Citizens of Metropolis, we have our new Superman:
Meet Henry Cavill, announced as the new reincarnation of the “Man of Steel” following the footsteps of Kirk Alyn in a 1948 television series Superman; George Reeves in the 1950s series The Adventures of Superman; Christopher Reeve in Superman I-IV; Dean Cain in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; Tom Welling in Smallville; and Brandon Routh in Superman Returns. (source)
Here’s more details about Henry Cavill from the same source:
Henry was born on May 5, 1982 as Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill in Jersey, the Channel Islands, UK. He has 4 brothers.
Henry was Twilight author’s Stephenie Meyer’s initial and best choice to play Edward in the movie version but the filming was delayed until he was 25 years old, and he could no longer credibly play the 17 year old vampire.
Henry auditioned for Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, but the role went to Christian Bale. He was also a contender for the famous role of Agent 007 James Bond, and actually completed a final screentest. The producers chose to go with an older, more mature actor and settled on Daniel Craig. Henry was set to be Superman in the movie version which was then abandoned in favor of Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns.
Henry plays the god Theseus in the major motion picture Immortals which is currently in post-production, and Will Shaw in The Cold Light of Day which is also in post-production. He may be best known for his role as Charles Brandon in HBO’s The Tudors television series. His other roles have included Randy in Whatever Works; Evan Marshall in Town Creek; Humphrey in Stardust; Melot in Tristan + Isolde; Mike in Hellraiser: Hellworld; The Hunter in Red Riding Hood; Simon Mayfield in the Midsomer Murders TV series; Stephen Colley in I Capture The Castle; Soldier in Goodbye Mr. Chips; Chas Quilter in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries TV series; Albert Mondego in The Count Of Monte Cristo; Thomas Aprea in Laguna; and is also noted for a famous TV ad for Dunhill London fragrance for men.
This early, internet forums were already burning with the growing resentment of some Americans that most of the superhero roles seemed to be going to actors from across the pond (read: Christian Bale (British) = Batman; Andrew Garfield (British) = Spiderman; and the latest is Henry Cavill, who will play Clark Kent/Kal-El/The Last Son of Krypton. Some were saying that there are a lot of young actors in Hollywood and these roles should go with them. Only to be shut down by other commenters by saying that: “the young actors of Hollywood were all reared with Disney and Nickelodeon” And you know what, I kinda agree with them. I find it that Hollywood is sorely lacking with actors who can be envisioned as superheroes and bears the emotional conflict of a person who leads a double life.
Anyway, I really don’t care where my Man of Steel was born and raised (except Krypton, that is) — I just wish that the new reboot will bring much-needed life, grit and hopefully–edge to the Superman franchise. While Brandon Routh wasn’t able to bring the same intensity and success to the franchise compared to the great Chris Reeve, Brandon was still able to bring life to the (then) sleeping franchise.
As someone who lives and breathes Superman, I have high expectations for Henry Cavill and what he can do for Superman. We needed to bring the same interest generated from the audience when they saw “The Dark Knight”. I sincerely wish Henry the best and may his imaginings be worth not only gold in the box-office but also gold in the eyes of every Superman fan.
If I maybe bold, may he be able to evoke the same feeling of wonder and amazement–that all things are possible and just and fair–which Christopher Reeve was able to give to a wide-eyed six year old kid more than twenty years ago. I was that kid, and to this day — that scene (Superman flying high up the sky) was one of my fondest childhood memories.
Sources:
HenryCavillSuperman
People Online
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