Henry Cavill, the actor who has taken on beefy roles including Superman and Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher, admitted that he hasn't always had his current physique. In a recent interview with Insider, Cavill recalled a time early on in his career when he was told he wasn't lean enough to play James Bond.

At the time, Cavill was 21 years old, and in an audition for the role of 007 in Casino Royale. He described the comment as “good-naturedly” and coming from a place of “mentorship and guidance” rather than of body-shaming. “It was his tough love way of saying, ‘Look, mate, you're in a Bond screen test. Next time you come to a screen test, really focus hard on making sure you lean up if it's for something like Bond,’” Cavill, now 38, explained. “And I wasn't by any means chubby, but I was probably overweight for taking my shirt off on camera.”

Since then, Cavill has taken his physical conditioning much more seriously. His fit lifestyle filled with protein diets and hardcore training isn’t easy, but to him, it comes along with the territory of playing such robust roles. “I do want to do well, I want to be fit, and I want to also play these roles correctly,” he said. “If I’m going to play roles like Superman and Geralt of Rivia, I need to be in pretty good nick. It takes hours in the gym.”

Most recently, Cavill reprised his role of Superman in Zack Snyder’s Justice LeagueBack in May, he was tapped to star in Lionsgate’s Highlander reboot. He will also return alongside Millie Bobby Brown for Netflix’s Enola Holmes 2.

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