Henry Cavill, the 39-year-old actor, has garnered the status of the staple hero of Hollywood. Since his Man of Steel (2013) appearance, there have been very few projects that have failed to capture him in the light of a leading man role. But rarely do these opportunities come without a cost. The level of a restrictive routine of workout and diet that one needs to follow to deliver merely a single scene is revealed by the British actor.

Netflix’s The Witcher (2019-Present)

Henry Cavill Talks About The Witcher Bathtub Scene

One of Netflix’s rare successes in recent years has been the supernatural horror-fantasy series, The Witcher. Adapted from the eponymous Polish novels and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski, the saga follows a magically enhanced warrior, Geralt of Rivia, who hunts supernatural creatures and follows on a reluctant journey to find and fulfill his fated destiny.

Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia

One of the key moments in this delightfully captivating series is when Henry Cavill‘s character is being coaxed to attend a royal event that would later set the ground for paving his very destined path. The scene which required him to go shirtless was three days in the making where Cavill had had to dehydrate himself to the point where he could “smell water nearby” — the irony of the situation being that the ideal male physique that is displayed on the screen is, in reality, a person weakened to the state of passing out.

Henry Cavill’s Regimen to Get an On-Screen Worthy Physique

Most actors recently have spoken about the three-day dehydration process, including the MCU Spider-Man actor, Tom Holland. The reason is an extreme method of induced water imbalance that actually works towards making their shirtless scenes look good on screen. Biologically, the otherwise naturally occurring transepidermal water loss already causes a liter of water loss either through diffusion or respiration. However, when that ratio isn’t balanced, the skin retracts and is stretched thin to the point where it sits on the muscle.

Henry Cavill

This isn’t the only time Cavill has expressed his relentless will to push himself toward what is required of him for his on-screen role. In the previous years, the actor had gone through six months of brutal regimen and training after getting cast in his DCEU Superman role to get his famed god-like Kryptonian physique.

The Witcher Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix.