At Stowe, Cavill was active in both sport and drama. He portrayed a member of the T-Birds in a 1999 school production ofGrease and took the lead role in a performance ofDogg's Hamlet, which was made by his ownGrafton house as their submission for an intra-school drama festival.[5][6] He playedfield hockey for the 1st XI andrugby for the 3rd XV.[7]
In 2000, while playing rugby, 16-year-old Cavill met actorRussell Crowe, who was shooting on location at Stowe for the filmProof of Life.[8] The actor shared some acting tips and later sent a package to Cavill. The two actors later worked together onMan of Steel.[9][10]
From 2007 to 2010, Cavill had a leading role inShowtime's television seriesThe Tudors, asCharles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The series was commercially well-received and it went on to be nominated for aGolden Globe in 2007 and won anEmmy in 2008. Cavill gave the show credit for bolstering his career: "It's done the most for me to date. [...] Now that there's an audience somewhere in America that's aware of who I am, I have more sell-ability, because of The Tudors."[12]Entertainment Weekly named him the "Most Dashing Duke" and praised his work onThe Tudors for displaying "charm, depth and a killer bod".[13]
Cavill had been set to playSuperman inMcG's 2004 film,Superman: Flyby. McG pulled out of the project and direction was taken over by directorBryan Singer, who recastBrandon Routh as the lead inSuperman Returns.[14][15] Cavill was also the cause of a write-in effort from fans to see him cast asCedric Diggory inHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).[16] The role eventually went toRobert Pattinson.Stephenie Meyer, the author of theTwilight series, was outspoken in favour of Cavill playing the character ofEdward Cullen in theTwilight film,[17] calling him her "perfect Edward".[18] However, by the time production of the film began, Cavill was too old to play the character,[18][19] and again the role went to Pattinson. Despite reports that he was a contender forBatman inBatman Begins, Cavill confirmed that he never auditioned for, nor was offered, the role.[14][20]
In 2005, Cavill was a final choice for the role ofJames Bond inCasino Royale.[20] The producers and directorMartin Campbell were torn between him andDaniel Craig; reportedly Campbell supported Cavill but the producers preferred an older Bond, and Craig ultimately landed the role.[14][21]
Cavill andZack Snyder at the 2013Man of Steel movie premiere in Sydney
On 30 January 2011, it was announced that Cavill had been cast in the role ofClark Kent /Superman in directorZack Snyder'sMan of Steel.[25] Snyder called Cavill "the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield."[26][27] Entertainment media applauded Henry Cavill on his road to success.[28][29] On being chosen for the role, Cavill commented, "In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honoured to be a part of his return to the big screen."[30] Cavill reprised the role of Superman inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a 2016 sequel which featured a crossover withBatman[31] andWonder Woman.[32][33] He attendedSan Diego Comic-Con in disguise to surprise the cast ofSuicide Squad.[34]
Cavill returned as Superman in the 2017 theatrical version ofJustice League, which had been reworked by directorJoss Whedon after Snyder left the project due to a family tragedy.[35] He appeared again inZack Snyder's Justice League which premiered on HBO Max in March 2021 after an intense fan campaign to see the Snyder cut.[36] His managerDany Garcia said in 2016 that he was working on a new standalone Superman film.[37] Directors Matthew Vaughn[38] andChristopher McQuarrie[39] were reportedly interested. Shortly after the release ofJustice League, Cavill revealed he was under contract to play Superman in one more film.[40]
From 2019 to 2023, Cavill portrayed the mutant monster hunterGeralt of Rivia in the hitNetflix fantasy dramaThe Witcher, an adaptation ofthe book series of the same name by Polish authorAndrzej Sapkowski.[46][47][48] The series premiered on 20 December 2019[49] and had its early premiere on Służewiec Racetrack in Warsaw on 18 December 2019.[50] In late October 2022, Cavill and Netflix announced that he would exit fromThe Witcher after the third season released in 2023, and would be replaced byLiam Hemsworth.[51][52]
In May 2021, it was announced that Cavill would portrayConnor MacLeod in the reboot ofHighlander.[56] In July 2021, it was also announced that Cavill would join an all-star cast for director Matthew Vaughn's new spy filmArgylle.[57][58] The same month, an article byDeadline reported that he would star inThe Rosie Project, directed by Steve Falk and based on thebook of the same name, written by Australian authorGraeme Simsion.[59]
Despite previously departing the role,[60] Cavill negotiated a "one-off deal" withWarner Bros. Discovery to return as Superman in a cameo forBlack Adam in 2022,[61] and appeared in the mid-credit scene of the film.[62][63] Cavill then took to his instagram to announce his resumed involvement in the DCEU and confirmed his long term involvement for future films,[64] having been told by the studio to do so.[65] Due to a number of circumstances,[N 1][66][67][60] the cameo in Black Adam ultimately became Cavill's final portrayal as Superman.[68]
Cavill is set to executive produce and star in projects related to theWarhammer 40,000 universe afterGames Workshop finalized their deal withAmazon Studios in December 2024, having nailed down creative guidelines to bring the universe to screens big and small.[72][73] Amazon Studios had earlier acquired global rights to the franchise in December 2022.[74][75]
Public image
Cavill was listed as one ofGQ's 50 best-dressed British men in 2012.[76] In December 2013, he was named "World's Sexiest Man" by BritishGlamour magazine.[77] The same year,Empire magazine placed him third on their list of "The 100 Sexiest Movie Stars 2013".[78]
In early 2008, Cavill became the face of the British fragranceDunhill.[79] He appeared in two television commercials for the brand.[80][81]
Personal life
Cavill resides inSouth Kensington, London.[82][83][84] He was engaged to English show jumperEllen Whitaker from 2011 until 2012.[85][86] In May 2021,[87] he announced that he was in a relationship with Natalie Viscuso.[88] On 15 April 2024, it was announced that they were expecting their first child.[89] In July 2025, in an interview with British GQ, Cavill revealed they had a daughter.[90]
He has been an avidgamer since childhood,[94][95] at one point missing a phone call fromZack Snyder telling him he got the role ofSuperman inMan of Steel (2013) because he was too busy playingWorld of Warcraft.[96] He prefersPC gaming over consoles, having been introduced to it by his father when he was a young boy,[97] and has been building and maintaining his owngaming computer.[98][99][100] He credited his experience playingThe Witcher video game series prior to the show's production with motivating him to seek out the role of Geralt.[94] He has also named theTotal War series of strategy games to be among his favourites,[101] and in May 2020 it was announced that a new character paying tribute to Cavill and hisWitcher character Geralt would be added toTotal War: Warhammer II via DLC: Cavill, Loremaster of Hoeth.[102] Cavill also enjoys theWarhammer 40,000 series of games and fiction, saying he "genuinely can't get enough of the lore they have built over the decades."[103]
^Ties with Warner Bros. were severed in late-2018 after Cavill was unable to film a scheduled cameo appearance as Superman for the filmShazam!; Due to a dispute about Cavill's remaining contractual obligations following the theatrical release ofJustice League in 2017 and being unavailable due to filmingMission: Impossible - Fallout. The shared universe continued branching out, but the role of Superman was never officially recast or immediately handled following these events.After five years of absence from the roll due to the contractual disputes and obligations to other projects, Cavill publicly announced in October 2022 that he was officially returning to the role of Superman, and stated his cameo in the Black Adam was meant to set up future appearances. However in December 2022, less than two months later, Cavill released another statement that his return as Superman was no longer moving forward after he had a meeting with newly appointedDC Studios heads James Guun andPeter Safran who planned to reboot theDC Extended Universe and the Superman character within anew universe. For this reason another planned, and previously filmed, cameo Cavill had agreed to for the Flash film slated to release the following year was scrapped in post production and cut entirely from the final cut of the finished film.
^The actor’s likeness was digitally recreated for a cameo appearance inThe Flash usingCGI. Cavill filmed additional scenes as the character for the film, but they were removed during post-production.
^abMeyer, Stephenie (7 July 2007)."Twilight Movie Updates from 2007".Official Website of Stephenie Meyer.Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved19 February 2011.
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