Why Henry Cavill likes 'crying all day on set' of The Witcher
Cavill and co-star Kim Bodnia have a bit of a bromance.
The Witcher season two has been out on Netflix for a while now, but the drip-drip of interviews and behind-the-scenes information continues: This time, with hunky Henry Cavill (Geralt) and Kim Bodnia (Vesemir) discussing the interplay between their characters. Vesemir is Geralt's mentor and father-figure, and one of the only survivors of the attack on Kaer Morhan which wiped out most of the Witchers.
Kim Bodnia, it turns out, had pretty much a perfect background experience for playing Vesemir. "I lived in the forest for twenty years," says Bodnia, addressing Cavill, "and when I was done telling you about my antics travelling and how it is to really be alone you said 'You are Vesemir'."
Hold on to your hats folks, because we're about to get a bit of an actor moment.
"I trained every day in a new way of crying," says Bodnia. "And that's why I have to travel inside my life, because you don't know if there is more to cry about."
Henry Cavill and Kim Bodnia break down the fascinating relationship between Geralt and Vesemir in Season 2 of #TheWitcher... pic.twitter.com/GO97PAtO35February 1, 2022
"I have this thing, yes, absolutely. Once I've used something, I've used it," adds Cavill. "And then I've dealt with it, I've emotionally processed it because I've been crying all day on set."
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"When I do this travelling all the time it's like my body is getting more and more healthy," Bodnia says. "So I've always thought being an actor is also healing myself, it's like to be a better person. I think that's the most important thing for me is to be a better person every day."
The two also discuss their connection on-camera in the context of Cavill's wish for a more emotional Geralt in the show's second season, with Cavill suggesting that some filmed scenes of this nature didn't make it in.
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"These [are] two incredibly dangerous individuals," says Cavill. "I know in some scenes they didn't make the cut, but the softness we brought to that connection, just resting our heads against each other's heads, it just made so much sense because you can't really fake that."
I thought that acting was faking it, really, but fair enough: The pair go on to discuss how they approached a certain scene in this regard, which I won't mention because it might be a bit of a spoiler, but the full thing's above. And the bro train ain't stopping anytime soon: Production of The Witcher season three is underway
Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."