It’s Not Fair That Henry Cavill Is This Much Of A Nerd

Life is cruel. And unfair. It’s rude. No one man should look this good and be so completely, utterly this much of a dork.

Henry Cavill—Man of Steel, Witcher for hire, reloader of arms, and owner of a once truly magnificent piece of facial hair—has been long known as a diehard nerd. He’s openly talked about his former time as a hardcore World of Warcraft raider, a commitment he took so seriously he nearly missed the call to be cast as Superman while gaming.

Part of why he wanted to play Geralt of Rivia on Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher was that he loved CD Projekt Red’s game adaptations, playing each entry in the trilogy to completion. Guys, those games are like, five billion hours long. I’m just me and I don’t have time to even think about finishing one, let alone multiple times. And I definitely do not also look like Henry Cavill.

And now, Cavill’s adding another deeply geeky notch to his belt: He’s painting Warhammer 40K models. The actor shared his work over the weekend on Instagram in a post about him dabbling in hobbies old and new during the novel coronavirus pandemic lockdown. The Games Workshop habit is one of the old ones—an “almost life long [hobby],” Cavill says in his post, “that I’ve been following but not actively doing.”

Considering we are, both, going through the Easter period, and going through The Lockdown, I figured it a good time to put a silver lining onto the cloud that is some of the darker moments during this time. So I’ve decided to polish some old skills and try my hand at some new ones! It is a time of rebirth after all. So, as you can see here, the obvious might look a little bit like a tiny helmet…which it is. One of my almost life long hobbies, that I’ve been following but not actively doing, is this. A company called Games Workshop…or plastic crack as “we” call it. Genuinely can’t get enough of the lore they have built over the decades. They have been some of my most enthused reads! If you were in denial about me being a geek before, you can’t hide from it now. Also, in the background of this photo, there may just be some completely new skills I’m working on…..or there may not be, so all of your eye squinting and attempts at digital unfocusing will be in vain….orrrr maybe they won’t. I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all of the NHS (National Health Service, here in the UK) and healthcare workers worldwide, for your unceasing efforts to protect us. I imagine it might be feeling a little rough right now, but you Ladies and Gents are absolutely smashing it! Keep it up! You got this. “Hold on a second”, I hear you utter…..”if he has both hands in the photo…how is he taking the photo??” New skills, my friends….new skills. #Easter #Passover #GamesWorkshop #ProperGeek #Custodes #NewSkills #NHS #ThankYou #Raggy?

Well, now he is doing—and it’s not even just your bog-standard Space Marine, either, which is what you might expect a lapsed 40K player to go for, because, well, they’re the Space Marines, the giant-armoured poster boys of the franchise. No, friends, that’s a goddamn Custodian Warden from the Adeptus Custodes, the personal chapter guard of 40K’s godlike Emperor of Mankind. That’s a pretty deep cut and an indicator that Cavill knows his way around a codex or three.

What’s his army list look like? Is he doing 40K Custodes, or Horus Heresy era Legio Custodes? What are his thoughts on Vertus Praetors? Has he read Emperor’s Legion, or is he diving into the Siege of Terra series? I don’t know. But now I have to.

I do know this: We all make sacrifices in our lives for the things we love. We cannot have it all. Unless you’re Henry Cavill, apparently, which means you get to look like Superman, play Superman for a living, and then spend your downtime painting legions of plastic models.


Post time: Apr-15-2020