Henry Cavill reveals his favorite books from the Witcher saga

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With another embargo lifted, a torrent of new set reports are being released for Netflix’s upcoming dark fantasy, The Witcher. Based on the bestselling series of Polish novels which then inspired an award-winning game trilogy, The Witcher stars Superman‘s Henry Cavill. In an article by Polish news site wyborcza.pl, Cavill completely geeked out about the books. We’ve got the translation below.

“My favorite things were all the questions without answers or the things that I wished would happen but never did,” said Henry Cavill, when asked about the novels. “I wanted Geralt to meet the Rats, but it never happened. There are many more examples of that. And my favorite books? The Last Wish, because it hooked me, broke my heart, put it together, and then broke it again. And Lady of the Lake, because all its events are unbelievable. There is real magic in it.”

“I fell in love with those stories,” Cavill said. “They’re not your typical fantasy stories, there’s something tangible about them. Many times after reading or playing the game I couldn’t get them out of my mind. When the opportunity to play Geralt appeared, I couldn’t let it go. When they announced the show, I didn’t know Lauren [Hissrich, showrunner] will be working on it. Every day, I asked my agents to find something out. And then we had a meeting. And I think it went well since I’m now here with you.”

The journalists were on set during the filming of the banquet in Cintra, a sequence from the show’s fourth episode. During their visit, they witnessed a scene between Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia and Bjorn Hylnur Haraldsson character Eist Tuirseach (a Jarl from the Skellige Islands). They also saw Joey Batey in character as the bard Jaskier, also known as Dandelion (whose role is being expanded to fit the banquet storyline). In the scene, Jaskier was flirting with a lady of the court.

The translation from Polish to English was done by Reddit’s u/rozowarozowa. Thank you, Roz!

In another new report from Small Screen magazine’s James Mottram, a scene is mentioned featuring Cavill’s Geralt and the druid Mousesack, played by Adam Levy. The scene was shot in the small town of Baj, around 70 kilometers from the production headquarters in Budapest. It was shot during the last month of season one’s filming. This same scene was mentioned in an earlier report. Here’s a snippet from the article, via James Mottram:

Henry Cavill, dressed in black and with silver locks flowing down his back, stands in a gloomy sanctum, sunlight barely illuminating the archways in the background. As the camera tums, he’s deep in conversation with Adam Levy’s druid Mousesack. “Were you followed?” Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia growls, before they talk of an army amassing nearby, “a sea of black and gold”.

A new still of Henry Cavill as Geralt, via Far Far Away

“He’s not all chocolate boxes and cuddles,” Cavill told Small Screen. “He’s the kind of guy who will kill you if you mess with him. If you mess with those around him, he will kill you. But at the same time, he will put his own life in grave danger to save a complete stranger from harm. And there’s something wonderful about that.”

Cavill believes Geralt has a heart of gold, but the harsh realities presented by The Witcher‘s setting, The Continent, have forced him to present a harsh exterior. Many times, Geralt must face the hatred and prejudice of The Continent’s people, as witchers are thought to be monsters themselves. “You see Geralt navigating his way through these prejudices, and trying to heal them. And at the same time, also being a weapon of fiery wrath.”

Henry Cavill will grace our screens as Geralt of Rivia on December 20. Meanwhile, the actor has already announced his return for the show’s second season, which will be coming to Netflix in 2021.

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