It’s easy enough to remember the more recent and bigger rises to fame Henry Cavill has achieved. From his idyllic form as Superman to his grounded grumbles as Geralt of Rivia, fans of many franchises have come to love this actor, who has proven time and time again he is not just portraying people of beloved fandoms, he is a hardcore fan himself. When talk of his exit from The Witcher series became public, it became both a tragedy and a moment of validation for fans who understood his passion for the books, and games, and for representing them with authenticity. His stalwart beliefs have led to talks of Henry Cavill working on making a Warhammer 40k series in the future, a franchise and hobby he is also passionate about.

Cavill’s rise to fame and expression of being one of the fans and nerds has somewhat left his origins forgotten, to explore them it’s important to rewind to the very beginning of the golden age of television. Unless fans are of a generation who was old enough to watch the spicier historical dramas that spearheaded this so-called golden age, they may have missed one of Henry Cavill’s first big roles before DC came knocking at his door. Henry’s early career involved plenty of costume dramas and literary drama adaptations, but none built his solid foundation of acting with long-term characters more than 2007’s The Tudors, starring John Rhys-Meyers and Natalie Dormer. This predecessor to Game of Thrones would pave the way for political intrigue in a costume drama setting and skyrocketed Cavill into Hollywood stardom.

The Tudors Gave Him An Important Supporting Role

The Tudors ran from 2007-2010 over the course of 38 episodes.
The Tudors’ initial success overseas is somewhat attributed to the lack of American-made shows during the 2007-2008 writer’s strike, which created an over-saturated upswing in reality television series.

Up until being cast in The Tudors, Henry Cavill has been in films such as The Count of Monte Cristo, Stardust, and had been featured in some BBC productions. However, most of those roles were small, even though they featured speaking parts and closeup screen time, none had really put his name on the map or given him enough character development quite like The Tudors did. In The Tudors, Henry Cavill plays Charles Brandon, a close friend and confidant of the king who must carefully navigate Henry VIII’s temper and brashness in order to hold his favor and also rise in the world. Initially, Charles is somewhat a privileged ladies man who is eventually tasked with responsibilities and titles which require him to begrudgingly rise to the occasion and make him grow from a rake to a regimented ruler.

The ebb and flow of Charles Brandon and Henry VIII’s relationship is tumultuous and unpredictable throughout much of the show and allows for a huge opportunity to show character growth and maturity in Brandon’s character whilst Henry VIII degrades into selfish madness. This was truly a role Henry Cavill could sink his teeth into and give him the performative exposure he needed to be more marketable across the pond. The Tudors became such a sensation as a historical drama that it propelled Cavill’s career in Hollywood tenfold.

Charles Brandon Survived All Four Seasons of The Tudors

Positions of Charles Brandon Throughout His Life

The First Duke of Suffolk & President of the Privy Council

Duke of Norfolk (End of Season One)

Military Commander For Several Campaigns

(NOTE: Charles Brandon is chastised and banished from court several times, but is always brought back in)

The character of Charles Brandon, although an actual historical figure, lives a highly fictionalized storyline in the show of The Tudors. However, he is one of the few people in King Henry VIII’s life who remains his friend and confidant for well over 40 years. From armwrestling his way out of court banishment (literally) to leading Henry’s armies into foreign and domestic territory, Charles Brandon’s story throughout The Tudors is full of moral quandry and frustration over his responsibilities. His rakish origins, gallivanting and womanizing, much like his friend Henry, are slowly ground-down into forced maturity as the weight of Henry’s imposed titles on him creates a minefield of ethical dilemmas he constantly combats.

This incredible role was always present throughout each episode of The Tudors, making Henry Cavill’s talent of developing Charles Brandon’s character profound and impactful with the passing of every episode. Those who have never seen this series that are fans of Henry Cavill should absolutely watch it in its entirety, not only for his constant presence, but how he takes full command over the character’s portrayal to the point of immersing the audience into the character’s thoughts and actions. The impressive part about this high screen time and line-heavy role is that Henry Cavill has yet to be in a show which has given him this much time to develop a character since. This is especially surprising since he headlined The Witcher series as Geralt of Rivia, which only gave him 24 episodes.

Henry Cavill Looks Back At The Tudors With Gratitude

Currently, Henry Cavill has been in 26 films and 3 television series.
Hobbies Henry Cavill enjoys on his own time includes building his own PC rigs, gaming, and painting Warhammer 40k miniatures.

In many interviews during and long after his long run with the hit historical drama series, Henry Cavill has expressed his love and grateful praise of the show and how it positively affected his career. The Tudors had a beautifully curated cast of seasoned and up-and-coming actors as well as a great composer, cinematographer, and writers; a combination that was important to balance in that new age of TV series. Due to its high-quality production, The Tudors was a major springboard to build an audience and fandom for Henry Cavill in the US. Only a year after the final season of The Tudors, Henry Cavill was cast as Superman in Man of Steel, which would release in 2013, spurring the start of DC’s cinematic universe franchise that was aiming to compete with the upsurge in the Marvel franchise.

Since childhood, Henry Cavill has always been a lover of performing and started on the stage. He has said in interviews that the rush of performing for an audience and being able to entertain whilst playing characters had an adrenaline, fear, and energy that he loves to experience. Considering his formidable athleticism, it’s no surprise that Henry Cavill’s life, had he not found drama, may have led him to the British Armed Forces, since his brothers were part of the forces as well as his father. Henry Cavill also admits another route he had an interest in, which was ancient history and Egyptology, which he would have gone to university for. Lucky for his adoring fans, Cavill was discovered by them in a hit historical television series where he could really show his love for history, drama, and his overall passion for acting.