavill months before the announcement. She has now also given her reasoning for choosing Cavill over other applicants for the role.

Lauren Hissrich Met With Henry Cavill Months Ago

Lauren Hissrich, the showrunner for the Witcher Netflix series, has been very open with fans throughout pre-production. It was Hissrich who told fans when the writers’ room opened, and when auditions began; and it was she who warned fans ahead of time that audition scripts would surely leak, and that she and her team had created scripts purely for the auditions so that there would be no risk of spoilers. It was also Hissrich who, more recently, announced the casting of Henry Cavill as Geralt. According to Hissrich, Cavill was the best choice out of hundreds of other possibilities. She recently posted several Tweets explaining her decision.

— more importantly, his wit and vulnerability. Because as a fan of the franchise, Henry saw beyond the script pages. He saw the human connection that Geralt perpetually needs, even if he denies it, kicking and screaming at every turn. What I saw was Geralt's heart, in Henry. — Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) September 6, 2018

The Reasons for Casting Cavill in the Role

Henry Cavill was actually the first actor whom Hissrich met with to discuss the lead role; all the way back in April. Notably, months before Cavill was asked whether he might be interested in the role a few weeks ago. At the time, Cavill gave no indication that he had already spoken with Hissrich, most likely because the studio hadn’t officially chosen him at that stage. What seems to be most important for Hissrich is that Cavill is familiar with the source material, and so understands the multiple facets of the role very well; “Because as a fan of the franchise,” she explains; “Henry saw beyond the script pages. He saw the human connection that Geralt perpetually needs, even if he denies it”.

Cavill is known to be a gamer, and a fan of The Witcher series in particular; both the CD Projekt Red games and the original Andrzej Sapkowski novels. Being so familiar with that source material, especially the novels, is definitely a major point in his favor; the Witcher Netflix series will be based primarily on the novels, rather than the games. Hissrich isn’t the only one praising the casting choice; Doug Cockle, the actor who voiced Geralt in the CD Projekt Red games, has also praised the decision.