Henry Cavill Discusses Toxic Fandom and The Character He Plays in THE WITCHER
Henry Cavill has played iconic superhero Superman as well as a well-known character in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and now he’s playing Geralt of Rivia in the Netflix series The Witcher, which was adapted from a video game. He’s no stranger to playing characters that fans are familiar with and have strong opinions about.
In a recent interview with Netflix’s Jake Hamilton (via Comicbook), Cavill was asked what he thought of the culture of “toxic fandom,” and how it has affected him, and he was actually much more sympathetic to the fans that you might think, on the record, at least. He said:
"I understand what you’re saying, but when it comes to fans, it is a fan’s right to have whatever opinion they want to have. And people are going to be upset, especially when you’re talking about books or games, because you’re never going to be the exact person who they had in their head, or who they played on The Witcher 3, for example. I don’t necessarily consider that toxic, I just consider that passionate. And it’s something which I have obviously had to come to terms with over the years."
He went on to add:
"And for me, the comparison is not like that, with Geralt walking into a bar. The comparison is more meta, it’s more to do with xenophobia and sexism and colonialism and all those effects that that has on people. And then who they divert their fear and energy towards, and that tends to be Geralt because he’s a guy who exists outside of society. He’s not part of a group when he walks into town, and he looks so different from everyone else, and no one can control him. He is faster, stronger, better at swords, and apparently can do magic as well. So the last thing you want to do is — you can’t control him. And you fear him. And therefore, all of your energy, especially in a crowd of people, will be diverted at him, because of everything that’s happening above you in the world."
It certainly sounds like Cavill is taking his role very seriously. I am not familiar with the source material, but I bet Cavill is living up to expectations.
What do you think? Do fans have the right to complain as much as they do?