Since his role in the TV drama The Tudors, Henry Cavill has established himself as a bankable action hero. He went on to star in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. alongside Armie Hammer as the American spy Napolean Solo and in the widely acclaimed Netflix Series The Witcher as Geralt of Rivia.
Furthermore, he also became the most popular version of Superman of the 21st century, first starring as Big Blue in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Giving birth to the DCU, he went toe to toe with Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Henry Cavill’s partnership with Tom Cruise
After showcasing his ability to play a spy in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Tom Cruise was impressed with Henry Cavill’s performance and soon cast him in his latest Mission Impossible film. As is common for every installment of Mission Impossible, the stunts, and the craziness were pumped up.
Henry Cavill played the role of August Walker in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, a spy who goes too far with bending the rules. Even though being super fit and a part of many stunts in previous films, the actor noted his role in Mission Impossible was most demanding, even more than Superman.
He had previously described how his first stunt for the film got him nervous and excited as it required him to rappel down the roof of the Grand Palais. Though it was dwarfed by Tom Cruise’s HALO stunt, for which he trained for an entire year.
A stunt impossible for Superman
In an interview with Collider, the Justice League actor commented on his experience working with Tom Cruise, noting how it was all “worth it.” A scene he talked about a lot is the helicopter action sequence and this is what Henry Cavill had to say about it:
“Even though it’s not a single shot, it’s a sequence, and I love this sequence and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but physically the most enduring. It was so extremely cold, literally above the Southern Alps in winter, with the doors open on a helicopter. I’m sticking my face into the wind and firing blanks, with all sorts of stuff flying back at me, and just doing it over, and over, and over again”
He further noted how he could barely hear the pilot and had to rely on gestures to figure out when they were rolling. Whenever the camera moved focus to Tom Cruise, he would take his head back into the helicopter and relax until it was his turn again. He also said:
“Within a half an hour they’re like, “Right, we’re refueled. Let’s go again.” It was just having to suck it up and do that for at least two weeks. That was rough, but I absolutely loved the sequence, and it was so worth it.”
Due to the actor expanding his portfolio in the spy-action genre, his chances of becoming the next James Bond after Daniel Craig’s departure have only increased. Along with Idris Elba, James Norton, and Regé-Jean Page, Henry Cavill remains a top contender for the role.
Source: Collider
