Henry Cavill Went Through An Emotional Crisis During One Of The Witcher's Goopiest Scenes
There's a lot about "The Witcher" that's tough to explain to people who haven't seen it. The show's complex, labyrinthine mythology, for one thing, which involves portals, alternate worlds, and a loaded political situation between humans, elves, and other non-human beings. But it's even harder to explain exactly how funny "The Witcher" can be when it wants to be. For a high fantasy show headlined by an ever-stoic-looking Henry Cavill as legendary monster-hunter Geralt of Rivera, "The Witcher" still finds the time to add in the occasional gag that feels more "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" than "Game of Thrones."
One of the show's more memorable comedic bits came back in season 1, when Geralt faced off against a mythical water creature called a Selkiemore. Audience members don't actually see the Selkiemore, but we hear a man tell the tale of it in a local pub. He's covered in gore and grime and he begins to break down as he talks, stricken by emotion after witnessing the Witcher apparently get swallowed alive by the beast before his very eyes. Only, just then Geralt walks into the tavern, too, fully alive and looking like he took a bath in monster guts. Geralt then sits down for a stiff drink, as deadpan as ever while the locals around him sing "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher" as he remains coated in stinky monster gunk.
A close call made the Selkiemore scene tough to film
The Selkiemore scene is memorable not just for viewers, but for Cavill as well — although not for the reasons you might expect. The actor spoke at WitcherCon in 2021 about an unfortunate accident that left him worried about his American Akita dog Kal throughout the goop-filled shoot. "This day, Kal had run out of my trailer," he recalled in a conversation with Josh Horowitz. "And there [were] these metal stairs outside the trailer." The stairs were apparently designed with holes in the steps to prevent rainfall from gathering on them, but instead of preventing a slipping hazard, they ended up injuring Kal. Fair warning: skip the next paragraph if you get squeamish thinking about doggies in distress.
"Kal got one of his claws stuck in it as he jumped off and all I heard him do is yelp," Cavill recalled at WitcherCon. "And I thought, 'Oh, he's landed badly on his shoulder or something.'" It turns out the injury was much worse; the poor creature had actually "ripped his claw all the way off apart from a little bit." Cavill realized this as soon as he walked up to Kal and noticed the pup "looking shamefaced and holding his paw up," and he was called to set at the same time. Luckily, his longtime assistant Leah Gyimah was able to help take Kal to the vet, but when it turned out the Akita had to be put under anesthesia to remove the injured nail, veterinary professionals warned Cavill that some dogs don't wake up from surgeries.
Kal made it through — and has a new friend too
Needless to say, Kal ended up being okay, but the Selkiemore scene was apparently shot in the middle of the high-stress emergency, leaving Cavill thinking about his poor pup during the silly, gross scene. As Cavill recalled:
"I get a call as I'm getting gooped up, and Leah says, 'Right, vet says it should be fine. They're just gonna remove the nail. And they need to put him under. And the vet has just warned and said, look, dogs going under, they may not necessarily wake up.'"
Cavill calls that day of filming "a particularly rough moment," noting that he was "sitting there thinking, 'I'm never going to see my dog again.'" To make matters weirder, he was slathered up with yogurt and fruit dyed to look like intestines and other viscera, and ended up steaming from the heat of the set lights during the "freezing cold" day. "And I'm here on set, doing this, rather than with him," the actor recalled during WitcherCon. Luckily, Kal's surgery went well and the dog still makes regular guest star appearances on Cavill's Instagram. The actor even got a tiny French Bulldog named Baggins, who he posted a picture of alongside Kal in July.
When "The Witcher" returns for season 4, Liam Hemsworth will take over the role Cavill first embodied, as the actor bid farewell to the character earlier this summer in an oddly anti-climactic final episode. Fans will no doubt miss the man who made Geralt both a larger-than-life hero and a surprisingly deadpan comedic figure, but hopefully, he has plenty more time to spend with his pups these days.
"The Witcher" seasons 1-3 are now on Netflix.