Henry Cavill: the exploits of the Viking

This article is published in issue 50 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until December 16

Henry Cavill is one of those people who convinces by “hello”, like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. Partly because he greets you in Italian and partly because he uses a calm, persuasive, almost hypnotic tone. Over the video chat via Zoom, beloved by most of his colleagues, he prefers the traditional phone call. This is how he chooses to tell the second season of The Witcher, the fantasy series from December 17 on Netflix where, in a platinum blonde Viking version, he plays the role of the protagonist Geralt of Rivia. The context, however, is easy to imagine: on social media he immortalized the wooden suite of the exclusive Corinthia hotel in London where he chats with the press from all over the world. Sitting in a giant cream-colored armchair, he wears a very simple blue shirt with exposed biceps and rolled up sleeves. As he speaks he caresses Kal, the inseparable American Akita crouched at his feet. “I have a visceral love for animals,” he confesses, “because their emotions are genuine. And this is also the reason why I spend most of my days with my dog ​​». He called him by the Kryptonian name of Superman, the character he would love to continue playing on the big screen. He explains: «I have always had a very deep bond with this superhero, since I was a child». Here then explained the shot on Instagram that sees him portrayed as a child in his mother’s arms, with a pajama with the giant S on the chest. He also recently told the American magazine The Hollywood Reporter that “the cloak is still in the closet”, ready for use.

Proud to be one sci-fi geek, as fans of the genre are called in the jargon, this gentle giant british he couldn’t be more proud to embody characters from distant worlds. He says: “I grew up with the heroes of fantasy literature created by such outstanding authors as Raymond Elias Feist, David Gemmell, Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson. They are the ones who have made me dream and move since I was a child ». No wonder, then, that he swore to remain in the cast of The Witcher until the end (we are talking about seven TV chapters).

In the series, based on the novels of the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, published in Italy by Editrice Nord, Henry Cavill is a mutant mercenary who hunts monsters in a magical and dangerous universe.

It is evident how much he likes to play the champion of the oppressed for the sake of the script: «Geralt, the character I play, has the vocation of the savior», he explains, «therefore he protects others because it is part of his nature. It is what he does best, taking responsibility, whether he likes it or not, to take care of himself as if he were carrying the whole world on his shoulders ». And, in fact, his story proceeds in that direction: “At the beginning of the second season we find him still traveling”, he says, “almost torn between two feelings: the agony for the fate of Yennefer (the witch he’s in love with, ed) and the desire to look after Ciri (the princess on the run, ed). But, as usual, he buries the emotions very deeply, to put duty first among his priorities. I understand it all right: it doesn’t express itself verbally, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not experiencing those feelings. I think he can be totally himself only with his horse, a magnificent but also terrible creature. During the shooting I myself was totally in tune with Zeus, the four-legged colleague who has been supporting me on the set for years now.“. On other occasions he joked about it, proposing it for the Oscar as the best equine interpretation.

Like his character, the 38-year-old English actor is of few, very few words when it comes to telling his private story. The others celeb they choose to debut online as a couple with photos in swimsuit, very tanned, in a private bungalow in the Caribbean with a cocktail in hand. Not him: to “present” to the world his girlfriend Natalie Viscuso, TV and digital vice president of Legendary Entertainment, the production house of some of his films, not only chose a photo in which they play chess together in a domestic context, but he also admitted he lost big time. Yet, he looks at her with such devotion that he suggests anything but checkmate, but that’s a whole other story.

“I know well,” Cavill says, “what it’s like to keep emotions inside, because sometimes I can’t find the words to express them and I seem almost taciturn and withdrawn. Maybe I am just selective, I carefully choose the people with which to unbalance and then I become an open book. Perhaps I am not always able to verbalize what I feel, but I show love with gestures, with facts or with food, as I learned in Italy ».

In our country, Henry Cavill has not only made some films, such as UNCLE operation by Guy Ritchie. For a time he also lived near Rome, in Monterotondo. “One of the things I try, for better or for worse, is Italian,” he says with a hint of a smile. He adds: «I’m not saying this just because I’m looking for an excuse to go back to Italy and stop there for a while. However, don’t ask me the name of any director I would like to work with, because I would be in serious trouble. I’m always afraid of offending someone I forget to mention, while I don’t want to miss any chance to return to a tricolor set ».

His link with our country is not simply a business one: «I love Italy madly», he says, «Rome is a special place for me, a treasure chest that preserves precious and magical memories of my history. As soon as I have a few days of vacation I sling there and there, in the sun, I really recharge ». He pauses, almost fearful of having revealed himself too much, and adds: «The truth is that I speak several languages, including yours, but they always seem few and I think I’m not good enough, I would really like to improve. I repeat to myself that I will also learn new ones and then I am always short of time ».

In fact, he seems the most severe critic of himself, so measured (not to say buttoned up) and distant: “Do you know the thing that scares me most in the world? Failing in the eyes of the people who count on me ».

Who knows if these very high expectations were born from the need to be heard in a house crowded with children (Cavill has four brothers, all boys). «I don’t think my desire to tell stories is the result of a search for attention», she replies, «maybe I should ask Mom to confirm, when I will visit her for Christmas in a few days. If I remember correctly, it all started when, at the age of ten, the school involved me in a play. It was there that I got into the worm of acting, I liked it a lot and, apparently, on that occasion the audience also enjoyed it ».

However, do not call it destiny, because for him this concept, which is also recurrent in The Witcher, has a meaning all its own: “For me there is no predetermined path, but a combination of right choices and potential path”. Kind of like the ingredients of his reassuring charm, which always put him at the top of all lists of iconic roles, including Highlander. In addition, of course, to 007: in this case the bookmakers even give his candidacy 8 to 1. He comments: “Obviously James Bond has always been a myth of mine.” A phrase that, translated from his cryptic language, could mean: “Where do I sign to replace Daniel Craig?”.

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