Henry Cavill Likes Getting Beaten Up

Henry Cavill enjoys playing scenes in which he gets beat up and can act in a supporting role.

By Matthew Creith | Published

Netflix debuted Enola Holmes 2 last weekend, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, and both actors have been heavily promoting their newest feature film for the streamer. Cavill has expressed his interest lately in making more action films like the ones he became famous for, namely the DC Universe movies in which he plays Superman, as well as 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout. According to an interview the actor gave to Collider, Cavill notes that he enjoys supporting roles that see him getting beaten up frequently, often to drive the story of the project forward and supporting the other actors in a scene to make them look their best.

What might be surprising to some fans of Henry Cavill’s work as the Man of Steel is that the British actor is confident in his ability to take a punch or two onscreen. In his interview with Collider, Cavill goes on to say that he likes to check his pride at the door when it comes to getting beaten up in a scene as he feels in that moment that he is “supporting everyone else’s story in that room” and “if you are the guy who kicks everyone else’s ass, because that’s not the truth in real life, you have to rely on everyone else in the room to sell that as well.”

sherlock holmes henry cavill feature
Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes

As an actor, Cavill feels that it’s up to everyone in a scene to be able to sell the fact that whoever is throwing the punches looks believable in their actions, so he takes pleasure in being a supporting performer when the scene calls for it.

Henry Cavill may like getting beaten up to make a scene seem more believable, but other actors don’t necessarily believe that to be the truth for their own professional reputation. Cavill’s DC Universe costar, Dwayne Johnson, is one of those as he has long been rumored to put a clause into his contracts that he can’t lose a fight in any of his films, which includes his entries into the Fast & Furious film saga as well as his titular role as Black Adam.

While this may seem contradictory to what Cavill believes makes a scene and the overall film authentic in its execution, actors Vin Diesel and Jason Statham both supposedly subscribe to Dwayne Johnson’s methods as well, as they are often rarely viewed as the losers in a battle despite many punches thrown their way in various action thrillers throughout the years.

Enola Holmes 2 was released to the subscription streaming platform Netflix on November 4 with Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill reprising their roles as the Holmes siblings, Enola and Sherlock. Sam Claflin, who costarred with the two actors in the first film, was unavailable to shoot the sequel so the filmmakers had to work around their other existing actors to come up with a substantial storyline that picks up where the first film ended.

Cavill can be seen in a supporting part in the sequel compared to Brown’s titular detective role along with an ensemble group of actors, including Louis Partridge, Susan Wokoma, Adeel Akhtar, Helena Bonham Carter, Harry Potter performer David Thewlis, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster.