Between his official return as Superman in the DC Universe after Black Adam, his role as Geralt Of Rivia on The Witcher, playing Sherlock Holmes twice in both Enolas Holmes movies, and rejoining Matthew Vaughn in Argylle, Henry Cavill is a busy man. At this point, he’s fortunate to be one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood.
However, that was not always the case for Henry Cavill. In fact, there was a time when it seemed like Henry Cavill was the unluckiest actor who kept losing big roles for various reasons. From superheroes to iconic super spies, Henry Cavill was eyed by many studios before getting his big break with Man Of Steel.
Hal Jordan
Green Lantern (2011)
It turns out that Henry Cavill was almost in another movie that was meant to be the start of a DC universe. That was Green Lantern, which was a box office bomb; Ryan Reynolds was given the role of Hal Jordan, AKA Green Lantern, but other actors were looked at for the part.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, actors such as Henry Cavill, Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake, and even Michael Fassbender were eyed for the role. Thankfully, Henry would find his dream superhero role just a couple of years later with Man Of Steel.
Leonidas
300 (2007)
Before joining Zack Snyder with Man Of Steel, Henry Cavill was close to being cast as the King Of Sparta known as Leonidas in 300, which ended up going to Gerard Butler. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zack Snyder admitted that he would have settled with Cavill, but the actor declined.
Henry Cavill was holding out to potentially play James Bond in Casino Royale, but that role went to Daniel Craig. Henry Cavill would then go on to star in The Tudors, which would boost his career quite a bit.
Edward Cullen
Twilight (2008)
According to the Twilight creator Stephanie Meyer herself, Henry Cavill was the actor she had in mind for Edward Cullen. On Meyer’s own personal website, she stated that she had to decline Henry Cavill due to him being too old to play an immortal teenager.
Perhaps this was for the best because of the stigma that unfortunately affected several Twilight franchise actors for years. That includes Robert Pattinson, who won the role of Edward Cullen instead of Henry Cavill.
J.J. Abrams’ Superman
Superman Flyby (Canceled)
Before he was brought on to do his own Elseworld version of Superman, J.J. Abrams was once developing a project known as Superman Flyby. As reported by Den Of Geek, it was going to be a radically different take on Clark Kent, and there was even test footage of Henry Cavill in the suit, but the movie was one of many canceled DC projects.
This was a project that was in development before even Superman Returns, but due to the script leaking out to the public, there was an immense fan backlash. As a result, Superman Flyby was canceled, and since then, only glimpses of the film have been shown through leaked footage and concept art.
Cedric Diggory
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005)
Yet another role that Robert Pattinson beat Henry Cavill for, Cedric Diggory is the likable Hufflepuff student that could have been a great ally in Dumbledore’s army if it weren’t for Voldemort. In a recent interview with Josh Horowitz, Henry Cavill did confirm his running to play Cedric, but they went with Pattinson because Henry was once again too old.
Cedric Diggory was supposed to be a sixteen to seventeen-year-old in Goblet Of Fire; Henry Cavill was almost twenty years old. This would be around the same time that Henry Cavill would end up being looked at to play Batman, another role that Pattinson would take on many years later.
Batman
Batman Begins (2005)
With Christopher Nolan’s dark reboot of Batman, multiple actors were tested and eyed for the titular role from Cillian Murphy to Christian Bale, who ended up winning the role and starring in three movies starting with Batman Begins. However, it was not as close as some other big roles he lost.
Henry Cavill stated in an interview on Good Day New York that he spoke about the role with someone but never auditioned or screen-tested as Cillian Murphy famously did. Once fans learned of this potential casting years later, many felt that Henry Cavill could have pulled it off, especially after his gruffer voice and detective-like grittiness were shown in The Witcher.
McG’s Superman
Superman Returns (2006)
It would seem that Henry Cavill was determined to get that Superman role because even after Superman Flyby was dropped, he auditioned for the role again when Superman Returns was in development. Originally, the film was going to be directed by McG, and he tested several actors for the role, including Henry Cavill (via Variety).
However, McG backed out of Superman Returns, and directing duty was given to Bryan Singer. The new director would go on to hire Brandon Routh to play Superman, who looked more like a young Christopher Reeve to fit the idea of a sequel to the Reeve-era filmes.
James Bond
Casino Royale (2006)
This is probably the most famous close-call for Henry Cavill that fans today are still behind. With 2006’s Casino Royale, Daniel Craig took on the role and immediately received backlash because he was a completely different Bond than what fans were used to.
One of Craig’s biggest competitors for the role was Henry Cavill, who was very much a fresh face at the time. In the previously mentioned interview with Josh Horowitz, Cavill explained that he was denied the role because he didn’t have enough acting credits under his belt.
