What Is Henry Cavill's Best Role? Here's What /Film Readers Had To Say
Henry Cavill is in a weird place in his career. The "Man of Steel" star didn't have the best 2022 after officially announcing his return as Superman then officially announcing that he would, in fact, not return as Superman. It was all part of Cavill and Dwayne Johnson's bizarre attempts to stay in the DC Universe prior to James Gunn's new slate of DC films ushering in a new era for the beleaguered brand. At the time, Cavill made the dubious claim that he was told by the studio to make his return announcement before it all went wrong.
In the midst of all this, the actor also announced he would be leaving the role of Geralt of Rivia in Netflix's "The Witcher" after its third season — a show in which he'd lobbied hard to star. Then came the announcement Cavill would be producing and starring in a new Warhammer show for Amazon, which for now seems to be his biggest ongoing project. Otherwise, he's part of the ensemble cast for Matthew Vaughn's upcoming "Argylle" and will star in the Guy Ritchie-helmed "The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare."
So, at this stage in the man's career, he occupies a strange space in the industry. A great Superman who never got a great Superman movie, Cavill is somewhere between movie and streaming star, even though he'd seemingly like to be firmly in the former category — at least judging by his exit from "The Witcher" and attempts to secure his return as Supes. At this point, we'll have to wait to see how it all plays out for Cavill, which is why it's the perfect time to reflect on the 40-year-old's career thus far and ask the question: What is Henry Cavill's best role? Better yet, why not ask you, the great /Film readers?
The results are in
From his turn as mustachioed CIA operative August Walker in "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" to his various DC film appearances as the Man of Steel, Henry Cavill has had an enviable career any actor could be proud of. What's perhaps most impressive about the British star is his almost militaristic drive to succeed, which has manifested in his career as a Tom Cruise-esque insistence on doing his own stunts. Not only was he the only actor who could keep up with Cruise on "Fallout," Cavill basically became an unofficial stunt coordinator on "The Witcher" season 3.
So, as the actor prepares for the next phase of his career, we come to the question of his greatest role so far. Responses to our Facebook post on this topic saw our informed readers highlighting Clark Kent/Superman, Geralt of Rivia, and August Walker as the actor's finest portrayals. João Rocha Spark, for instance, delivered this ranking: "1) 'Man of Steel' 2) 'The Witcher' 3) 'Mission:Impossible — Fallout' 4) 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'" Meanwhile, DJ Malmberg registered this incisive comment: "'Fallout' by a mile. As Superman he just seems kind of bored. Let him play a bit of a prick and he completely comes alive."
It's true that Cavill possesses a unique smarm that works in the context of his more villainous roles. If you think that's a little unfair, Tom Burnham was on-hand to provide this more positive spin: "I feel we haven't seen his best yet. That being said, in my opinion, he is a phenomenal actor." And Sean Deome felt Cavill's best was "soon to come in 'Warhammer 40,000.'" Elsewhere, the actor's Sherlock Holmes, from Netflix's Milly Bobby Brown starring "Enola Holmes" films, got a few mentions. But overall it was basically a tie between Geralt, Superman, and Walker.
What next?
Other takes that deviated from the popular view highlighted Henry Cavill's Greek warrior Theseus from 2011's "Immortals," while his turn as Albert Mondego in 2002's "The Count of Monte Cristo" also got a nod. But it seems our readers overwhelmingly felt that Cavill did his best work either wearing a cape or wielding a sword, with Nigel Ray lamenting that "there was so much left on the table for him with both Superman and 'The Witcher,'" noting how Cavill "actually loves and cares about these two characters."
Still, there's surely plenty more to come from the former Geralt, who evidently many of our readers feel would still make an excellent Bond. We're yet to hear any concrete news on the next 007, but it unfortunately seems less and less likely that Cavill be the one to don the tux. At 40 years old, the British star doesn't seem like the most likely option, considering producer Barbara Broccoli is looking for a 10-12 year commitment from the next James Bond and Cavill was already passed over for the role prior to 2006's Daniel Craig-starring "Casino Royale."
While Cavill's Bond sounds like it would be an intriguing mashup of Sean Connery and Daniel Craig's, it seems more likely we'll see the actor showing up in some less high-profile roles going forward. Which isn't a bad thing. Cavill has proven he's a solid actor and demonstrated a dogged commitment to stunt work thus far. But perhaps after this point in his career, we'll see him lean more into acting, possibly demonstrating a talent for character work? Either that or he'll go all-in on action, which considering his devotion to the craft wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Either way it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.