Every TV show that was filming early last year had to take a major step back in March, and figure out how to resume safely. While the wait delayed new seasons of all of our favorite series, the Netflix hit The Witcher had and even rougher time getting fully back into the swing of things. In mid-December 2020, after having resumed filming and shut down again briefly, things came to a halt once more when star Henry Cavill injured himself on set, leading to several weeks of recovery time. Now, Cavill is opening up about the lessons he learned during that "hard" time.
The Witcher had only been filming again for a few weeks, after a second production shutdown in early November, when Henry Cavill was, reportedly, filming a stunt 20 feet in the air in a harness, which led to him injuring his hamstring and having to take a break from filming to recover. While he was able to get back to something close to a regular workout by the first days of January, though, Cavill is now talking to People about what he learned from the injury and his time working to fully recover, and noted:
When I look back, I realize, yes, it was a hard time. I think one of the skills I've picked up over the years is just forging ahead regardless of difficulty or hard work or trials and tribulations. So when the hamstring injury came, I tried to look at the silver lining. It was like, 'OK. I was working insane hours and it was exhausting and I now physically can't work because I'm on crutches.' So I was focusing more on taking the time off and going, how can I best heal myself?
Such an injury in the middle of a demanding work schedule, especially one that requires a lot of you physically, would have been considered a major setback by many people and probably led to some seriously negative emotions, at least for a time. But, it sounds like Henry Cavill has mastered the art of the bounce back when it comes to reframing less than great situations and turning them into positives. While he could have been angry, sad or disappointed during his recovery about having to deal with his hamstring, he was able to look at it as a necessary time of rest.
Even though Cavill embraced his downtime and is fully healed now, having finally wrapped filming on The Witcher Season 2 back in April, he was able to admit that it was still a somewhat difficult time for him, even with his positive attitude. Cavill is known for not only diving in and doing as many of his own stunts as possible, but also his full commitment to doing whatever it takes to get the job done. As he said, he was "working insane hours and it was exhausting," so it must have been a challenge to ease up off the gas so quickly.
Cavill also noted how he handled the obstacle mentally, and offered some advice that a lot of people can probably use:
When it comes to my mental health, [I] focus on what I can control and work on that. And that gives me something to work towards rather than something to deal with or work through or manage my life through.
Focusing only on what one can control (which is typically just your own behavior) has been especially difficult for most of us in the past year and a half, but Cavill's words do serve as an excellent reminder that it can work wonders.
Henry Cavill will be back with the rest of The Witcher cast for Season 2 when it hits Netflix on December 17, but for more to watch, check out our 2021 fall TV schedule!
