Henry Cavill has said he was called “chubby” during a topless audition for James Bond, but claimed that it was a good thing.
The Man of Steel actor told Men’s Health that he came close to getting the role of 007 in 2006’s Casino Royalebut was beaten by Daniel Craig. He added that his physique at the time proved problematic during his audition.
“I probably could have prepared better,” Cavill said. “I remember the director, Martin Campbell, saying, ‘Looking a little chubby there, Henry.’”
Cavill auditioned while wrapped in nothing but a towel, recreating a scene from an earlier Bond film starring Sean Connery.
He continued, “I didn’t know how to train or diet. And I’m glad Martin said something, because I respond well to truth. It helps me get better.”
Cavill has long been open about struggling with his weight as a teenager, and his experiences of being dubbed “Fat Cavill” by bullies at school.
“I was a chubby kid,” he told the magazine. “I could’ve very well gone down the route of just accepting my lot in life and being like, ‘I guess I’m not going to do anything.’”
On losing the role to Craig, along with starring roles in films including Twilight and Tristan + Isolde, Cavill said he had long grown used to rejection.
“I wasn’t ecstatic about not getting these things,” the actor said, “but I was so used to disappointment from the acting business, and also from boarding school. ‘No, you’re not good enough’ – that wasn’t anything new to me.”
After playing the role of Superman in three DC Universe movies, Cavill confirmed in September 2018 that he would be stepping down as the character. He next stars in the Netflix fantasy drama The Witcher.
