I work out two, two and a half hours a day. For 'Immortals,' it was body-weight stuff: crunches, pullups, and martial arts-based cardio.
I found very interesting - trying to separate the different facets of Superman in that way. When you're aware of how people perceive you, you can't always remain true to yourself, and that was an interesting thing for me to apply to the character as well - exploring these different facets of his personality while having certain bits of it stripped away. The arrogance of a person who would have the kind of power that Superman does - we see that in The Return of Superman. Superman is not that character, but since he has all of those powers, he has that capacity for arrogance.
Not every job is a good job.
Playing an icon [superman], you don't try to be an icon because that defeats the purpose. The responsibility attached is enormous, and the realization that it actually really, really matters meant that I wanted to put the most amount of work into representing the character properly.
With Superman, there are certain limitations for an actor. You can't go past certain boundaries because then you cease to be what the character is.
I still don't have any crushes on actresses or models. It's always been one of those things with girlfriends. They say, "Who's on your list?" What do you call it, the Get Out of Jail Free card?
You can train and train until you are blue in the face, but you've got to diet, you've got to have that leanness because if you are not lean, your abs won't show. Of course, the training has to be put in, but then you've to shed all the fat and keep the fat off. And that's how you get an eight pack.
If someone's trying to intimidate me, male or female, I don't respect them enough to be intimidated.
I suppose that when I'm building a character, it's usually related to what their family is like and who their parents are, as well as how I grew up - that nurture side.
I'm a giant softy, for sure, but I honestly think these days it's probably considered more masculine to be emotionally connected.
The hardest part of acting is not being guaranteed work. Every job could be your last.
Regrets are something you can't really have as an actor, because ultimately you'll end up destroying yourself there's a lot of disappointment in this business.
I didn't see a lot of comic books growing up.
I like to go full bore into something. If you have a backup plan, then you've already admitted defeat.
I'd rather feel empathy for a character that's fictional, so it doesn't quite tie into personal experience as much.
If you have superpowers and no one can actually cause you any physical harm, then everything has to be very thought-through. You almost have to fake at being human.
I didn't read comics as a kid - though, obviously, I've read a lot since.
It's difficult to judge other actors, because as an actor you're looking at different things than what an audience is looking at.
When I first met my girlfriend, I was super intimidated. I wanted to impress her. I was thinking, Don't mess this up, man. You've gotta play your cards exactly right.
I never thought of myself as unlucky. When you aim high, it's tough to get there unless something really fortunate happens.
Ideally you do want people to treat you professionally in return, but not everyone necessarily does that.
The point of acting is to pretend you're someone else and sell a story.
I'll never accept that I'm a sex symbol. That will mean that someone is a bit too fond of himself. If it happens, I think it's certainly going to be odd. People shouldn't see me as a sex symbol. I'm really just Henry. I'm just telling a story. I could be playing an incredibly unpleasant character who's not sexually attractive at all in my next movie. So I've no expectations at all.
At boarding school there wasn't much time for much of anything except education.
Some people thrive under pressure, but pressure can also ruin your performance, it can push you down angles which you don't want to go.
If I spend all my time being upset about having lost a job, then the next however many auditions I have are going to be useless.
If you're a good actor, then you channel enough of yourself into the character so that you do get that other thing.
Why can men no longer be best friends? This is so stupid. Today if you show two guys being best friends they end up giving out an image that they’re gay. But guys don’t always need to be drinking beer, fighting in pubs or pulling women by the hair. They may have a deep affection.
This acting job - it pays very well and you get to live a wonderful lifestyle, but it's something that I love doing, so I want to work with other people who enjoy it as well...
My mother is such an incredibly strong woman. She raised a family of five boys extremely well. She made us all strong, loving, caring people. We all support each other. I'm really thankful to her.
People have this belief that actors are able to go out there and say, 'Oh I choose this job,' but most of the time we're just taking the job we can get. We don't just get offered thousands of jobs; we might earn one job a year and that's the one we'll take because we've got to pay the rent.
I'm loyal to a fault. I may have learned that from my mother.
If I spend all my time being upset about having lost a job, then the next however many auditions I have are going to be useless. So as you're going through the process, you get excited and put your all into it. But you don't get carried away, because until you do the thing, nothing hasn't happened yet. The rest is just talk.
There is a story that you have to tell within a certain amount of time, and you can only show so much of the character. So as much as the script is born from the source material, there are certain limitations.
I just loved the coolness of [Sean] Connery's Bond. He just sort of oozes cool.
My version of Superman is essentially of a guy who has spent his whole life alone.
Getting the role like this is such awonderful opportunity... I remember looking in the mirror and going 'I'm superman'.
My mother and father have also raised five boys so they know there's only so much that can be controlled.
My mother works in a bank and my dad is the head of my management team and also works in finance.
As much as everyone says that Superman is good, a lot of other people might say that that's why they find him boring A lot of Batman fans might say that.
If there's one thing that we're very good at as humans, it's remembering the bad stuff. For some reason, it's always the pain that gets you.
As much as I do love real-life stories they can often make you hurt in a way I'd rather not hurt. . . . For some reason, it's always the pain that gets you.
As an outside; don't worry about failure, because failure will take care of itself. Focus on success.
A large amount of constant activity will get things going. For example, training in the morning will have everything, all the juices flowing by the time you actually get to work. So, when you're at work, you've been already up for an hour or so or two hours, and you're raring to go where everyone else is still wiping sleep out of their eyes.
Ideally you do want people to treat you professionally in return, but not everyone necessarily does that. This acting job - it pays very well and you get to live a wonderful lifestyle, but it's something that I love doing, so I want to work with other people who enjoy it as well ... Maybe if I met the Queen I'd be nervous, though I'd probably be more nervous about doing things the right way because it's a very formal occasion.
Finding the physical aspect is important to me because that is often how we read people in everyday life.
If you've got nothing else, passion will get you through.
I read mostly historical fiction - lots of stuff set in ancient Rome and ancient Greece. I also liked sci-fi and fantasy: David Gemmell, Raymond E. Feist. It's a nice escape from the world. As much as I do love real-life stories, they can often make you hurt in a way I'd rather not hurt.
Superman isn't moody or brooding or aggressive.
I remember going, "I'm really excited about this - I really want it to happen. It would be a wonderful opportunity." But if something doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen. My mother and father sort of raised me to look at things that way.
If there is some sort of trouble at home, kids don't think that James Bond is going to come save their mum from their dad, or their dad from their mum. They don't think, "Bond is going to come and save me." Superman is a different sort of idealized figure.
There are these fantasies among people who watch movies where they're like, "Oh, there's a chemistry between them - something going on." And sometimes there is. But for me, it's more like, I go to work, I do a job, I play a role, and then I go home. I don't wear a cape at home. I'm not an invulnerable alien at home.
When you give your all to something and you're hitting a wall, it just feels so wrong.
I liked "Superman/Batman: The Search for Kryptonite" because I really enjoyed the interaction between those two characters.
People say, "Age is just a number." A lot of times it's not just a number. It's actually a real and true sign of someone's maturity. But in this case, she's fantastic.
I know I can't make everyone happy, but I know I can do the most justice I can possibly do to a character, or any character, if I put my all into it. That's the choice you have to make.
A lot of the stuff you do as an actor - or I do, because I can't speak for everyone - is not always consciously thought out. A lot of the time, for me, it's actually just feeling stuff, and it happens all in the moment and your body reacts.
I was overweight when I went to school. In fact, I was overweight when I left, just taller. Fatty Cavill was the nickname. I mean, no one wants to be Fatty Cavill.
Certainly, for younger guys, Superman is this mythological character that they've thought about and explored in their imaginations... But one thing I really like about Superman fans is that they're so open-minded and excited and honest. There's something beautiful about their enjoyment of it - something very Superman-like.
To play Bond, though, and then for the world to perceive you in a certain way, is very different from playing Superman. Bond is not this ideal figure.
No matter what era we're in, we need hope.
If I'm talking to someone and they're feeling a certain way, I will definitely tie into that very quickly. You have to learn to read emotions and feelings when you grow up in a family with four brothers - especially if three of them are a lot bigger than you.
I'm a serious geek. I mean I seriously want to own a unicorn when I'm older . . . or a Pegasus . . . yeah Pegasus sounds better.
It's our job as actors to make it look like it's not manufactured. If you have two actors who understand their characters - and therefore what they are trying to portray - then all they need to do is be the characters and there's a chemistry there.
I often find during a day of shooting I will speak in an American accent all day long when I'm doing dialogue. At the end of the day, it often takes an effort when I'm talking to my fiancee to bring my English back just because you're so used to speaking that way.
I hate to say "found himself" - it sounds so ridiculous.
I prefer more of the modern stuff - just because I can associate with the imagery more.
Whether someone else would have played Superman better or worse would be up for a lot of debate on the internet forums, I'm sure.
I work out two, two and a half hours a day.
Nature is a definite thing. But nurture is just as powerful. It can really mess with you.
My fame? Truly I don't consider myself famous...long way to go yet. But if anyone does ask for an autograph it's a wonderful feeling.
I wouldn't necessarily be star-struck. I haven't been yet. But I don't know what happens in the future - maybe one day I will be. You never know.
You treat anyone normally, and they'll treat you normally back.
Everyone doubts themselves. It's just a matter of admitting it or not.
I'm training two-and-a-half hours a day, pushing my body beyond its normal limits, putting on a lot of muscle mass and just making myself look like Superman.
I don't think Americans look bad in spandex.
If people like to see me with my shirt off, it's enormously flattering. But that doesn't mean I'm going to take my shirt off all the time.
I wouldn't say Bond is an ideal figure, no. The character has been performed in so many different ways that people go, "Oh, that's an interesting take on Bond."
I know there are a lot of people who like to get very involved in their characters, but I, personally, find it too involved. I just like to do it as a job - and it's my job to make it look real.
I'm from a family of six men, so I'm bound to be physical.
I go to work, I do a job, I play a role, and then I go home. I don't wear a cape at home. I'm not an invulnerable alien at home.
