Witcher Creator Andrzej Sapkowski Reacts to Henry Cavill’s Portrayal of Geralt of Rivia

Drew Taylor |

Jan 3, 2020

The Witcher has taken Netflix and the entertainment world by storm.

Season 1 of the hit Netflix show currently boasts a 93% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fans of both the games and the books have taken to the show quickly, and absolutely love Henry Cavill’s gritty portrayal of the story’s protagonist, Geralt of Rivia.

Andrzej Sapkowski, author and creator of the Witcher novels, was also highly impressed with Cavill.

Recently interviewed about the series by People, Sapkowsi had this to say:

“I was more than happy with Henry Cavill’s appearance as the Witcher.”

He added, “He’s a real professional. Just as Viggo Mortensen gave his face to Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, so Henry gave his to Geralt — and it shall be forever so.”

*inhales*
Ah, just love the sweet smell of death and onion emanating off of Geralt. pic.twitter.com/LA6Co5zieb

— The Witcher (@witchernetflix) December 28, 2019

However, Sapkowski did confess that the show does not keep with the storyline from the books.

“Not much, I confess. I strongly believe in the freedom of the artist and his artistic expression. I rarely interfere. And very rarely try to impose my view on another artist.”

With the release of the Witcher series on Netflix the Witcher video games have enjoyed a resurgence. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt set a new all-time high in concurrent players with over 100,000 according to Windows Central. The game also cracked Steam’s top 10.

For his part, Cavill credits spending many hours playing the Witcher games for being able to connect so well with the character of Geralt.

Witcher

He has also drawn from the book series for his role.

The actor is so much a fan of the Witcher franchise, that he even ended up taking his Geralt costume home to display.

“I took it all home…It’s not so easy to put on. It took two hours of hair and makeup every day, so that’s just sitting at home looking cool.”

Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich also revealed that it wasn’t so uncommon to see the actor dressed as Geralt off set when the cameras weren’t rolling.

“It’s not just a role to him. He wanted, for instance, the armor to look like it had been worn for years and years. He made breakfast in it, he would sleep in it.

We’re like, ‘you don’t have to do that by the way,’ but he’s that invested in embodying his character.”

With dedication like that, it’s no surprise that Andrzej Sapkowski considers Henry Cavill the definitive Witcher.

What do you think of Netflix’s The Witcher?

Comment below, and toss a coin to your witcher.