What Henry Cavill Really Thinks Of Missing Out On Twilight Lead Role

Like a bird or a plane, Henry Cavill's career is soaring. The British actor has become so successful, in fact, that he was able to drop out of the Netflix series "The Witcher" without too much concern about the effect it would have on his bank account — he did, after all, have a "Man of Steel" sequel to film, as he revealed on Instagram days before he announced that Liam Hemsworth would be replacing him as Geralt of Rivia.

Cavill was once in a much different position. In the mid-aughts, he missed out on a number of big roles, including that of Clark Kent in the 2006 film "Superman Returns." The part ultimately went to Brandon Routh, and its inclusion on the list of Cavill's close calls — which also included playing James Bond — had Empire magazine describing him as the "most unlucky man in Hollywood" (via The Hollywood Reporter). Speaking to Refinery29 about his first shot at playing Superman, Cavill confessed, "I wanted it really badly." So when the opportunity to play the Man of Steel arose again and he got the part, he was understandably elated.

But before he lost and gained that iconic "S" on his chest, Cavill came close to playing another almost indestructible character with supernatural eyes like Geralt's: "Twilight" vampire Edward Cullen. So now that he's at the top of his game, is Cavill still musing about what might have been?

In a 2007 post on her website, author Stephenie Meyer revealed that Henry Cavill was her top choice to play Edward Cullen in the "Twilight" films, while her ideal Bella Swan was "A Series of Unfortunate Events" actor Emily Browning. But something unfortunate had happened by the time Summit Entertainment started the process of bringing her books to the big screen. "The most disappointing thing for me is losing my perfect Edward. Henry Cavill is now twenty-four years old. Let us have a moment of quiet in which to mourn," Meyer wrote of Cavill aging out of the role.

During the October 26 episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Cavill revealed that he had no idea that he'd missed out on the role at the time. "I only found out afterwards, and I was like, 'Oh, okay. That would have been cool,'" he said. While he never actually pursued the part, he did audition for a different role that Robert Pattinson beat him out for: Cedric Diggory in the "Harry Potter" films. Cavill theorized that he was probably too old to play the character.

As noted by TheWrap, Cavill was once a fan favorite for the lead in "Fifty Shades of Grey," which is famously based on E.L. James' "Twilight" fan fiction. The part ultimately went to Jamie Dornan, who told The New York Times that he lost the "Man of Steel" role to — who else? — Cavill.