Liam Hemsworth stepped into the boots of Geralt of Rivia some time ago, replacing Henry Cavill, who departed the show because of creative differences with the showrunners. While the masses have voiced their concerns about this switch, Hemsworth has proven willing to give the character all he has, which is the sentiment he professed in a recent interview.
Love or hate the casting, The Witcher returns this month with a penultimate series, and Liam Hemsworth is now the star of the show. In an interview with IGN, he explained how he’s handling all the doubt circulating online.
Liam Hemsworth Has Given Everything He Has to Geralt
In a recent interview with IGN, Liam Hemsworth and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (showrunner) sat down to talk about the upcoming series of The Witcher, which returns after a two-year hiatus between seasons.
For the last few months, fans of the show have been wrestling with the recasting of Geralt of Rivia, the instantly recognizable lead previously played by Henry Cavill. It was a sour move for many when Cavill departed the show, and plenty of viewers feel that Hemsworth doesn’t embody the character well enough.
Hemsworth disagrees:
It was a unique situation, to come into a show that someone else has been doing for a period of time. There was obviously a lot of talk from fans and opinions, and I think that’s great. This show has very passionate fans that care about these characters and care about this world. I appreciate that. I understand it.
I poured everything I had into this character. I wanted it to feel grounded. I wanted it to feel authentic. I really hope the audience enjoys the character and my interpretation of it… I got to work with so many great actors and play this wonderfully complex character that has a huge fan base. And I hope people come along for the ride. I feel very grateful to have had this experience.
Hemworth referenced that he’d played The Witcher games ‘years ago’ and tried to get back into them when playing Geralt of Rivia for the live-action series.
I had just started playing [Geralt] and I was like, ‘I don’t know how many minutes or hours I can spend walking around as this character right now whilst shooting the show at the same time.’ So I had a quick look at it and it reminded me of what I experienced years ago when I played it.
It didn’t feel like it was going to be hugely helpful to my experience at that time.
It’s worth stressing that The Witcher show is based on the books and not the games.
Hissrich, the series’s showrunner, expressed how pleased she is with Hemsworth’s portrayal of Geralt:
You need someone who you can imagine can excel at these action scenes, who has such a physical presence that they could be both intimidating in the story, but also, Geralt has a huge emotional side as well… What I really loved about Liam’s work that I had seen is that he was able to organically blend those two things. He didn’t have physical scenes and then emotional scenes. He was able to really carry this specific, I guess I call it soul.
He has a soul that he brings into the role… To have that present even through action scenes when he’s fighting monsters, and it’s the same thing that’s present when he’s having conversations with Ciri or with Yennefer, that was a really special thing that we were able to capture. And when I had watched some of his work, specifically going back to Hunger Games, that’s something that I felt from him.
The Witcher season four will be released exclusively on Netflix in its entirety on October 30. Let me know on the Insider Gaming Discord server if you intend to invest any time in the show.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that more game modes could be coming to Battlefield 6
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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