‘Superman’ Actor Henry Cavill Hilariously Recalls the Time He Auditioned for His Role: ‘I’m Too Fat to be Wearing This Suit Right Now’
Most DC Extended Universe fans agree that Henry Cavill perfectly fits the physical description of Superman. He looks like the comic book character come to life. However, during the audition process for Man of Steel, Cavill was highly critical of his image.
Zack Snyder was in awe of the actor in the superhero suit
Man of Steel director Zack Snyder had many reasons for casting Henry Cavill to play Superman. But everything clicked into place when he saw him in the superhero costume for the first time.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder recalled, “When you see the suit on the ground, it’s kind of shriveled up, it’s just spandex, it looks like, ‘Oh God, that’s not going to be cool.'”
He continued, “Henry put it on in this trailer. And there’s a version of this where he comes out and is like, ‘I’m Superman!’ and you’re like, ‘OK, it’s Halloween.’ But Henry came out, and even the crusty grips we hired for the test got quiet. Everybody was heart attack serious. He had just the right energy. We were like, ‘Oh, he’s Superman. That’s what Superman looks like.'”
At that moment, Henry Cavill convinced everyone that he was the embodiment of Superman. However, he wasn’t as confident of his Kryptonian good looks.
Henry Cavill shares his experience of trying on the Superman suit
During the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Superman actor Henry Cavill remembered the same day that Snyder described. But he has a different memory of that moment than Snyder does.
“If I’m going to be honest, what was going through my mind was, ‘Lord, I’m too fat to be wearing this suit right now,'” Cavill revealed. “And also, ‘I can’t believe I’m actually doing this’ — there was a sense of excitement, achievement, and nervousness.”
Understandably, Henry Cavill was nervous since he was in contention of playing the next Superman. However, we can all agree that everything turned out OK for him, and he was the perfect Superman.
Henry Cavill wants to play Superman again
The last time fans saw Henry Cavill as Superman was in Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021. In the film, Superman came back to life, joined the Justice League, and returned to Smallville with Lois Lane. But Cavill believes that more can be done with the Man of Steel.
“There is still a lot of storytelling for me to do as a Superman, and I would absolutely love the opportunity,” Cavill said. “The killing of Zod gave a reason for the character never to kill again. Superman falling to the ground and screaming afterward — I don’t think that was originally in the script, but I wanted to show the pain he had.”
He continued, “I did far more emotional takes they didn’t choose; tears were happening. He just killed the last remaining member of his species. That’s the choice he made in that moment, and he’ll never do that again. There’s an opportunity for growth after that, to explore the psyche of Superman as a deep, seemingly invulnerable god-like being but with real feeling on the inside. As I always say, ‘The cape is still in the closet.'”
Perhaps Henry Cavill’s time playing Superman has yet to come to a close.
