102 GQ.COM.AUAUGUST 2018
turningaroundtotheroomandgoing,
‘Ohmygod!’Well,OK,Icoulddo the same
toyou–everyone’sshitstinks.”
Something woefully underdiscussed, in an
eraofInstagramandFacetuneandsummer-
blockbuster8-packs,ishowmendealwith
theirownsupericialvulnerabilities.Cavill,of
course,isastupidlygood-looking,successful
actor.Butsomethingsstillindawayin.
“Backintheday,youcouldkindofignore
it.Now,withInstagramandallthat,ifyou’re
just going through your feed,” he says,
feigning scrolling. (Suddenly, he’s talking.)
“It’slike,‘Oh,that’smelookingbad,me
lookingbad,melookingbad’.Youtryto
ignoreit,andyouskimpastit,butwe’renot
allfeelingamazingaboutourselvesatall
times.‘Thatlookslikeabadone...ooh,god
itisabadone.DoIreallylooklikethat?Are
yousure?There’sfourphotos and I look
reallybadinallofthem’.”
“BecauseIwasachubbykid.No,noIwas
chubby,” he insists. “It’s deinitely something
whichdoesplaywithyourhead.That’sprobably
theworstpartofit.Yourheadcanbemessed
with. But it’s down to me to deal with that.”
Whensomeoneisatirstreluctantto
speak,youtakenoteofwhatgetsthem
talking.AndHenryCavillisnevermore
talkativethanwhenhetalksabouthisdesire
to ind someone to spend his life with.
“I’vealwaysbeensomeonewho’sputalot
of stock and value in the intimacy of
arelationship,ofahumanpartner,”hesays.
Heloveshisdog,Cal,andwoulddefendhim
tothedeath,“butthere’ssomethingabout
havingagirlfriendwithwhomyoucanshareall
thedificultiesthatyougothrough,orallthe
greatstuffthatyougothrough.It’ssoniceto
havesomeonetosharetheintimatemoments
with...Evenifit’sjustthatunspoken
communication of holding a hand.”
At this point, there’s a not-totally-joking
reminder that there’s “one and a half minutes
left” in the interview.
I ask Cavill what he’s learned from the
#MeToo moment we’re in.
“I’vebeenfortunateenoughtonotbearoundthekindofpeoplewho
behavethatway,”hesays.“Tomymemorythere’sbeennomomentswhere
Ilookbackonandthink,‘Ooh,OK,maybesomeoneshouldn’thavegone
throughthat’.IknowtherehavebeensituationswithpeopleI’veworked
withbeingperhapsoverfamiliarwithsomeoftheactresses.But,I’vealways
walkeduptothemandsaid,‘Hey,areyouallright?That’screepy’.”
Have the revelations made you relect on your own behaviour
with women?
“I like to think that I’ve never been like that. I think any human
beingalivetoday,ifsomeonecaststooharshalightonanything,you
couldbelike,‘Well,OK,yeah,whenyousayitlikethat,maybe.’
“Butit’ssuchadelicateandcarefulthingtosaybecausethere’s
lirtingwhich,forexample,inasocialenvironmentisincontext– and
is acceptable. And that has been done to me as well, in return.”“Stuffhastochange,absolutely,”headds,
addressingmen’sbehaviour.“It’simportanttoalso
retainthegoodthings,whichwerea quality of the
past, and get rid of the bad things.
“There’s something wonderful about a man
chasing a woman. There’s a traditional approach to
that,whichisnice.Ithinkawomanshouldbe
wooed and chased, but maybe I’m old-fashioned for
thinking that.
“It’sverydificulttodothatiftherearecertain
rulesinplace.Becausethenit’slike:‘Well,Idon’t
wanttogoupandtalktoher,becauseI’mgoingtobe
calledarapistorsomething’.Soyou’relike,‘Forget
it,I’mgoingtocallanex-girlfriendinstead,andthen
just go back to a relationship, which never really
worked’.Butit’swaysaferthancastingmyselfinto
theiresofhell,becauseI’msomeoneinthepublic
eye,andifIgoandlirtwithsomeone, then who
knows what’s going to happen?
“Now? Now you really can’t pursue someone
furtherthan,‘No’.It’slike,‘OK,cool’.Butthen
there’sthe,‘Ohwhy’dyougiveup?’Andit’s like,
‘Well, because I didn’t want to go to jail?’”
Theconversationhangsintheairmorethan
alittle.Buttimeisalmostout.It’sshortlyafterthis
thatIaskCavillaboutthebestpieceofadvicehe’s
beengiven,andhereadsfromhistrustediPhone
document.We’rethenusheredoutoftheofice,and
back to London, wondering exactly what was learned.•••Hourslater,ithappens:I’mcrossingLondon’s
OxfordStreetalittleafter11pm.Thepedestrian
lightturnsgreen,andI’mhalfwayover.Through
thestill-backed-uptrafic,aroundaredbusand
ablacktaxi,twosleekiguresonamotorcycleweave
throughthetaxisandthepeopleinperfect
arabesque,makingabeelinestraightatme.They
slowalittle.Themaskedigureonthebackofthe
bikeusesonehandtograspmyshoulder,andthe
other – cleverly wearing a leather-glove for extra
grip–toyankmyphonefrommyhand.
Iswear.Iscream.They’regonearoundthe
cornerbeforeIcangetoutthe‘uckers’in‘fuckers’.
IfIcouldhaveaccessedmyiPhone,nowzipping
throughthestreetsawayfromCentralLondon,
Icouldhavewhippedopenthatgodforsakendocument.Icouldhave
scrolled to the very bottom, to the inal life lesson on the listicle.
50.‘Don’t expect life to be fair’.
And there it goes – the recording – the patiently awaited hour with
Superman, gone.
All is lost.
Butthenithitsme.
Afterthemissedlights,theachingrun,theshortenedaccess,Idid
somethingI’veseldomdonebefore:Ihadasecondrecordergoing.There
weresomanyhurdlestogettingtoknowHenryCavill,that,onceinthe
room,youhadtohaveaback-upplan.Justincase.Justtobesure.
AndthenIremember:therealpowerofSuperman,somecarefully
measuredmanoncetoldme,isthathemakeseveryonearound
him their best. Mission: Impossible – Falloutis in cinemas August 2