Cinematographer Romain Lacourbas Reveals What It's Really Like To Work With Henry Cavill On The Witcher - Exclusive
Whether he's working on films or television series in Europe or Hollywood, acclaimed French filmmaker Romain Lacourbas is a vital cog in every production as a cinematographer. No matter if they come from directors, writers or producers, all the ideas flow through Lacourbas to ensure their visions — which combined become his vision — end up on the screen the way it is intended.
Of course, the cast is the core element that makes every production complete, and for Season 2 of the Netflix streaming juggernaut "The Witcher," leading the charge once again is star Henry Cavill as the mutated monster hunter Geralt of Rivia. But Cavill is hardly on the job to just read lines, pick up his check and leave the heavy lifting on the series up to somebody else. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Lacourbas, who was the cinematographer on four of Season 2's episodes, said he was inspired by Cavill's monstrous commitment to "The Witcher" in front of and behind the camera.
"You may have heard he had an injury also during the shooting [of 'The Witcher'], amongst the COVID and all that ... He injured his leg, so he had to train even harder after that to be able to come back to the set," Lacourbas revealed. "This guy was waking up at half past 4 in the morning and doing a lot of training with the stunts, and then he came to the set to get a lot of makeup, hair, prosthetics, and contact lenses for his eyes. When we were on set for 12 hours, he was probably there for 16, always with the same smile and the same generosity, and the same, 'Just happy to be here, happy to be part of that adventure.' It was great for me. We really got along very well together."
Lacourbas admires Cavill's dedication as a collaborator on The Witcher
As a major fan of Andrzej Sapkowski's "The Witcher" book saga and the video games the stories inspired, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Cavill discussed his ideas for the series with Lacourbas and creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.
"He's extremely collaborative — him, Lauren and possibly a couple of other producers. Henry's one of the people who knows the books the best, as well as all the scripts the best. It's really amazing how much he knows — all the lines of all characters. It's really amazing. He's really collaborative," Lacourbas enthused. "He would sometimes come to discuss an idea or to suggest an idea, but he would never push for it. If he came to talk about a shot and asked for a reason why the camera was [in a particular spot], it was really rare. It would always be for the purpose of the story. He was extremely generous and extremely professional."
As dedicated as Cavill is on the set, Lacourbas said the actor makes it a point to lighten up the atmosphere during shooting by providing the cast and crew with some laughs.
"Of course, that happens, although it was not a tense set or anything. Believe me, the general ambience was really nice," Lacourbas told Looper. "Of course, there are some jokes sometimes. He is cracking jokes from time to time, and there is a time for that, as always, on the set. But most of the time, it's about, for him and for all the other actors, to tell you the truth, it's about being focused. But yeah, there was a very good atmosphere."
Also starring Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey, and Paul Bullion, "The Witcher" Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.