Henry Cavill Birthday — Superman Turns 32, His Rise To Fame Wasn’t Easy
Henry Cavill is celebrating his 32nd birthday today and we take a look at how he became best known for playing Superman, the ultimate superhero.
The handsome Brit was born in the island of Jersey, where he grew up in a household full of five boys. His parents are everyday people. His father, Colin, is a stockbroker and mother, Marianne, stayed at home raising the kids for many years, according to HenryCavill.org.
“My upbringing was typically English: a traditional, big, male family. I went to boarding school. All my brothers enjoyed acting in school, but we were never aimed in any direction. Our parents gave us a lot of freedom to do what we wanted. They helped us, they guided us, and they answered questions when we asked them, but they left a lot of our decisions up to us.”
So, how did the birthday boy end up snatching on of the most sought-after roles in comics history? His casting as the lead in Man of Steel, a reboot of the Superman story — did not come without controversy. Comic fans were crying foul complaining that director Zack Snyder was casting a British actor to play an American role, and he was relatively unknown then.
For what seemed like an eternity to an eager Henry, not much was happening in his career, which led Empire magazine to call him the unluckiest man in Hollywood. Cavill was considered for several major roles that went to others because he was either too young or too old for them.
He reportedly missed out on the role of the handsome vampire Edward Cullen — who was eventually played by Robert Pattinson — but at 24, he was too old to play a 17-year-old high school student. Henry Cavill also lost out on being cast as James Bond, but the studio chose Daniel Craig instead, which led a frustrated Henry to even consider leaving acting and joining the military.
“I went through a phase where I was getting wonderful feedback for everything I did, but not getting the job because I wasn’t a name…”
After being cast as Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, in the steamy HBO period drama The Tudors and playing more visible movie roles, everything changed for Cavill when he landed the role of a lifetime, Superman. Ironically, he had also lost out on playing the superhero earlier in his career when he was passed over in favor of Brandon Routh for Superman Returns.
In order to play Superman credibly, Henry Cavill underwent a strict exercise and dietary regimen to change his body into that of the most powerful man on Earth, and the results were impressive. Now, the Brit is ready to reprise the role that has taken his career to the next level for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opposite Ben Affleck (Batman) and is set to appear in the much talked-about Justice League films.
On his birthday, Henry Cavill can feel confident his career is on the right path. He not only has Superman, which he will be playing for the foreseeable future, but his new movie The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a remake of the 1960s television series and is training to play a Special Commando in the Duncan Falconer adaptation, Stratton: First Into Action.
[Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]
