Happy Sad Confused - Henry Cavill, Vol. II

Episode Date: October 27, 2022

Henry Cavill makes a momentous return to HAPPY SAD CONFUSED for his first public conversation about returning as Superman plus his latest film, ENOLA HOLMES 2, the next season of THE WITCHER, and much more. Come see Josh tape LIVE Happy Sad Confused conversations in New York City! November 11th with Sylvester Stallone! Tickets available here! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to The Wakeup newsletter here! Don't forget to check out the Happy Sad Confused patreon here! We've got exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Nights definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on,

none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Say, Confused, Henry Cavill on Inola Homes 2, and spoiler alert, his return as Superman. Hey guys, I'm Josh Horowitz, and welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Look, any time I get the opportunity to catch up.

with Henry Cavill is fantastic. He's been on the podcast before I have spent many, many times with Henry at very pivotal moments in his career. I was lucky enough to have the first conversation on camera with Henry after he was cast initially over 10 years ago as the Man of Steel. And it was a great full circle moment to meet up with Henry Cavill for this live taping of Happy Seg Confused at the 92nd Streetwide, 92nd, NY in New York City, promoting Anola Homes, too, but also to talk about, yes, the return of Superman. As you guys know by now, yes, spoiler alerts, a plenty. Henry returned very recently in a cameo at the end of Black Adam.

This is a long time coming. It's been five years since Henry put on the Superman costume. And, you know, we had this conversation scheduled before the news broke. I was frankly I was unaware that he was officially going to be back but um you know sometimes a little luck a good relationship it all lines up and here you guys are going to get to enjoy the very first public public conversation um that henry had about returning as superman this was a great night in new y it was great to see a packed house at the 92 NY and if you couldn't make it fear not you get to enjoy the whole thing right now and I hope you appreciate and feel the love that was in the air because Henry is you know beyond being a great actor is a fan

he really is he's legit just fanboy for comics and fantasy and sci-fi and um it's really it's really sweet to see him get this second chance at this iconic character a character that he look say what you will about the different films and and you may love them or you may have issues with them but um his performance you can't quarrel with and um he is a great superman and i'm excited to see what's to come for our buddy henry kaffel so um i should say you know he was of course promoting and noel homes too which is fantastic in its own right it's a fun romp uh starring millie bobby brown and henry as sherlock homes we covered that in this and we talk about we actually cover a ton of territory in this conversation there's like almost too much to mention but

yes tons of superman stuff we have a surprise from zack snider in here we talk about james bond we talk about the rumors about house of the dragon and loki we talk about gaming and warhammer and you know this is your one-stop shopping for all things henry cavil you will not leave disappointed um all which is to say if you're in new york you know come on out to our next event guys these are great um this was a this was like an electric atmosphere taping this one with henry cavil um i also taped a recent conversation that will be on on the podcast very soon over at symphony space with ralph machio for his new book that was fantastic you'll you'll hear that one very soon um we've got one that one that will Sylvester Stallone coming up in 92 NY. Tickets are still available for that. November 11th.

The information is in the show notes. That's going to be amazing. I mean, I've never done an in-depth conversation with Slice Stallone. And yeah, that is high, high on my bucket list. So thrilled that that one is coming together and a lot more to come. Those are just the announced ones, guys. What else to mention? Well, the usual reminders. If you want to watch this video of Henry Cavill and I, it is available on YouTube. YouTube.com slash Josh Horowitz. Subscribe. Give us a subscription, guys, because that's where we're putting all the video content.

If you want early access to everything, go over to Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, say I'm confused. All these links are in the show notes. Check it out. So many different ways to enjoy Josh Horowitz and happy, say I confused content. I think that's all I'll say. I'll just throw right now to why you guys are all here, which is this exclusive and first conversation with Henry Cavill.

Remember, Noel Holmes drops on Netflix, November 4th, and I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. This was a blast. Here's me and Henry. Hey, guys. Welcome to a lot. a live edition of Happy Second Fuse. Thank you for coming out, New York.

I mean, it just sucks. Our guest tonight has nothing to talk about. I don't know what we could discuss tonight. I am so beyond thrilled to welcome this guest back to Happy Sagan Fuse, and especially in this live format. Welcome to the New Yorkers out here. Welcome to the folks watching live around the world. He's one of my favorite people.

He is a big old nerd just like me without apology. I love that about him. He's a fantastic actor. You know him as the Witcher. You know him, thanks to Anoa Holmes and the new Enoa Holmes 2 opening on November 4th on Netflix, as Sherlock Holmes.

And you know him as the past, present, and future Superman. Please give a warm welcome to Henry Cavill, everybody. Oh, Henry, Henry. Hi, everyone. So how's your week going, Henry? It's being pretty quiet.

Yeah. Anything new, anything you want to say? Not really, no. We have a lot to talk about. We do. We're going to talk about all aspects of your wonderful career. You've got a lot going on. I just want to deal with, let the cat out of the bag.

Spoiler of the word. I just want to get the big questions out of the way. Welcome back, Superman. All right. How does it feel? Does it feel like there's a weight off the shoulders? The questions have been there for years. We didn't know if we were ever going to see you in the suit again.

And spoiler alert, we've seen him in the suit again. And hopefully there's more to come. How are you feeling about this? You know, the character, how you guys expressed it is exactly how I feel. It's the character means so much to me. And it's been five years now. And I've quite rightly, otherwise I probably shouldn't deserve to wear the cape. But I never gave up hope.

And it's amazing to be here now talking about it again. There is such a bright future ahead for the character. And I'm so excited to tell a story with an enormously joyful Superman. Ken, yes. As much as you're willing to say, can you tell me a little bit about how it happened, how this recent cameo happened and what it was like to get back into the story? the costume. Well, I was on Witcher and they, I got the call saying, you know, hey, this is happening. When can you do it? I was like, I'm working six day weeks. I don't know when I can

do this. And they said, well, look, this is, we've got these dates. And I said, okay, cool, right, I'll come in and do it. And we had to get clearance from Witcher production at the time. But it was so top secret, we couldn't tell them what. We just said, hey, there's this thing I'm got to do can you clear me for it and and I don't know whether anyone suspected or not because there was all the talk about Comic-Con at the time as well right and and so then I went to Leeds and Studios Warner Brothers Studios in the UK and on a super secret set all whispers and all sort of capes and everything all hidden and got back in the suit and it was a

very powerful moment for me. I wasn't too sure how I was going to feel, whether it's going to be, okay, cool, yeah, back in the suit, or whether it was going to be something which was very emotionally connective because I put the man of steel suit back on. And I chose that one in particular because of the nostalgia attached to the suit. And it was incredibly important for me to just be standing there and enjoying that moment and yeah that that is one of the top moments in my career it feels great to have the opportunity to wear it again well it must be i mean as you said you didn't give up hope and it's something that like you've felt the love you've felt feel it here tonight you've you've heard the folks online talking about it and people in the streets that

you are a superman for this generation and it's uh and this wasn't it wasn't easy to get here needless to say and but it strikes me that you said you really there wasn't a moment where you're like i've made my piece if i never play superman again all good i had i think there's there's um the the thing which every actor has to build into their psyche which is the if it doesn't happen again i'm not going to let it crush me right because we get told no a lot it's all part of the job and um with this it meant so much to me and I thought, I'm not going to, I'm going to let it sit and simmer in the background. I'm going to put the cape in the closet and let it stay there and when the time comes, it's

ready. But I never lost hope and that was the key bit for me because it felt when I go out to the supermarket or something and someone's like, hey, Superman. That was me one time and I resent you. It never felt dishonest. never felt dishonest yeah I never felt like I was living a lie and so I never gave up hope and it was always there I just just waiting for the time to come back excellent well we appreciate you sharing this is his first time speaking

publicly about this like yeah with you guys so we appreciate it yeah we'll come back around to the journey with Superman because this is a career conversation but let's let's get let's talk a little at Noah Holmes because this is a delightful sequel this is a Noah Holmes two it drops November 4th on Netflix, you know, we've joked about this before. I mean, it feels like the only stipulation in your contract is like, is it an iconic character? I need to play an iconic character.

But like when Sherlock first came around, was that like, oh yeah, that makes sense, this is interesting, this is exciting, or did you have more questions than excitement of it? Definitely more questions. I thought, hold on a second, why would you want me to play Sherlock? It doesn't seem to fit,

and it's been done so well by so many people before me. And then I got my hands on the script and read it and I realized that this is a Sherlock that exists within a universe where a NOLA exists, which allows for a very different iteration of the character to be, because yes, his forward-facing self is still very similar to the character who we've seen played before, but when it comes to a Nola, there's a special something, and then it made sense to me. I was like, oh, okay, okay, there's a, there is a hidden warmth to this character. It's so fun to see you and Millie because your energies, both off-screen and on, couldn't be more different.

But, I mean, I mean, I love you both equally. Don't worry. But, like, she's like, you know, she's a, what, 18, 19 now? She's a manic kind of, like, excitable teenager. And there's that side of you, but you can, yeah. You just never see it. No, there is. But, I mean, talk to me a little bit of. about just the mixing it up on set with Millie,

first film versus the second film. How much does the relationship on camera mirror what's off? The relationship on camera very much mirrors what's off. We do have a very older brother, younger sister type relationship. It's a lot of teasing on set, a lot of making fun. I do not hold back when I make fun of her at all. And she doesn't hold back either. I was going to say, she's probably,

has she ever made you cry, Henry? Not that I'm willing to have made. or that anyone's seen. Yeah, it's really fantastic. I love working with Millie. She's got such wonderful energy. The days on sets are long, and so it's lovely to have

someone like Millie turn up with that kind of energy. It really sort of fuels the whole thing. Without revealing too much, the homes we see at the start of this is not in the best shape. No. No, he's borderline alcoholic. Fun to play drunk,

fun to play someone at their wits end? Yes, it is. I mean, it's always slightly nerve-wracking when you're playing drunks. You're thinking, am I doing too much? Is it too little? Is it right for what this movie is? And the gauge is always the crew and the other actors.

If the other actors and the crew are finding it funny in a way that isn't offensive to me, then that's good. And so I kind of use that as my meter. But I enjoyed it. Yeah, it's fun to do that kind of stuff. Totally. I mean, I do a lot of fake drunk talk in real life. Is this your fake drunk voice right now?

Because you are a really sober drunk. It's not fake drunk. I thought I smelled something. It's in that glass. We have a clip for you guys. You want to see a little peek to Noah Holmes too? All right. Let's take a look.

I found you on the street drunk like a bewildered beast. Now, what may I observe about you? We're not playing this game. Shoes estate. You and my trust are so similar. You need to watch your clothes every now and again. You are pale, undernourished, and you've lost your... Stop!

And then there's your fingernails. Why on earth you work in a match factory? What? Last night they were dirty with green traces. This morning, they are black. The phosphorus for the matchmaking is mixed with the oxygen in the atmosphere. I wasn't in such a state as to not see that. How did you...

And your neck is red. Someone has gripped it or helped. a knife against. Are you involved in something dangerous? Because you are still my ward. If you need my help, my offer remains on the table. Don't be so desperate to prove yourself Anola. I am not desperate. And I don't need your or anyone's help. But this I will have. I kudos to you both, kudos to your perfectly unkempt hair. I mean, that is like, if my messy hair could only look like that.

Did you grow up reading Sherlock? Were you? I did not. I was, I mean, my favorite Sherlock story is Hound of the Baskervilles because I spent plenty of time on Dartmoor with my parents when I was young. and I think it was audio cassette at that time. You guys know what cassettes are? I'm gonna go through every single medium

and then VHS was this thing, yeah. And being on Dartmoor and listening to that story was wonderful and so Sherlock was definitely there throughout my youth but I wasn't necessarily an avid reader of the books. I mean, I joke about it, but it does feel like you're in a unique position to teach the master class any actor who might be intimidated about taking on a role with a strong lineage in history.

What would you say to an actor presented with, whether it's Sherlock or Superman or Hamlet or anything, what's been the key for you to overcome any fears or obstacles? I think it's just approached it honestly and have faith in yourself, that would be the key. I think it's, there's a big pitfall of looking everyone else's work and going, oh, I want to do that, and I want to do that, and I want to do

this, and you've got to remember it's your work. And if you approach it from a place of self-confidence and I'm doing this, not to try and be different, but because that is how you interpret the material, then I think that's probably the best way of doing it, because that's going to be the most true to you, rather than you just trying to be different, or worse, imitating someone else. Right. And I would imagine just the success you've experienced in these kind of roles just fuels, hopefully, the confidence going forward. I mean, if you can, if you can, you know, hold your own on that mantle with other Sherlock's and Superman, I mean, I mean, I, who's to say that I can?

Well, this focus group does say that you can. It's confidence going forward. I think the funny thing is that you're always going to question your own ability. in your own self. I think regardless of what you do and regardless of what you've achieved unless you're completely mad. And I think that's a healthy thing

because it keeps you disciplined and it keeps you honest. No, I always say this is something that comes up a lot on the podcast is like I don't trust the folks that are just too comfortable in your own skin, too confident, too complacent,

there's something wrong with them. Yeah. I'm damaged. You better be a little damaged. But no, it does keep you sharp. It does. Yeah, absolutely. And I think some confidence is good, but complacency and arrogance is that's a trap.

Okay, so let's go back a little bit. Let's talk about Little Henry. It's hard to imagine. Henry Cavill was once a little smaller than he was when he is here today. You told me before you were, you called yourself an emotional kid. Yep. How did that manifest? And you were one of four boys.

Five, yeah. Four of five. I was number four. Sorry. Four or five. Boarding school, I don't know. Was it all male boarding school? All male apart from the last two years when I was there.

Now that school is fully co-ed. Got it. So for an emotional teenager, surrounded by a lot of testosterone and aggression and whatever, how did that fuel you? How did you handle that? I mean, I was no stranger to testosterone aggression, having grown up in a family full of five boys.

Lots of fighting and lots of, lots of, I mean, there was lots of fighting, so much so that they were about to sugarcoat and you're like, no, no, there was a lot of fighting. A lot of fighting, so much so that there was a rule that no punching in the face. Oh. Yeah, punch anywhere else. Right. Well, and yet, even then, but if you did that, you were asking for that line and draw on the sand. It's like, okay, cool, so now dick punches are okay. Can we adopt that same rule in our relationship, by the way?

But face punches were always off the cards. You did that and you're, that's, you've crossed a line and it's, there's now a problem rather than just a disagreement. Right. So going to school, that part wasn't the problem. I think I was just very homesick. I didn't realize how homesick I was going to be. I was so keen to go to boarding school.

And I just desperately wanted to get off the island and get away from my parents. And as soon as I remember my mum leaving, and I was like, oh no. I was like, oh no. And so I was very, very homesick. And I just, I went to a place called Kelly College at first, which is my first born in school, and I went there for half a term. And it's a great school. Two of my brothers went there. weren't there and they loved it. But the problem was by the time I got there, it was a weekly

boarding school, rather a full boarding school. So most of the English-speaking kids were gone by the weekend. And for me, that was tricky because I had no one to talk to. And my parents had said, right, let's find you a full boarding school, and that'll be better for your integration into this new life. And of course, by the time I went there, and Kelly's an amazing school. I had a great time there, aside from the weekends. And then I went to Stowe School, absolutely stunning school, amazing grounds. If any of you ever in the UK, do go visit Stowe School, because it is particularly beautiful. But all the groups and cliques had formed, right, at that stage.

And I was a fat kid. And I had, no. He's Superman now, it's okay. To be fair, yeah. The ones of a fat kid, always a fat kid. Right, no. That's the rule. I mean, I've heard.

Yeah. So I also had ambitions to be, because I was head of my prep school, head boy in my prep school. I was very, very proud of that. And I wanted to be a head boy at this school. I wanted to be on my CV so I could get to a great university and maybe join the armed forces and all sorts. get Armed Forces Scholarship to a fantastic university. And so late, fat, and ambitious, that's a bad combination.

It's quite a Tinder profile. Yeah. Fast forward a little bit. I don't know if it was your first film, but one of the early roles was in Count of Monte Cristo. Yes, that was my first role. Major film, major cast, big direct. Did you, coming out of that, did you feel like, oh, I got this? Oh, no.

No? No, no, no. I came out of that saying to my parents, how do I go back and finish school? Because I'm going to be a year late now. Do I just go back a year late, or do I join the year this year late? But it was my last year, and so I hadn't finished that amount of studying before the big exams. We used to have A levels at my time, which is advanced level. It's basically three subjects, and you'd have probably, I forget how long

the exams were but you'd have two or three exams per subject and it was pretty intense and so to go back to school then i was i was really fretting about it i thought how am i going to do this my parents said you go to school to get a job and have a career and you are now you have a career and you have two agents because i got an english agent halfway through that job who priscilla john the casting director had introduced me to a guy called dallas smith and then um kevin reynolds the director had put in a good word at an agency in the US that was William Morris at the time

and then I picked up an agent there a lady by the name of Hilda Cuelly and so my parents said look you've got you've got the thing and so go for it like give it your best shot take a swing at it and if it doesn't work then you can always go finish your A levels and you can join the armed forces

and do everything you want to do before that's a beautiful gift for yeah yes initially my dad was saying no go to university do this, do that, get a degree, then try acting. And if it doesn't work, when it doesn't work, then you can... Which is a...

Thanks, Dad. No, but a really fair argument. He was just looking out for me. And he just turned out to be wrong this time. And then that was his idea. Then I got the job. And he went, look, no, you've got the thing now. You've achieved the thing.

So definitely run with this. And yeah, that was 22 years ago now. Amazing. So let's, um... Yeah, wow. Let's reflect briefly on some of the famous near misses. This wasn't even like a real near miss, but Stephanie Meyer famously wanted you,

was like her dream casting to play Edward Cullen. Yeah. You know this? But you didn't even have a meeting or anything. Did you only want that after the fact, like years later? Like, did you know that like she had this in mind? And when the movie came out, were you like, Patton soon?

Like, how did you feel? Yeah, since it's a Batman rivalries. No, not at all, because I didn't know about the movie. I didn't know about them wanting to cast me. And the internet wasn't quite the tool that it is now. Right. And so, yeah, I only found it afterwards. And I was like, oh, okay, that would have been cool.

You were up speaking of patents and you were up for his role in Harry Potter, though. Yes, I remember that. Yeah, I definitely auditioned for that. that one and did not get it. I was going to ask how it went. Yeah, I mean, the audition may have gone well. It may have gone terribly. I'm sure someone out there has footage, which hopefully is locked away will never be seen.

But yeah, I didn't get it. It wasn't right. I think I was, how old is Robert? He's probably, he's close to you, right? Maybe a couple years younger. Okay, I think a couple years younger at that time, though, is a big difference. Right. I think I was probably, it might be 19, 20,

right and that makes a big difference when you're playing a kid in high school yes yes well it used to anyway um you famously were very much in the running for james bond yes uh way back when um was that something again like that must be so intimidating like just to get that opportunity um did you feel at the time you were close um they told me it was close yeah yes uh they they told me it was ultimately down to and this is what I've been told someone out there is like that's not true

I was there too this just sounded me and Daniel and I was the younger option and I think yeah they obviously went with Daniel and I think it was an amazing choice to go to Daniel

I probably wasn't ready at the time and yeah I think Daniel did an incredible job over the past movie. So I'm happy they made that choice. It was a fun adventure at the time and definitely give me a boost to my career. That was the key element of it. I was getting a lot of auditions, which I went to, which went really, really well. And the casting director and the producer

would call me and say, you were the best person who came in the room. We love you, but you're not a name. So, yeah. What does that look like in an email, by the way? Yeah, by the way. dot, dot, dot. And that, you hear that enough times. You're like, oh, okay. And whether that's true or not, it could be a complete lie. It could have been terrible. But then once I had screen tested for Bond and I was on a short list and my photo was in Variety, then it was, oh, okay, this guy might carry some kind of name now. And so it started to help things build a bit more. The producers of Bond now say they're looking for an actor in their 30s. Uh-huh. How old? I haven't got much time. I was going to say, how old are you, Henry?

I am 39. We did it. We're doing it. Yeah. I'm quite busy now. Oh, again, I'm playing hard to get. I don't know. Yeah.

I love those guys. Barbara and Mike, they are wonderful, and I have very fond memories of having cocktails with them, I think at Mike's house once, and then I had a Vespa Martini with Barbara, which I thought was fitting, because it was for Christina Ryle. And it was a really, really fun time, and it was great to be in the mix of that stuff. And so, yeah, I mean, whether I'm considered for the role or not, I don't know. But it'd be fun to have the conversation, for sure. And if I'm not, then I just want to see what they do with it next, because I think they're amazing. Yeah. Let's talk a little more Superman.

So when you went up for Superman, this was actually the second time you were going up for Superman, I believe, right? Yes. By the time you met Zach, you had already, in a previous iteration, had auditioned. Yes. So when you met him for Man of Steel, did you have a different take? Did you have, did you walk into that room feeling like you had an approach? No, no, no, no, no different from, and it wasn't like I was doing the same or different from before, sorry, I keep on leaning backwards and forth, so I am in the wrong, sort of, oh, good, ruin everyone's ears. I, I. into my eyes. Yes, yeah. All right, everybody. Either you definitely do or you definitely don't. I, because the script was so different and the story was so different from one to the other, that it was very unique.

The one similarity was Laura Kennedy, the casting director. And I know that I was out of a bunch, one of her favorites. And I think when it came out again, she was like, okay, right, now let's do this this time. Right. And so I had my foot in the door a little bit, so it was very lucky, and here we are. Here we are. Four hundred years later. No.

Almost. You've said some very nice things about, of course, Zach Snyder, who's meant so much to your career. He obviously remains an ardent fan of yours. doors. Yep. A little surprise for you. Henry, I reached out to Zach and he sent something in. Uh-oh.

Let's look at a message from Zach Snyder for Henry Cavill. Okay. Wow. Henry, I have a question. When we first did Man of Steel and we were doing the flying shots for the first time and we put you in the belly pan or on the wires, I can't remember which we did first. did it feel odd to be, you know, just there in front of green screen, doing your flying, you know, shots, you know, with us just touching the camera and you having to act like you're flying, but, you know, before you had ever seen what it might look like or what it might feel like,

was that, how was that? Was that odd or, and did you expect it to turn out the way it did? That's my question. I can't wait to work you in the future, and you are, of course, the greatest Superman of us. He's a lovely man. And I'm enormously appreciative of everything he's done for me, especially by casting me in Man of Steel. Those are formative memories of mine career-wise. It was when everything changed.

And I remember them fondly. I remember fondly hanging above fields. It was Illinois and just outside of Plano. Amazing memories and a lot to be thankful for. So, Zach, if you're watching on one of these many cameras. Thank you. Thank you, my friend. Just to clarify for the future, because the folks will kill me if I don't ask a specific question.

Is there a specific plan? Is there a script or a director? or a story or are we at the stage where we're figuring out what the next superman story is right now i can't share any information um i know but um if i'm going to be a good partner to everyone then i have to be able to keep the secrets when the secrets are necessary so right now i can't share anything but in time in time i'll be able to share and and everyone will hear all the exciting things to come. Fair enough. And I know I'll speak for the entire audience. We're thrilled your back. We love the cameos. We want Man of Steel, too. We want a solo superman.

talk to me a little bit about that experience because McQuarrie is the director and the approach to these films is like nothing I don't know how much you guys know about this how the sausage is made on the mission films but it's like it seems like it's almost organized chaos where like he's kind of creating as it goes did you was it did it shock you the way these movies were made and did it shock you how well it turned out no no it didn't really because when you're working with McHugh you realize that he is he's not stuck to one thing right and that's really really important I think it's very important to have a framework to work from but he is constantly evolving the story depending on how the scenes are turned out

what's available any new ideas that are coming in he and Tom as a duo are extraordinary because they are always coming up with creative ideas and they'll have meetings about stuff and say what if this happens instead of that and they'll go oh that's a really good idea but that means we have to change all of this. They go, we love this, so let's change all of that. And it did become very much sides the night before and sometimes the day of, which is becoming more and more usual these days. Right.

I mean, if you can pull it off, if you have the right people, great. Absolutely. You're McHugh and Tom Cruise. Yes. And they are, they are, so good at what they do. If I could work with any of them again for the rest of my career, I would. Yeah. There was no sense of, I'm not too sure how it's going to turn out in the queue.

You always knew that he knew what he was doing. He had a plan. And he's exceptional. He's really good. Can we just revel in one of the greatest moments in cinematic history from Fallout? Let's take a look at this. This is on a roof. This is not an actual scene.

This is a moment from a scene. Let's just watch this moment over and over again together. I've seen so many conversations about this on Reddit where I managed to punch a pocket square onto my shirt and grow a beard. That's how much testosterone this man has. All right. So I don't even know what my question is,

except what was in the script. Was there any directive, like, pump your arms like they're done? Is that an improv? What is that? No, no. There was nothing like that. It was actually because we made doing, it was a rather intense fight scene. We've actually been shooting it for about three weeks at that stage, which is a lot,

a long time to, in comparison to things like The Witcher, where you get a day. Right. And everything starts to get quite sore after a while because it's a lot of repetitive motion. and the tendons in the connective tendons were getting sore and so I had to warm them up before I threw punches and I'd literally do that to warm them up and I did it once

and I thought oh god that probably looked really stupid I can't believe I did that and I I said oh sorry McKill won't do that again he's like do what okay whatever let's go again and then I did another take without doing it he's like why didn't you do that thing

that was really good and I was like that was good he said yes definitely do that do that and so and so we did and cinematic history is born yeah just running through we're going to get to your audience questions in a couple minutes but the Witcher we have to mention That was it. I had no question. The rest of my case. Third season has been shot. What can you say about, what can we expect from the third season of the Witcher?

Oh, I can tell you nothing. Great. What I can tell you is that I was working with Wolfgang Stegerman again. You will know his work from Mission Impossible. And also from the Blavicon fight scene, which is episode one, season one. And so we got to do a whole season together. And working with Wolfie is amazing. He is such an extraordinary stunt coordinator, a very close friend, so talented.

And there's a lot of action in season three. And we got to do an awful lot together, sometimes by the skin of our teeth and working miracles. But we got it done. And we hope that you guys get to enjoy our work, because Wolfie really is. He's the best. Excellent. Since I said at the outset, you are a big old nerd just like myself. In fact, a bigger nerd than me, frankly.

You know the stuff way better than I do. I'm just curious. What are you watching? Have you had time to watch? Because you told me your comfort movies were Award of the Rings. Yeah. The Expanded Editions. Have you checked out Rings of Power?

I have, in what time I have, I've dipped into it. And what does everyone think? Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, that was good, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Beautiful, absolutely stunning in what I saw, and I don't want to butcher her name, Morphid. Yes, I think it is Morphid, yeah, she's extraordinary, yep, she's really, really good. Um, House of the Dragon, have you checked it out? How does everyone feel about that? Yes, I have. And I enjoyed that enormously.

I think the writing was fantastic. The Fabian Wagner's lighting was amazing. Fabian who worked with the Zach and I on Zach's Justice League. Amazing. And the character performances were incredible. I think it's a really good show. You must have heard the rumors out there that you were going to be in the next season of House of the Dragon and Loki, right? I mean, to be fair, when I was watching House the Dragon, I was like,

Uh, I feel like a lot of these guys can make really good wichers. The hair's not so far off. It's like, those wigs are good. So is witcher scratch that itch? We're not going to see you in that, in Westeros anytime soon? I mean, I think it'd be cool to be in Westeros. I really do. I don't think it's, it's, I don't think there's a place for me in there, though. Okay.

Should I read body language or anything from the fact that you didn't respond to my low-key question? Oh. I forgot the Loki question. Just that there was a rumor going around that you're going to be in Loki? As far as I know, I am not going to be in Loki. Okay. Fair enough. Yeah.

Just asking what the people want to know. Yeah. I mean, it would be a tricky, tricky one to handle at this stage. Right. Fair enough. James Gunn can do it. Maybe I can too. There you go.

You heard the news today that James Gunn is going to be helping steer the ship, I assume. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Very excited about that. Right? Let's talk a little bit about gaming. How much time have you been carving out for your gaming life? A fair amount.

And when I say a fair amount, that probably means a lot for those you don't know. Just four hours a day. Yeah, I mean, maybe more. I have been playing Warhammer Total War. One for three, total war. Yes, some people of culture in the audience. I love that game. It's so good.

It's so good. Are your friends and family supportive of your... For instance, a friend, a loved one, comes home and sees that you're painting a Warhammer figurine. Is that a conversation? Is that just understood? Look, this is what you signed up for. This is Henry. Okay, right.

Most friends and loved ones know about that, and it's... no shock. A lot of my family are into it, but I've definitely had people over at my house and very proudly showed to my miniatures, and they're like, okay. Yeah, and you can see them going, oh, yeah, that's really good. And you can just see them thinking, God, get me out of here, I need another beer. I can't pretend to be interested this long. Do you have a most treasured geek possession? What's the, like, what do you show off? If I came over to the Man Cave, what do you like, Josh, you got to check this out. This is pretty cool. I don't know if I have a most, I mean, I'm moving around so much that it's very difficult for me to have any one thing.

However, recently, Blizzard did just send me a massive statuette of the Litch King, and it's from classic's got released for Rath of Lich King. And it's amazing. It's amazing. It looks really, really good. Would you ever, would you ever develop a game? Is that interest you to like be a creator or creative consultants or anything? Because it's just something that's so a part of you. I don't know. I think there's so much work that goes into those and I'm not too sure I want to peek too far behind the curtain and see all the ones and zeros. I think I'll leave that to the experts and the coders out there and that's, I'm going to appreciate their work.

work and let them do that. I prefer this is the one thing I think I want to stay on the outside of for now. What about producing? I'm actually surprised you haven't produced yet. The time will come. Yeah. The time will come. It is something which I'm very excited about doing and something that's important to me. I want to be there from the beginning of things and to guide the ship from the get-go. And that time will come. It's just a matter of time. So, Noah Holmes, Witcher, we also have a Matthew Vaughn film that I'm very excited to see eventually. This is Argyle. Yes, indeed.

Yep. And it must be fascinating to work with Matthew again, because you worked with him way back when, didn't you? I did indeed, yes. And I love Matthew. He's such a wonderful... Thank you. Oh, I was like, am I getting dragged off the movie? This is the closest I'll ever get to the Oscars.

They're like, shut up. He can't talk anymore. I love Matthew. Matthew's such a wonderful man, and he's one of those people who I would work with at the drop of a hat. Here's some questions from the audience, shall we? All right.

Elizabeth wants to know any chance of doing Broadway. Does theater, does Broadway interest you at all? Hello, Elizabeth. Thank you for the question. Where are you? Thank you. Somewhere in the blackness. That response time was a little alarmed.

Are you really Elizabeth? You're definitely not Elizabeth. All right, Elizabeth. Theater, Broadway, yes. Could be. Could be Elizabeth. Anyway, so, Broadway, I do love to sing from time to time, but I would definitely need to go into lots of training for that kind of thing

and there are people who have been working far harder and far longer at achieving Broadway than me and I wouldn't want to take up any space away from them so not any time in the near future but good question we're not going to start shouting the questions I'll allow that one at the moment I'm at the moment I'm I'm going to focus on film and TV. All right. So singing, are we talking show tunes, Taylor Swift? What are you doing in your, what are you singing in your shower?

I can't tell you all my secrets. Okay, okay. We're not quite there yet. Let's see. I don't know who wrote this, but I'm going to read it nonetheless. You've been a leading man for years. Do you like the responsibility that comes with it? Oh, do I like the responsibility?

Yes, I think, is the honest answer. I think it's, I wouldn't necessarily. say about being a leading man, but I think with these characters that are very, very dear to me, I do take the responsibility very seriously. And so it is enjoyable to be given that opportunity and that privilege. Which character, this is from Monica, which character do you feel you weren't the most from, Superman or Sherlock? Hey, Anika, where are you? Here! respectful wait time

and that like Monica, I respect here Hello, I think you're over there somewhere Up there Up there It's always terrifying Behind you're

Behind you What? I've been playing soups for so many years in my life and from an earlier age as well. And so when you play a character like Superman, it's a responsibility in public as well as it is on camera. And so it's something which has taught me a lot and about myself and about the world as well and about the power of important characters like Superman and what it means to a lot of people. I believe this is Carlos, I hope I'm reading that correctly. Carlos wants to know how do you drink your martini's?

Oh, at the moment, and this may change at any time, straight up with a twist extra cold. Okay. So not, yeah, not the other one. Clever audience. What do you do to overcome adversity, specifically the nose you got in pursuit of your acting dreams. Say that again. What do you do to overcome adversity, specifically the nose you got in pursuit of your

acting dreams? I mean, you know, there's no career that is without, at any stage, without rejection of a different sort. Right. How do you move past it? When you said noes, I was like, I know. I was like, I was like, I mean, I, it's, oh yeah, I'm reading, I'm reading it back now. Yeah, it's not terrible.

Right? Suddenly incredibly self-conscious. Yeah. No, your face is messed up, man. No one's ever said that to you. All right. I know it's broken. It's not that bad.

Right. So, how do you overcome adversity? It's having belief in what you're doing, whether it is being told no a lot of the time. or whether it's any other thing that you're overcoming on a job or trying to get a job, it's just having belief in what you're doing. And something, for better or for worse, I had as a young actor, was belief. I believed it was going to happen.

I genuinely did. Whether that was just bravado and the wrong thing to do, I don't know, because it ended up happening. But that's a key ingredient. You will always have moments when you don't believe in yourself and when you're not too sure whether the fight is worth it anymore. And those are the hardest moments. That's when you can really prove to yourself that you can pick yourself up.

And that's when other people in your life as well. You can't do it all by yourself. It's important to have a support system in one way, shape, or form. Because as an actor, you will face a lot of diversity. you'll face a lot of walls creatively and also when it comes to the nose. And I, yeah, it's just about belief. If you believe what you're doing is the right thing, then you'll be able to keep on doing it. It's also important to know that if you realize you're doing the wrong thing, that's when you stop doing the wrong thing. You don't just keep on going

just because, because that leads down a dark path. As great a point as that is to end the evening, I have one more question, which is beyond Superman even, almost, I think the thing that came up the most people on Twitter. And Lisa has a question about this. Does your dog, Cal, have any superpowers? How is Cal?

Cal is great. He's great. Sorry I didn't bring him today. what is his superpower well he's he and I have been together now for eight years and I think his superpower is

just being there being there for me it can be very lonely being an actor especially in years before I've been single and Cal's always been there and he's an

extraordinary animal, and dogs in particular, they are, they are sent from the heavens. They truly are. And Cal in particular. I will say, I think for 90% of our half hour backstage, we were talking about our dogs. Yeah, we were. Basically. It's always a pleasure to catch up with you, man, especially in this really wonderful moment that, you know, you can feel the love, I hope, tonight here. and across the internet as you guys are watching online.

We appreciate your passion for every role. We know you're a fan first, and the seriousness and the good humor you bring to everything is much appreciated. Noah Holmes, too, drops on Netflix November 4th. Check it out, guys. And thank you, New York City. Thank you, everybody, and most of all,

thank you to Henry Cavill. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pleasure to do this by Josh. I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times. And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director.

You might know me from The League, Veep, or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We love movies, and we come at them from different perspectives. Yeah, like Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't. He's too old. Let's not forget that Paul thinks that Dude Too is overrated. It is. Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspool, a podcast where we talk about good movies, critical hits. Fan favorites, musts season, and case you miss them.

We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Night. We've done deep dives on popcorn flicks. We've talked about why Independence Day deserves a second look. And we've talked about horror movies, some that you've never even heard of like Ganges and Hess. So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic adventure. Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your podcast.

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