Netflix Looked At Over 200 People For Witcher Role

Henry Cavill is set to star as Geralt of Rivia, the protagonist of Netflix’s upcoming series, The Witcher. And while there’s been some criticism lodged against the show and Netflix for some of its castings, Cavill as Geralt has not been one of them. That said, before deciding on the former Superman actor as their monster slayer, Netflix looked at not one, not two, not three, but 207 people for Geralt.

During San Diego Comic-Con, showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich revealed that Netflix was looking at a lot of actors for the Geralt position, but Hissrich always kept Cavill’s voice as Geralt in her head, suggesting he impressed immediately. And this isn’t very surprising, not only is Cavill a terrific actor, but he has the presence for the role. Further, he’s a big fan of the series, and thus knew very well what Hissrich and co. were looking for.

Meanwhile, Cavill admits he also tried his hardest to make sure got the job, which sometimes meant being annoying and calling all the time, because, well, he really wanted the role.

Of course, there’s a lot of important characters in The Witcher, but Geralt is by far the most important casting, and there’s really only a few Hollywood stars that I could ever see in the role. Cavill is one of them, and Anson Mount is another. Meanwhile, if they went with an older Geralt, Mads Mikkelsen or Josh Holloway would have been strong choices as well.

Unfortunately, Hissrich didn’t reveal who else Netflix was considering. I’d personally like to know who else came close to getting the role, but alas, we’ll probably never know though.

The Witcher is set to release sometime late this year. At the moment of publishing, there’s been no official word on when in late 2019 it will hit, but some rumors are claiming it will be in December. In other words, it could release right in time for some Christmas binging.

For more news, media, and information on the highly-anticipated show, be sure to check all of our previous and extensive coverage of the TV adaptation by clicking right here. And, as always, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ to talk all things related to The Witcher.