The Real Reason Henry Cavill Almost Quit Acting
The road to superstardom is tough. Even the so-called nepotism kids sometimes find it hard to make it big in the oversaturated world of Hollywood. In fact, some actors admit to almost quitting right before they became household names.
For example, Robert Pattinson almost gave up his acting career after a particularly bad audition for what would become his breakout role. Yup, he almost quit after auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen in "Twilight." In an interview with the "Golden Globes Around the World" podcast in 2019, he said, "The audition was one of the worst auditions I did in my whole life. I remember calling my parents and saying, 'I'm done, I can't torture myself anymore.'" But it turns out he was wrong, as he ended up achieving worldwide fame. Gal Gadot's experience was quite different, as too much rejection got her spirits down. "There's so much 'No,'" she told "Today" (via E! News) before bagging her "Wonder Woman" project. "There's so much rejection in this world that I thought, 'Maybe it's not for me. ... Maybe I should go back to law school instead of dragging my family with me.'"
Like Gadot, another hero in the DCEU almost contemplated quitting. It's none other than Henry Cavill, aka Superman.
Henry Cavill almost joined the armed forces
In another lifetime, Henry Cavill probably would have been a soldier. Cavill said that when he was young, he imagined himself entering the British Royal Marines when he grew older — but acting got in the way of his initial plans.
"I have the very good fortune of knowing people who have done extraordinary things in the armed forces. And the warrior brotherhood that I see represented in those people, you realize how soulful these individuals are, and the bond that they have with one another," Cavill told Polygon in January 2022. "I was very keen on joining the armed forces when I was younger and had acting not got[ten] me first and I would have joined the armed forces."
He wanted to be in hard enough that it served as his backup plan if acting didn't take a turn in his favor. "There were plenty of times I thought it [acting] wouldn't happen," he told the Mirror U.K. in 2015. "At one stage I was like, 'If this next movie doesn't do well, then I'm out. I'm going to join the Armed Forces.'" But as we all know, he ended up being Superman, so he had to let that dream go. The good news is he found the "brotherhood" he was looking for in his role on "Witcher," anyway. "The opportunity to play a Witcher was similar, in a sense, this very tightly knit warrior brotherhood, with an added element of intense sorrow," he said.
Another incident nearly derailed Henry Cavill's career
While Henry Cavill decided to pursue acting, another unfortunate incident almost made him give up action-packed roles. In 2020, he experienced a physical injury that impacted his ability to fulfill his job.
"It was a very, very bad tear, and I was very lucky that it wasn't a complete detachment of the hamstring," he told The Hollywood Reporter. But Cavill persisted, trying his best to find the balance between limiting his actions and doing what the role demanded. "I wanted to do more for the production — I know how important it was for them to get stuff done," he added. "So it was having to find that balance between, 'Yes, let's push, push, push,' and, 'Whoa, hold on, if I tear this further, it's the end of my action career.' That was my worst moment of the past year, professionally."
Now it looks like Cavill is back in tip-top shape and may even reprise his role as Superman — at least, that's what insiders think. "Multiple scoopers 100% believe Henry is back, the DM I received said '[Cavill's] back[.]' This friend who told me this I trust very well and has ALWAYS been skeptical over Cavill and Affleck returning. They are now believing into the idea of [Cavill's] return," insider @AjepArts tweeted. "Before this, it was seen as impossible. But the tides are changing. Something has to be going on."