The Witcher Season 2's Paul Bullion Reveals What It's Really Like Working With Henry Cavill - Exclusive
When it came to joining the streaming smash "The Witcher" for Season 2, Paul Bullion, who stars as fan favorite Lambert, quickly found out that the series' star, Henry Cavill, was truly a man of steel. After all, since he mastered his role as Superman in the DC Extended Universe, Cavill has proven that no role is beyond his reach. Apart from three films where he played Superman, the actor has gone on to play pivotal roles in such box office blasts as "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" and the streaming hit "Enola Holmes," so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that he slayed the titular role of "The Witcher" when the first season debuted in 2019.
Now, after a two-year wait, Cavill is back as Geralt of Rivia, the mutated monster hunter in the second season of "The Witcher," which is now on Netflix. In this chapter, Geralt, charged with protecting Princess Ciri (Freya Allan) of Cintra, finds safe harbor for both of them in his ancestral homeland of Kaer Morhen. It's there where Geralt reunites with his childhood friend and fellow Witcher Lambert, who puts Ciri to the test when she insists she would like to train and undergo the rigorous transformation of becoming a Witcher herself.
Bullion found out that he was actually the one that needed the training when it came to starring alongside Cavill, even though he's an endurance athlete in addition to his work in showbiz. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Bullion discussed his work on "The Witcher" and shared how he was immediately inspired by Cavill's work ethic on the series.
Bullion says Cavill sets an example with his hard work on the series
Bullion said it's hard not to think of Cavill's superhero movie achievements when meeting him, but after that, the "Zack Snyder's Justice League" star is all about getting down to the business at hand.
"Obviously, you notice that, 'Oh, there's Superman.' Like, he is Superman. What he's brilliant at doing is very quickly getting rid of any preconceptions of why he is in the position he is in," Bullion told Looper. "He's in the position he's in because he works really hard more than anything. He's an absolute grafter. He works so hard. When he got documented that when he got injured on set, he was doing rehab at half past 4 in the morning before coming to set. He works really hard."
As such, Bullion added, Cavill's mindset is infectious: even to somebody who's lived and breathed training for the most arduous of physical challenges.
"I do Ironman triathlons, and I put my body through silly things. But knowing that I was going to be on set, standing next to somebody like Henry ... he really looks after himself [and] I had to go right in order to look average," Bullion said. "I had to work harder than I've ever worked in my life. I went and got into the shape of my life before we even filmed. I mean, during the lockdown, all I could do was work out."
Cavill tailors his training to the character's storyline, Bullion says
As Bullion discovered, Cavill doesn't just train for the sake of being in shape for the role. He tailors his training with Geralt and the trials he's faced as a Witcher in his mind.
"He goes into the detail of, 'Okay, well, what are these witches been through? We've been through the Trial of the Grasses. We've gone through mutations, we've done all these horrific trials,'" Bullion revealed. "Like everything that Lambert puts Ciri through, he's been through, and the battles he's seen in his life."
Ultimately, Bullion said, Cavill's commitment to his work raises "everyone's game."
"Just to see somebody that's obviously worked to the level and to the quantity of work that he's done in the years he's been active [is impressive]," Bullion said in admiration. "But still, for him to just still be so hungry to tell a good story, that's also very inspiring because reason why he keeps working is because he loves it as much as the day he started it."
"The Witcher" Season 2 is streaming exclusively on Netflix.