Henry Cavill Dehydrated Himself For Days To Prepare For The Witcher

If you’ve been enjoying Geralt of Rivia’s fantastical adventures during the first season of The Witcher, know that you’re not alone. Far from it, in fact.

Dropped onto Netflix last week amidst a groundswell of hype and excitement, the show is fast becoming one of the streaming giant’s most lucrative license acquisitions. Both critics and Netflix subscribers have been reacting extremely positively so far, praising the stellar fight choreography and excellent performances, with particular attention being given to Henry Cavill, who headlines the series as the aforementioned Geralt.

Indeed, the Superman actor is one of the many highlights of The Witcher and it seems he took his job very seriously, even dehydrating himself to look good for some of the scenes that required him to go shirtless. That’s not to say he completely cut water out of his diet, but he seriously lowered the amount he consumed, with the star explaining the following in a recent interview:

“Diet is difficult, and you’re hungry, but when you’re dehydrating for three days you get to the point, on the last day, where you can smell water nearby. It’s not no water for three days, though. On the first day you’ll have a litre and a half, the second day half a litre and the third day no water and you’ll shoot on the fourth [day].”

Of course, this being a fantasy-fuelled epic, Cavill is far from the only impressive name on the cast list, with the show also boasting – *deep breath* – Eamon Farren (Twin Peaks) as Cahir, Joey Batey (Knightfall) as Jaskier, Lars Mikkelsen (House of Cards) as Stregobor, Royce Pierreson (Wanderlust) as Istredd, Maciej Musiał (1983) as Sir Lazlo, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte (Dickensian) as Dara, Anna Shaffer (Harry Potter) as Triss, Anya Chalotra (Wanderlust) as Yennefer and Freya Allan (Into the Badlands) as Ciri.

But still, you have to admire the Man of Steel actor for his dedication here, and it’s clear from his performance that he’s truly passionate about both the source material and the character he’s playing. And with Netflix already mapping out several more seasons of The Witcher, it looks like Cavill will get to continue bringing Geralt to life for many years yet.