Before handing up the role of Geralt of Rivia to his replacement, Liam Hemsworth, The Witcher cast have commented on how Henry Cavill’s departure may have influenced their perception of the final moments they shared with him.
The star of the blockbuster Netflix fantasy series attended the London premiere of season 3 volume 1 tonight, before the last batch of episodes is broadcast on the streaming site next month.
As fans wait to witness Geralt’s next adventure with his companions and adoptive family the bard Jaskier (Joey Batey), princess Ciri (Freya Allan), and sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), the 40-year-old was joined by his fiancée Natalie Viscuso as well as his co-stars.Speaking with Joey, Freya, and Anya months after it was reported that Henry would be departing the show and being replaced in season four.
Freya paid respect to the father-daughter bond that Ciri and Geralt formed on their adventure when asked if learning that the Man of Steel star would be leaving altered the way they saw the final moments that they spent on screen.
‘For me, it’s not reflecting on any final scenes. I think my final scene was me shoving mashed potato down. It’s more so… this sounds crazy, but sort of like mourning through Ciri, because we really got to become so close through those characters,’ the 21-year-old said.
‘He plays my adoptive father. So that part was the most sad element of it. So it was more reflecting on this whole experience we’ve had together and that coming to a close with his side of it.’
Joey, 34, recalls being present on Henry’s final day of filming and witnessing how his co-star inhabited the role of Geralt one final time on set while carrying out the monster-hunter’s regular action-heavy sequences during his final days.
Anya, 26, said that she’s pleased she didn’t know Henry was leaving at the time of filming, but she feels that even if they had known, it wouldn’t have impacted how the scene was played.
‘I don’t think it changed the way I would have dealt with doing my final scenes with Henry,’ she admitted.
‘It’s kind of a testament to him. He is so committed to the scene. He wouldn’t let anything else come into that – nor would I to be honest, so yeah.
‘It’s quite nice actually that I didn’t know and could just live in that moment. It was like 3am, I think. I would have been bawling.’
Henry recently visited Netflix’s Tudum event in Brazil before joining his co-stars at Witcher Fest in Poland, with Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski writing The Witcher novels and short tales on which the video games and TV series were based.
In a message published on his Instagram Story, the actor expressed his thanks to the fans he met at both events for their outpouring of love and support.
‘In my happy place this Sunday, cooking away in the Wild Kitchen with my lady and my hounds. I just wanted to take a moment to say, officially, to the fans I met and stood in front of in Brazil, and Poland recently, that you have touched my heart,’ he wrote.
‘Thank you so very much. I want you to know that you are greatly appreciated. Thank you.’
The Witcher season 3 volume 1 premieres on Thursday June 29 on Netflix.
