BlackBook Magazine

The star of Showtime's hit series 'The Tudors' has two big movies in the works. (He also has four bigger brothers to keep him grounded.)

British actor Henry Cavill came thisclose to landing the title role in Batman Begins and Superman Returns. He was almost cast as James Bond in Casino Royale, until Daniel Craig’s smirk swooped in. He even tried buying a house last year, but “the deal fell through right at the end.” Nothing stuck. Defeated, the extremely private star considered quitting Hollywood when he was offered the plum role as rakish commoner Charles Brandon, Jonathan Rhys Meyer’s Number Two, on “The Tudors.” What's more, the face of Dunhill fragrance recently wrapped Joel Schumacher's latest picture, Creek. "It's based on a Nazi occult experiment, which has been buried for over 60 years," he says, not without self-awareness. Also on the horizon is Woody Allen's cinematic return to New York, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Larry David, which is currently in production. Below, the young king takes his throne.

BLACKBOOK: Can you relate at all to Charles Brandon’s scheming?

HENRY CAVILL: I’ve never schemed anyone’s demise, so not really, no.

BB: You are being positioned as the next big heartthrob. Are you comfortable with that sort of thing?

HC: What, being naked on camera? It’s not the most comfortable of things. But sometimes the role calls for it, and this one did in particular. And it has certainly gotten me a lot of favors.

BB: Had you considered these perks?

HC: When I started acting, I really enjoyed the acting side of things. And, of course, actors tend to get paid a lot of money, so that’s also very good. But as far as being a heartthrob goes, it’s certainly nothing I was searching for, or expected. It’s not really my kind of thing.

BB: What about the world of the show appeals to you?

HC: The blatant chivalry involved—the horse riding, the jousting, and the sword fighting.

BB: Was Jonathan Rhys Meyer able to give you any advice about working with Woody Allen?

HC: I haven’t talked to Johnny about it yet. I’ve heard so many different conflicting stories about Woody, but I’d rather go in there without preconceptions. If nothing else, it should be great fun.

BB: It must be intimidating, as a British actor, to star in Woody Allen’s return to New York?

HC: Of course it is. But then again, it’s something I thrive on. I want to keep on stretching myself.

BB: What is the most difficult part about being an actor?

HC: Disappointment. I almost left the industry at one point because things just weren’t happening—the movies I filmed weren’t being released, my projects didn’t seem to go that well, and I didn’t seem to get much recognition. The most difficult thing was having to get over the disappointment of the big roles I’d just missed.

BB: You’re talking about the lead roles in Superman Returns, Batman Begins, and Casino Royale?

HC: Those are all major disappointments, but it’s the little ones that hurt most—when you’re strapped for cash and you’re going out to L.A. with your last few dimes that you just earned in a bar, previous to having been in L.A. before, and then working hard and working harder, and unfortunately not getting a role that would keep you afloat. That’s been challenging.

BB: You’re currently the face of a Dunhill fragrance. Do you spend a lot of time grooming?

HC: When I go out, I tend to go out as me, and I’m very careful not to fall into that trap of feeling like you’re constantly performing. I’m Henry in real life, I’m “Dunhill Guy” for Dunhill Fragrance things, and I’m Charles Brandon on “The Tudors.” But Henry is the most important of the three, and sometimes he likes to get dressed up and sometimes he doesn’t.

BB: It’s a terrible time for young celebrity. Are you at all interested in the trappings of Hollywood nightlife?

HC: I have four brothers, three of whom are much older that I am. They would kick my ass if I got too involved in the glitz and the glamour. Of course I worry, though, because I might get sent a bottle of vodka in my hotel room, or something fantastic like that, and it makes you feel wonderful. But when I get back home, I’m kind of glad to be away from it all, to be honest.

BB: Is superstardom something that appeals to you?

HC: Part of me wants to get to that status where I’m able to choose every single role I do—and, of course, there’s wonderful pay that comes with that too. But another part of me is worried about my private life being exposed because I’m very keen on my private life remaining private. I don’t want to be too open and give everything away to reporters.

BB: Do you think actors owe the public anything other than a great performance?

HC: I think people are interested to read about the characters they see on TV. They want to see what the person behind the character is like—and I’m guilty of that too—but it’s important to retain a sense of normality. The actor’s job is to do his job. But that’s difficult, especially with the celebrity attached to acting these days.

BB: If you care to share, what was your childhood like?

HC: 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.

BB: When did you realize that acting might actually be a plausible profession?

HC: The casting director for The Count of Monte Cristo was doing a run of English boarding schools, and she found me, and, eventually, I got offered a role in the film. And I was like, Okay, cool. I was considering getting into this line of work, and now that I’ve got a job and an agent, I might as well keep the ball rolling.

BB: What sort of actor would you like to be?

HC: Well, as much as I enjoy the art of acting, and getting deep into a character, Hollywood blockbuster stuff comes with a $130 million package.

BB: Does traveling around the world and being away from family ever get tedious?

HC: I’m certainly very used to being away from home. That’s not a problem for me anymore, although it was a big problem when I was away at boarding school. I was terribly homesick. But I still stand by what my parents did. Sometimes it gets a little tiring, and I want to have a family in the future, so it’ll be nice to have something steadier.

BB: It’s refreshing to hear you talk about the job and the paycheck, as opposed to simply the craft.

HC: It’s not necessarily a popular opinion to have, but if I’m going to be honest, I like nice things. I love acting, but I also get the chance to make lots of money. Money shouldn’t take precedence, but it should certainly be embraced.

BB: What has been your most humbling experience as an actor?

HC: Working with people who open your eyes to different ways of looking at a script can pull you right out of your own ass. When you’re working with someone good, it happens every day, and you go, Fuck, I didn’t even think of doing that!