Henry Cavill: 52 amazing facts about the actor! (List)

1. Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill was born on 5 May 1983.

2. He is an English actor.

3. Cavill was born the fourth of five boys on Jersey in the Channel Islands, a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom.

4. His mother, Marianne, was a secretary in a bank, and his father, Colin, was a stockbroker.

5. He was educated at St. Michael’s Preparatory School in Saint Saviour, Jersey, before attending Stowe School in Stowe, Buckinghamshire.

6. Cavill began his career starring as Albert Mondego in the 2002 film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo.

7. He would later star in minor and supporting roles in television shows such as BBC’s The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Midsomer Murders and The Tudors before transitioning to more mainstream Hollywood films such as Tristan & Isolde, Stardust and Immortals.

8. In 2008, Cavill became the face and official spokesperson of the Dunhill fragrance collection for men campaign.

9. He was also cast in the main ensemble of the 2007 Showtime series The Tudors, starring as Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk until the series’ end in 2010.

10. Cavill would gain further prominence and international fame playing the titular superhero Superman in the 2013 reboot film Man of Steel, which became a commercial success and the highest-grossing Superman film of all time, a role that he will reprise in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League Parts One and Two.

11. In 2015, he co-starred with Armie Hammer in the spy film The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

12. He had a minor role in Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Stardust (2007).

13. In December 2013, Cavill was named “World’s Sexiest Man” by British Glamour magazine.

14. The same year, Empire magazine placed him third on their list of “The 100 Sexiest Movie Stars 2013”.

15. In August 2014, Cavill took part in an Ice Bucket Challenge in support of the ALS Association, where he got soaked with six large buckets of water (doing the challenge in his full Superman costume). Some media outlets wrote that this was Cavill proving that he is really Superman.

16. Cavill is a spokesman for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and an ambassador for The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund.

17. He launched the running phase of the Royal Marines 1664 Challenge and took part in The Gibraltar Rock Run 2014.

18. In 2009, Cavill began dating English equestrian rider Ellen Whitaker after they met at the Olympia London International Horse Show. They became engaged in May 2011. In May 2012, they ended their engagement.

19. Cavill lives in Kensington, London.

20. His dream role is to play Alexander the Great.

21. Cavill has expressed interest in taking over the role of James Bond when Daniel Craig gives it up.

22. He co-starred with Armie Hammer in the film version of spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., after Tom Cruise had to drop out to work on the fifth Mission: Impossible film.

23. Cavill played the lead role of Theseus in Tarsem Singh’s mythological, big-budget special effects film, Immortals, released 11 November 2011.

24. In 2012, Cavill starred, alongside Bruce Willis, in The Cold Light of Day.

25. In early 2008, Cavill became the face of Dunhill fragrances. The television ad featured a suited-up Cavill walking through the Union Jack, before mounting a helicopter. A second television ad featured Cavill driving a car through a deserted London at night, and meeting with a young woman.

26. He starred in director Joel Schumacher’s horror film, Blood Creek (2008), and in 2009, he had a minor role in Woody Allen’s comedy film, Whatever Works.

27. Likes rugby, but no longer plays due to injuries.

28. Author Stephanie Meyer based the description of Edward Cullen in her Twilight novels on Henry and even lobbied for him to play the role before Robert Pattinson was cast, but was considered too old to play a 17-year old by the time the movie was produced.

29. In 2005, Henry became a young contender for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale (2006), and performed in a final screen test. However, the producers believed Henry was too young for the role, and gave it to Daniel Craig. He also under heavy consideration and auditioned for the role of Superman in Superman Returns (2006), but eventually the role was given to Brandon Routh. Due to all this, Empire Magazine dubbed Henry Cavill “the most unlucky man in Hollywood” in December 2005.

30. Says if he hadn’t picked up acting, he would have joined the armed forces to fulfill his “patriotic pride”.

31. Has an interest in Ancient History, especially in Egyptology, Greek, and Ancient Rome.

32. The first non-American actor to play Superman.

33. Is a fan of video games.

34. His favorite film is Gladiator (2000).

35. His favorite actors are Mel Gibson and Russell Crowe. He will be playing the son of Crowe’s character Jor-El in Man of Steel (2013).

36. Has a knack for languages. He’s already fluent in French, has conversational skills in Italian and German, and can order a beer in Czech.

37. Henry’s last name ‘Cavill’ is pronounced like the word ‘travel’.

38. His older brother, Major Niki Richard Dalgliesh Cavill, received an MBE as a heroic Royal Marine for keeping the vulnerable safe in a hostile environment in Afghanistan.

39. Has worked with actor Bill Nighy twice, once in I Capture the Castle (2003) and also The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2001).

40. He is a big comic book fan although he says he did not get to read them growing up due to his time at boarding school.

41. His favorite Superman story arc is “New Krypton” by Geoff Johns.

42. He did not watch any previous Superman films or television shows while making _Man Of Steel (2013)_, using the comics solely as a reference for his portrayal of Superman.

43. Played a role with the name Colley twice, and back to back. Soldier Colley in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2002) and Stephen Colley in I Capture the Castle (2003).

44. Was engaged to British Showjumper Ellen Whitaker in May 2011, but split up later that same year. They met at the 2009 Olympia International Horse Show in London.

45. Voted as one of the “World’s Sexiest Men” in a poll by Attitude (2013), behind Tom Daley.

46. He is the first actor since Christopher Reeve to play the role of Clark Kent/Superman in more than one film.

47. Good friends with Luke Evans, Jason Momoa, Luca Calvani, and Armie Hammer.

48. Henry’s paternal grandparents, Richard Cavill and Gladys Jesse May Smith, were English. Henry’s maternal grandfather, Alan Gardner Dalgliesh, was born in Guatemala, of English and Scottish descent, while Henry’s maternal grandmother, Mary Kathleen O’Donnell, was Irish. [Src: IMDB]

49. Bought an American Akita dog in January 2014 from Big Bear Akitas breeders in Arkansas, United States. Henry named him Kal, after his role as Superman. Fans have nicknamed his dog, Super Puppy.

50. Henry participated in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) training programme during his time as a student at Stowe School.

51. Traditionally wears a signet “gentleman’s” ring featuring his family coat of arms on the small finger of his left hand.

52. His fans have been called ”The Cavillry”.