‘The Witcher’ director Marc Jobst explains why he thinks Henry Cavill quit as fantasy series lead

Henry Cavill stars in ‘The Witcher’. Picture: Netflix

Henry Cavill stars in ‘The Witcher’. Picture: Netflix

Published Aug 22, 2023

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'The Witcher' director Marc Jobst has suggested Henry Cavill left the lead role because of how "demanding" he made the job, doing all his own stunts.

The 40-year-old actor - who signed up for the job as a fan of the video game adaptations of 'The Witcher' - announced in October he was stepping down from the Netflix fantasy drama based on Andrzej Sapkowski's book series, with Liam Hemsworth, 33, taking over as monster hunter Geralt of Rivia for the fourth season.

And Jobst has explained why he believes the former ‘Superman’ actor decided to bow out of the intense role.

Speaking to Screen Rant, he said: "Well, look, Henry has done three series, these are demanding shows to make, you know, they are huge. Henry does every single beat of his stunts, he won't even allow a hand, if you're doing a close-up of a hand grabbing a sword, it has to be his hand."

He continued: "You're working with an incredible athlete, first and foremost, who works out hours before, and hours after, you've been shooting for 12 hours, and who cares deeply about the work that he does."

The 'Enola Holmes' star is nothing but a perfectionist, according to Jobst.

He went on: "That's draining on your number one, so after three series, I feel, 'Okay, he's brought the show into being, and if he feels like he's done what he can, I trust him.'

"That focus that he has, that desire to get it right, is a gift to work with, because it elevates everybody to say, 'Good enough isn't good enough. It's got to be fantastic.' We all want to work like that, we all don't wanna make something that's good, we want to make something incredible."