'The Witcher': Henry Cavill Let His Inner "Fanboy Loose" & Beat 200 Actors For The Lead Role [Comic-Con Recap]

Netflix’s new fantasy series “The Witcher” pulled out all the stops during the show’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con showcasing three clips and a full trailer. While the footage alone was enough to build excitement, the enthusiasm of Henry Cavill was infectious as he let his inner nerd, gamer, and all-around “Witcher fanboy” loose.

During the panel, Cavill discussed his history with the books and games stating, “I was very, very passionate about the games and I did play them a lot. And every time I played the games, I just thought, I really hope they make this into a movie or a TV show or something.” Naturally after hearing Netflix was looking at adapting “The Witcher,” he relentlessly sought after the role, even before Lauren S. Hissrich was brought on as the showrunner, annoying the hell out of his agents every day saying, “you better be calling them, what’s going on, why am I not in that room yet.” It was ultimately that passion, drive, and persistence that landed Cavill the lead role of Geralt of Rivea beating out over 200 other actors considered for the role.

However, landing the lead role in what could potentially be the next worldwide television fantasy phenomenon, wasn’t enough for Henry Cavill as it was very important for his portrayal to feel as authentic as possible stating, “It’s very important to me that when you see Geralt on screen, that you know it’s Geralt, and it’s not some guy who can do the Geralt stuff and I’m just the acting piece in that. For me, the character involves all of that.” It was shortly after that statement that Cavill introduced a scene that showcased some of the action “The Witcher” has to offer.

Packed with expert choreography, dynamic camera movements, blood, guts, and swordsmanship, one thing became very apparent – Cavill knows his way around a sword, in fact, Cavill spent all of his free time, both on and offset, with a sword in his hand getting accustomed to the weight and daily use. “I had three swords where I lived, four at work, and it was just nonstop practice, practice, practice.”

As you can see, Cavill not only cares deeply for this world, but considers it “an absolute honor” to have been given the opportunity to bring this iconic character to the screen stating, “It’s a guy who lives very close to me.” After seeing footage of Cavill’s performance and Geralt in action, I can assure all the eager “The Witcher” fans out there that showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich and Henry Cavill have worked incredibly hard to create something that closely honors Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantastical novels.

While there’s no set release date for “The Witcher,” Lauren Hissrich says fans will, “get your monsters, you’ll get your magic, you’ll get sorcerers, and sex and violence. But really it’s a story about a family.” In the meantime, we’ll just have to settle for the brand new teaser trailer that rocked Hall H.