By The Witcher is out on Netflix and most (if not all) of you will have seen the series by now. While the Henry Cavill led fantasy epic features standout performances from a brilliant ensemble cast, let us not forget the men and women behind the scenes. Most of the action scenes especially could never have been brought to life without the tireless work and dedication of the show’s phenomenal stunt teams. In this post, we gathered the best behind the scenes images and footage of The Witcher’s action scenes to commemorate them.
First is Luca Unger who shared this amazing video, featuring stunt scenes from all over the different episodes, such as the battles of Sodden Hill and Marnadal, the chaotic banquet at Cintra Or Geralt’s fight with the Striga in Temeria.
In many scenes that required people to fall (e.g. due to the effects of magic), the crew used elastic ropes to draw them backwards.
Many of the scenes shown in the next video will be familiar to fans who have seen all eight episodes of the first season. Here we have fight rehearsals of Vilgefortz decimating the Nilfgaardians (well until he runs into Cahir), Torque headbutting Geralt, Ciri’s encounter with the rogues in the swamps and much more…
As the tower at Sodden Hill collapses, Yennefer and Sabrina are catapulted through the air…
Nilfgaardians can pull a Vilgefortz too (well until they lose their sword)…
A brief but interesting look at how Geralt’s fight with the Kikimore in Episode One looked on camera: Henry Cavill who did all of Geralt’s stunts himself was assisted by professionals during the scene.
Finally stuntman Gabor Perei (who also played a Lyrian soldier in Episode four) takes us behind the scenes of Cahir’s fight with a doppler in Episode
As a bonus, we threw in some images from the already iconic Blaviken fight of Episode One. While Geralt’s encounter with Renfri’s thugs is over almost as soon as it begins, the clash and the ensuing stand-off between the witcher and the rogue princess are quite possibly (and I know it’s subjective) one of the most masterfully executed fight scenes ever seen on television. It was designed by fight choreographer Wolfgang Stegeman with the help of Henry Cavill himself. The outlaws (excluding Packy Lee’s Nohorn) were all played by professional stuntmen, while Lucy Cork doubled for Renfri.
Want to see more behind the scenes goodness? Check out this article for a look at The Witcher’s monsters or revisit Redanian Archives, our diary-series that chronicles the entire filming of the first season.
