The Witcher’s Henry Cavill Almost Blinded Himself Filming Season 1

Henry Cavill successfully brought Geralt of Rivia to life in Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher, and fans are eager to see him return to the role for season 2. Cavill ended up doing many of his own stunts in the show, and his dedication to making it as authentic as possible should be commended, though it did also provide some discomfort during the filming of season 1. In fact, one particular aspect of his character caused quite a bit of distress and could’ve left some lasting damage, even resulting in blindness, if not for someone stepping in. In a recent interview with Metro.co.uk, Cavill explained that the contacts he wears as Geralt were fine in small doses, but on lengthy shooting days, his desire to try and keep them in ended up causing some problems.

“I was only allowed to keep them in for three hours at a time, well I supposed to only keep them in three hours at a time,” Cavill said. “Drying out isn’t the problem, it’s that part of your eye, it’s the only part of your body that receives oxygen from the air rather than blood. And so if you’re covering it up, you’re not getting any oxygen to it, and over a long period of time, you will do damage to your eyes. It’s just not worth it. My eye-technician was always pushing me to say like, ‘No, I don’t care. I don’t care what you need to shoot, take, take the bloody contacts out, because you will start to go blind after a while’.”

“I was sure she was probably selling a slightly more dramatic version of the truth, because I do tend to be a bit stubborn like that,” Cavill joked. “And I’d say, no, it’s alright we can shoot couple more hours will be fine. And she said, we won’t be fine. You’ve got to take them out now.”

The location they were filming also ended up contributing a bit to the issues, and his eyes did end up getting scratched.

“There’s lot of volcanic rock in the Canary Island, and when it picks up a lot and it’s all this stuff, which becomes very, very light and dusty,” Cavill said. “It got in behind the contacts, so my eyes ended up being scratched. I didn’t realise it was scratching so we went back to Budapest after our trip to Canary Islands. But it got to the point where I couldn’t really keep my eyes open, my eyes were watering, had to try and wash everything out. Very, very stingy, very painful, but I just thought it’s just because I’m tired and not getting much sleep and I just need to muscle through it.”

“It got to the point where my technician found me hiding in the shadows of my eyes closed because it was was very bright,” Cavill said. “She said take them out. And I said, No, No, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. Just give me some things to dab my eyes before a scene will be good. She put her foot down and said, ‘No, I’m stopping shooting until you take them out.’”

“So the contacts, as cool as they were, they did come with some challenges,” Cavill said with a laugh.

Thankfully he didn’t end up doing any lasting damage, but here’s hoping they find an easier solution in season 2.

You can find the official description for Netflix‘s The Witcher below, and you can check out my full review right here!

“Based on the best-selling fantasy series of books, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts,” Netflix said. “But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together.”

Henry Cavill (Geralt of Rivia), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri), Jodhi May (Calanthe), Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Eist), Adam Levy (Mousesack), MyAnna Buring (Tissaia), Mimi Ndiweni (Fringilla), Therica Wilson-Read (Sabrina), Emma Appleton (Renfri), Eamon Farren (Cahir), Joey Batey (Jaskier), Lars Mikkelsen (Stregobor), Royce Pierreson (Istredd), Maciej Musiał (Sir Lazlo), Wilson Radjou-Pujalte (Dara), and Anna Shaffer as Triss.

The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can check out more from our Witcher coverage right here. You can also hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things Witcher!