It has come to light that Henry Cavill refused to perform any shirtless scenes while he was playing Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher TV series. The news was revealed as a Deaxmoi podcast transcript from last year resurfaced.
On the show, a number of claims were made by supposed insiders of the fantasy show. Amongst those claims, one stood out in that Cavill simply “decided” he wasn’t willing to do any shirtless scenes, even though there is a particularly iconic one in the third iteration of the video game series.
The podcast transcript reads, “He decided that he didn’t want any romantic scenes at all. No kissing, no shirtless scenes, etc. He wanted complete control of storylines but had no idea of the limitations of TV, structure, budget etc.”
There was also the claim that Cavill was persistently at odds with The Witcher’s showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who had already previously suggested that Cavill’s behaviour on set was unacceptable. “He would try to overrule her and try to get changes made last minute across the board without her knowledge,” the podcast transcript suggested. “Every department head was complaining. He started making comments. It wasn’t a sexual thing: he wasn’t grabbing anyone or being lewd, but it was disrespectful and toxic all the same.”
Liam Hemsworth will be taking over from Cavill in playing the famous witcher character, although Cavill has not discussed at length the reasons he departed the show. He merely wrote on Twitter, “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for season four.”
Cavill added, “In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men.”