Henry Cavill‘s charm, chiseled good looks and acting chops have helped him build a career as a fan-favorite star in Hollywood.
He famously embodied Superman in the DC Universe and was even planning to reprise the role before some rebranding changed plans.
Outside of DC, Henry‘s instantly recognizable from project’s like Netflix’s The Withcer, and the hit series The Tudors.
He’s hit it big and is beloved in the industry. But like any other actor, he’s been in the running for some major roles that he did not end up landing. We did some digging and found seven examples of A-list projects that Henry was attached to over the years.
Interestingly, for at least two of them he was deemed to be too old for the part. It was decided that he was too young for another. We rounded up everything we know about each missed opportunity for you to check out!
2011′s Green Lantern
Ryan Reynolds‘ adaptation of the popular DC character Green Lantern set him on the path to eventually play his iconic character Deadpool. However, the movie, which also starred Blake Lively, was not a box office smash.
The movie was almost an opportunity for Henry to make his debut within the DC Universe. According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, he was considered alongside the likes of Jared Leto and Michael Fassbender but did not make it to the final considerations, which included Ryan, Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake.
Henry does not appear to have ever addressed this audition process.
2008′s Twilight
Twilight famously turned its stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner into some of the biggest names on the planets, but neither choice for Bella or Edward were author Stephenie Meyer‘s first choice.
Who did she want to play the sparkling vampire? Henry. Back in 2007, the author mourned that he was too old to play Edward in a post on her blog. “The most disappointing thing for me is losing my perfect Edward. Henry Cavill is now twenty-four-years-old. Let us have a moment of quiet in which to mourn,” she wrote. At the time, she even toyed with Henry playing Carlisle, the patriarch of the Cullen family.
Henry opened up about the casting news years later in 2022. While on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he explained that he had no idea he was even up for the role at the time!
“I didn’t know about them wanting to cast me and the internet wasn’t quite the tool that it is now and so I only found out afterwards. I was like, ‘Oh okay, that would have been cool,’” he admitted.
2005′ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Interestingly, Edward was not the first role Robert booked over Henry. That would be Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
“Yes, I remember that. I definitely auditioned for that one, and I did not get it,” Henry recollected about the process on the Happy, Sad Confused podcast. “The audition may have gone well. It may have gone terribly. I’m sure someone out there has footage which hopefully is locked away never to be seen. But, yeah, I didn’t get it.”
Why? He had a theory: “How old is Robert,” he asked, who is three years younger. “I think a couple years younger at that time, though, is a big difference. I think I was probably, I might have been 19 or 20. And that makes a big difference when you’re playing a kid in high school. Well, it used to anyway.”
2006′s Casino Royale
Daniel Craig made his 007 debut playing the world renowned spy in Casino Royale, but he faced some stiff competition for the iconic role. On the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Henry revealed that he was the second choice.
“They told me I was close. They told me it was ultimately down to – and this is what I’ve been told if someone out there is like, ‘That’s not true’ – is that it was down to me and Daniel. And I was the younger option,” he explained.
Henry continued, saying, “I think they obviously went with Daniel, and I think it was an amazing choice to go with Daniel. I probably wasn’t ready at the time, and I think Daniel did an incredible job over the past movies. I’m happy they made that choice.”
There was an added benefit to the audition, too: “It was a fun adventure at the time and definitely gave me a boost to my career. That was the key element of it; I was getting a lot of auditions, which I went to, which went really, really well. And the casting director and the producer would call me and say, ‘You were the best person who came in the room, but you’re not a name.’”
“Then once I had screen tested for Bond, and I was on a shortlist, and my photo was in Variety, then it was, ‘Oh, ok. This guy might carry some kind of name now.’ So it started to help things build a little more,” he recalled.
2006′s 300
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly when he booked Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder revealed that he wanted to cast Henry in his movie 300.
It’s not immediately clear what role he was considered for, but the movie starred Gerard Butler. Henry does not appear to have ever said much about the opportunity so we don’t know much else at this time.
Superman
You’re not reading this wrong! Of course, Henry brought the famous Man of Steel to life in DC’s film universe. However, it was at least his second time auditioning for the role.
First was an attempt to book Superman: Flyby in 2004. He was successful, but the movie was scrapped. Bryan Singer then took the movie and turned it into Superman Returns, which starred Brandon Routh.
Things worked out in their own time for him.
”But here I am, seven years later. Got ya,” Henry enthused to EW during his interview. ”It was wonderful to have a second stab at a job — and as a wiser, older, more experienced actor.”
2005′s Batman Begins
Christian Bale‘s portrayal of Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy is widely renowned as one of the best superhero projects in recent memory. However, there are reports that Henry was also up for the role at some point. He does not recall that, though…
”At least, nobody was talking to me about it,” Henry told EW. He provided more information in another interview, saying that he “may have been spoken about in a room in some stage.” However, he never did a screentest.
Did you know that Harry Styles was also in the running for seven movies that he did not land?