The newest hit entry into Netflix's catalog, The Witcher, has taken the world by storm as of late being--mostly--successful with critics after a bit of a rocky first impression according to review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. The debut series struggled in the mid 50s "rotten" range for a period before making an impressive turnaround after a stream of positive reviews lifted it up into "fresh" status at, currently, 65 percent.
It's also been a massive success with the fans/general audiences. The audience score on RT currently sits at 93 percent while it holds an 8.5/10 on IMDb. One of the biggest successes the series so far has going for it is in its portrayal of Geralt of Rivia. The general consensus is that Henry Cavill absolutely nails down the role with precision. Here are 10 reasons why that is.
Cavill's A Gamer At Heart
It has been no secret that Henry Cavill not only digs The Witcher game series but video games in general. He is, by far, a self-professed gamer and is proud of it. He has disclosed this in interviews that he enjoys this hobby and, as expected, has made himself a success with the gamer audience partially due to this.
No one will forget the interview he gave in which he said he loved The Witcher games and itted he'd love to play Geralt on the screen before eventually being confirmed for the role. This may not seem like an important aspect, but considering he already has respect and love for the franchise, it shows in his performance.
Cavill Also Has Read The Books
This seems like a no-brainer for any actor who may have been slotted into the role of Geralt of Rivia for the Netflix series. If you plan to play a part as a character from a previously published source it would be pretty obvious that the best kind of research the actor in question can do is to read the books and study the character on a more profound level and discover his behavior, general mannerisms, etc. to better understand how to do justice to the character on the screen.
Just like how Cavill said he loves the games, he also said that he has read--at least some of--the books as well and greatly enjoyed them. This shows his respect and ion for the character and his performance as him.
Cavill's General Talents As An Actor
Getting someone who is familiar with the franchise, its various platforms of media they are on, has a ion for the franchise and the character they will portray are all crucial points. But for any of those aspects to work for the live-action series, showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich had to get an actor with the talent to back all that up.
After all, talent is the foundation for the performance. Thankfully, Henry Cavill is a talented actor and is more than able to capture Geralt's true character and personality in his performance. Even though the DC films have been mostly duds, most would agree he did well in portraying Superman as well.
The Muscular Physique
As anyone even remotely familiar with Henry Cavill and his work knows his commitment to physically looking the part in his roles is impressive. While he does not do the drastic changes that actors like Christian Bale do for the parts they play, Cavill has been known to impressively bulk up for his most important roles, namely Superman and even more so as Geralt in The Witcher.
It can even be argued that bulking up for Geralt was his biggest physical challenge as an actor yet. This definitely helped him look the part of the famed monster hunter.
The Voice
Perhaps this also ties into Henry Cavill respecting the character portrayed in the video game version (more on that later), but most people that were at least somewhat familiar with the franchise and the character of Geralt of Rivia specifically had an idea of what he would sound like.
After all, this is a man who led a long, difficult--to put it very lightly--life so, therefore, he has been hardened by the things he has seen and done. In that respect, Cavill does a great job giving Geralt a voice--one that is deep and gruff. This was something that many people surely imagined when picturing the veteran monster hunter.
He Does His Own Stunts
One thing that was to fans delight and impressed them to find out was the fact that Henry Cavill loved and was determined to do his own stunts in the action sequences. Cavill wanted to do this presumably to have the most authentic experience for himself performing and mostly for the viewer watching.
This certainly shows Cavill's commitment to the role and his general ion for acting and the character of Geralt in general. Coincidentally, among the major highlights of this series in its debut season was the action sequences, namely the swordplay.
Cavill's Chemistry With The Other Actors
This mostly applies to the great chemistry Henry Cavill's Geralt of Rivia had with Anya Chalotra's Yennefer of Vengerberg, but he mixed well with pretty much every other actor he worked with. To begin with his chemistry with Anya Chalotra, the dynamic was quite strong and believable.
This was arguably one of the most important character dynamics to get right for the show in its debut and going forward as Geralt and Yennefer is the dominant romantic dynamic and general character relationship of the series along with their interactions with Freya Allan's Ciri.
His Portrayal Respects The Games And The Books
This somewhat ties into the earlier point on how Henry Cavill's voice is similar to the way Geralt of Rivia is depicted in the games. This entry also has something to do with the fact that the video game series also simply did a great job of respecting the books' portrayal of the character overall, thus allowing a full circle of inspiration on how to depict the character.
But there is a bit more to it than that. Having played the games and having read the book series, Cavill effectively adopts a representation of the character that draws from and generally satisfies fans of the games, books, and fans of both. His portrayed general attitude, behaviors, perceptions, and more are believable to how Geralt would appear.
Geralt's (Attempted) Gray Moral Standing Shows
One of the most important characteristics of the character of Geralt of Rivia is that he generally tries to keep a more neutral or 'gray' moral standing. This is in line with the very nature of the witcher profession, as they are meant to stay out of altercations of the normal people (and anyone else that might be involved, magical or otherwise) and simply work for the coin. Slay monsters that prove to be pests, get paid, and move on.
In order to capture this in the actor's portrayal, it depends on how the character is written for the show and the actor's performance in order for it to be convincing. Fortunately, he was written to convey that (attempted) general attitude and Cavill totally nails down the role to make that perception of his believable.
Cavill's Performance Shows The Audience Geralt Can Make A Choice
On the flip side of the morally gray standing that Geralt and other witchers are intended to hold, Henry Cavill conveys through his performance that beautiful irony that Geralt's character has that when pushed to the absolute limit, he can absolutely take a side when totally necessary and is even capable of taking the right side.
Of course, like the last point, this depends on both how the showrunner has the character written and how convincing the actor responsible makes his performance. Cavill accomplishes this as well for the audience without making that irony feel like a lazy plot device for the sake of forcing Geralt to neatly fit into the 'good' side.