How Henry Cavill Transformed His Body For The Witcher

To make sure that he was looking as shredded as humanly possible for his many shirtless scenes in The Witcher, Cavill allowed himself to systematically dehydrate. Over the course of four days, he would gradually reduce his fluid intake so that when the time came to shoot he had zero water weight. "It makes your skin really thin, so it sits on the muscles," he explained during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. "On the first day you'll have a liter and a half, and the second day half a liter, and then the third day no water, and then you'll shoot the fourth."

Cavill has plenty of experience when it comes to pushing his body to its limits for a role, but this was a tough ask, even for him. The actor admitted that he was the "most miserable person on the planet" when he was going without water ("You get to the point on the last day where you can smell water nearby," he claimed), but the results speak for themselves. The internet went wild when shots of Geralt in the bathtub were included in the trailer for The Witcher, which has already been renewed for a second season.

To get more ripped than ever for The Witcher, Cavill joined forces with Dave Rienzi, the strength and conditioning coach that helped sculpt one of the biggest bodies in Hollywood — Dwayne Johnson called him the "mastermind" behind his fitness regimen. Rienzi suggested that Cavill try something called fasted cardio if he wanted to get into next-level shape for his big Netflix series. This essentially means working out when your body isn't processing or digesting food, which is thought to help burn fat at a faster rate. Did this turn Henry Cavill into Hangry Cavill? Not according to the actor.

"It's some of the best, or most enjoyable cardio I've done," he told Men's Health UK, revealing that he starts his day with an empty-stomach workout. "It's only 20 minutes, so it's not massively exhausting. It's not like doing HIIT [high intensity interval training] which, psychologically, can be quite grueling. My heart rate's at 125-135bpm, so it has a really good effect on fat-loss." Cavill went on to tell the men's mag that Rienzi's suggestion helped him reach peak fitness for his debut as Geralt. "Out of all the things I've done in the past, I think the fasted cardio stuff is actually working best for me," the buff Brit said. "I'm in the best shape of my life."

In June 2017, Cavill shared a throwback photo with his Instagram followers, giving them a look inside his training for The Witcher. The actor became a regular at Budapest's Flex Gym while he was on location in Hungary, and the staff looked after him for the duration. The gym had everything that Cavill needed to stay Geralt-ready, but he didn't always opt for the fanciest machine or the heaviest weights. When he came across an old snap of himself lifting some pretty small dumbbells at Flex, Cavill decided to share a little pearl of workout wisdom with the world. 

"It doesn't take huge weights everyday to achieve results," the actor captioned the photo. "I was doing everything I could in a busy busy schedule to try and get something in, whenever I could. During this period I learned that it's not the weight that matters, it's the workout." Cavill went on to encourage those who aren't blessed with a frame like his to not worry about what the person next to them is lifting. "You do your weights, just make every workout count," he said. "You might end up looking better than the fella or lady next to you that's using those heavy weights."

Finding the time to workout when a project is still in pre-production is usually pretty straightforward for actors, but maintaining an impressive physique throughout a shoot is way more challenging, especially on a project the size of The Witcher. Speaking to Men's Health UK, Cavill said that he was doing "16 and 15-hour shoot days" at one stage, meaning he had to become a master of time management to stay in top shape. The actor revealed that he was getting up at 3 a.m. every morning so he had enough time to shower and get his extensive hair and makeup applied before the cameras started rolling.

"The most taxing thing is always going to be time," he told Entertainment Tonight. "It's just about getting that training in each day and forcing yourself to do it. You've finished a very long shift and you were there two-and-a-half hours early for your hair and your makeup, and then you have to go to the gym." Cavill's workout coach Dave Rienzi (who flew out to Budapest to train with the Brit for some "key scenes" in The Witcher) praised his dedication to the role in an Instagram post. "His choice to take things to the next level is no small task as he's currently working a grueling shoot schedule," the strength and conditioning expert said. "His 110 percent commitment is no joke."

Cavill was consuming up to 5,000 calories every single day during his Superman training, so it's no surprise to learn that he ate an insane amount of food while getting in shape for The Witcher. The actor revealed his daily diet on his Instagram stories, and it went a long way toward explaining just how he got so big. Eggs are a good source of protein and have become a staple of the bodybuilder's breakfast, but they're just not enough for Cavill — he has his with steak and an oatmeal shake, right after his fasted morning workout.

On one particular day he had chicken curry with jasmine rice for his first lunch (yes, first lunch), and for his second lunch he ate roast chicken breast and roast potatoes with a generous side helping of curry sauce. "You may, by now, be realizing that I like curry," Cavill joked (via Men's Health UK). He went for bison steak and brown rice pasta for his dinner, choosing bison because it contains more protein than other options and is a natural source of creatine. He has a protein shake for supper, and more or less repeats this — until cheat day. The actor has admitted that he often turns to pizza and burgers when he's allowing himself the day off. "Sushi is a good one too, because you can eat vast amounts of it," he told Entertainment Tonight.

Just like the rest of his workout, Henry Cavill's dumbbell curls were tailored to him and his specific needs. The actor had to have forearms that were capable of taming big, strong horses for extended periods of time (Geralt is an experienced rider and goes through many horses, all of whom he names Roach, in the source material). Dave Rienzi had his client doing dumbbell curls alternating from a static hold, which helped sculpt those huge forearms you see in the show. "With horse riding this can make a difference," Cavill said during his Train Like a Celebrity video. "If you have a particularly powerful horse — whether it be a stallion or anything else — which is really, really going for it, to have that necessary heave back on the bit, it does help."

Having muscular endurance in the forearms was also essential for the show's complicated swordplay. According to Cavill, just hanging onto his sword is enough of a challenge come the end of a long day of shooting. "When you're holding a sword, the first few takes are fine," the Brit explained. "When you're into take 16 of the day and you're doing very complex movements with your wrist, your forearm does start to die, and you end up throwing swords across the room rather than making a swing." Luckily, Cavill put the work in, and (as far as we know) nobody was impaled by a flying sword.