When Netflix released The Witcher on December 20th, 2019, little did they know it would become one of the streaming giant’s top ten most popular shows of all time.
The fantasy series, led by the charismatic Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, quickly garnered a massive fanbase, with viewers applauding not only Cavill’s sexy grump but also the thrilling fight scenes and formidable monsters that populate the unnamed Continent.
Known for his portrayal of Superman in Batman v Superman and roles in action-packed movies like Mission: Impossible – Fallout, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Immortals, Cavill has always displayed an affinity for intense battle sequences.
During an interview with The Wrap, Cavill revealed a rather unexpected choice regarding his favourite monster fights. Despite encountering formidable foes like golden dragons, kikimoras, and more, Cavill admitted that his most cherished battles were with human monsters in episode one.
“My favourite monster fights were probably the human monsters I got to fight in Episode 1,” he stated. However, after being coaxed, Cavill added, “OK, OK. I would say the striga fight would probably be my favourite monster fight out of the show.”
For those who have watched The Witcher, they would remember the striga fight from season one, episode three. The monstrous and grotesque creature was undoubtedly one of the standout adversaries in the series. Cavill expressed his admiration for the fight sequence and provided insight into its filming process.
Describing the experience, Cavill revealed, “Well, the funny thing is with anything you shoot is, what ends up on screen may be very different from what you see on screen. There’s always the editing process, which is where storytellers get to express their vision for the story, and that means the whole thing you shoot may end up looking very, very different. But as far as that actual fight went, I was fortunate enough to be working with a stunt performer in a suit for parts of it. So I had a fairly good idea of what it would look like. And we were doing practical stunts for both me and the performer. I know they added the effects after the fact, but everything that was happening there on the day was a version of what you see on screen.”
Cavill’s dedication to his role and attention to detail undoubtedly paid off in The Witcher. His portrayal of Geralt of Rivia not only captured the essence of the beloved character from the book series, later adapted into a video game series, but also brought an extra layer of authenticity to the screen, making him a standout amongst fans. This makes his impending departure from the series after the third season concludes that much sadder for ardent fans.
