The Witcher’s Henry Cavill Praises Doug Cockle – and the Feeling is Mutual
Henry Cavill reveals how important it was having The Witcher 3 voice actor Doug Cockle bless his performance in the Netflix series.
Star Henry Cavill and voice actor Doug Cockle, the two definitive voices of Geralt of Rivia, shared a touching bonding moment on social media ahead of the premiere of Netflix’s The Witcher Season 2.
“It’s very important to me to have [Doug Cockle’s] approval because he’s my first exposure to a vocalisation of Geralt.” Cavill said in praise of his gaming counterpart. “What he did was absolutely brilliant and so for me to do a voice that has similarities, and then for him to approve is an enormous compliment to me.” Cavill’s words received a follow up from Cockle, who wrote “Ah.. well… I just fucking love that dude more than ever now.”
Cockle was the second actor to play the titular witcher after Michał Żebrowski in the Polish Hexter movie and TV adaptations. Cockle provided Geralt’s voice in all three entries of developer CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher gaming series. The games successfully brought mainstream attention to both Geralt’s character and writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher fantasy world.
The Witcher’s first season not only brought Cavill’s Geralt to life, but other notable supporting characters from the books and games, including Yennifer of Vengerberg, Jaskier and Cirilla “Ciri” Riannon. Following Season 1’s 2019 release, production on The Witcher Season 2 was halted by the coronavirus (COVID-19), but eventually concluded filming in spring 2021. Netflix has released two official trailers for Season 2, both of which tease more of Geralt and Ciri’s relationship since encountering one another in Season 1’s finale, as well as the debut of Geralt’s Witcher school Kaer Morhen and new characters like his mentor Vesemir.
Although CD Projekt Red has not made any official announcements about a fourth Witcher game, the company has suggested that the next Witcher project will feature prominent multiplayer elements alongside its main story.
With regard to the Netflix series, Cavill revealed that Season 2’s Geralt will not develop more of a fatherly role during his time protecting Ciri from monsters and human threats. He also had a direct role in changing aspects of Geralt’s characterization from Season 1, such as helping with the witcher’s costume redesign to giving Geralt more dialogue.
The Witcher Season 2 will be released on Netflix Dec. 17.
