Henry Cavill spent years being called the unluckiest man in Hollywood, missing out on big roles by a whisker. Then he became Superman. Since then he has led The Witcher, played Sherlock Holmes and built a reputation as one of the hardest working and most down to earth stars in the business.
Early life
Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill was born on May 5, 1983, in Saint Helier on the island of Jersey. He is the fourth of five brothers. He went to Stowe School in England, where he discovered acting in school plays. As a teenager he met Russell Crowe during a film shoot at his school, and the advice he got that day pushed him toward an acting career.
Early career and near misses
Cavill made his screen debut in the early 2000s and had a role in The Count of Monte Cristo in 2002. He then became known for a string of roles he almost got. He was a finalist for James Bond in Casino Royale, which went to Daniel Craig, and he was also considered for Superman and Twilight earlier in his career.
His big television break was The Tudors, where he played Charles Brandon from 2007 to 2010. In 2011 he led the action film Immortals.
Superman
In 2013 he finally put on the cape in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. He played Superman again in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, and the role made him a global name.
Other famous roles
Cavill showed his charm in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in 2015 and played the tough agent August Walker in Mission: Impossible Fallout in 2018. He played Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher for three seasons, a role he wanted badly because he is a huge fan of the books and games. He also plays Sherlock Holmes in the Enola Holmes films with Millie Bobby Brown. In 2024 he starred in Argylle and Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
What’s next
He is set to lead a new Highlander film from John Wick director Chad Stahelski. Filming was delayed after he was injured during training. Other projects include a live action Voltron film, Enola Holmes 3 and a Warhammer 40,000 series that he is also producing.
Personal life
Cavill has been in a relationship with film executive Natalie Viscuso since 2021. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter. Off screen he is a well known gamer who builds his own PCs and loves the tabletop game Warhammer.
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