Anyone watching the new Netflix series The Witcher will have noticed that it is hard to place the accent of the main character, the monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill, the English actor who plays the title character, now explains why he made the specific choices he did when it comes to Geralt's accent.
The Witcher is a character that derives from the fantasy novels of the same name by Polish writer, Andrzej Sapkowski. The books' have a cult following, inspiring a successful Witcher video game adaptation before being developed by Netflix as a series. The Witcher takes place in a medieval world known as the Continent, and follows the intertwining stories of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and the princess Ciri. The Netflix series is based upon related short stories that precede Sapkowski’s The Witcher Saga, and is an attempt at getting to know the main characters, their backstory, conflicts and desires. Brought to Netflix by showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, the much-anticipated dark-fantasy series debuted late December 2019.
Speaking to The Wrap, Cavill explains the decisions he made when bringing the Witcher to life on screen, and in particular his choices surrounding Geralt's accent. According to Cavill, the accent was a way of creating uniqueness with Geralt, something that was a huge focus in the books. Here is what he had to say:
"Mythology-wise, there are a lot of changes from the books…And there is only so much that can be done. And for me, as a performer in the show, it was my job to bring my performance and everyone else was allowed to bring their performances, separately. Yes, there is in the books, certainly, a Rivian accent.
Cavill goes on to compare the accents of the Continent to that of the U.K.:
"You look at England for example, there are a vast variety of regional accents across a very, very small space. And actually the Continent would be something very similar...So for me it wasn’t necessarily about giving Geralt a specific accent which was different from everyone else, because that would be impossible because there are a lot of English accents and eventually you’re gonna run into someone who has a similar accent because they are trying something different… So for me, it was about bringing a voice to Geralt which was expressing the essence of who he is in the books and bringing that to the space in the format that was allowed within the show."
Though there are differences, the series draws more upon The Witcher books than the video game, where the character was played with an American accent. In the interview it’s clear that Cavill put a lot of thought into how he would play Geralt, with the main focus being the otherness of the character. For those familiar with the saga, this refers to the fact that Geralt of Rivia is a mutant and deemed an outstander, with both physical and non-physical differences to the other menfolk in the world. Though he takes the title of Geralt of Rivia, this is not where he originated, but the place that he adopted as his homeland.
With The Witcher already set to receive a season 2 in 2021, the show has proven to be a hit with fans - though not with critics - and the series is now one of the most in-demand shows on streaming platforms. The saga already draws a huge fanbase due to its cult following, and with a distinct lack of medieval-based fantasy on the small-screen, it could be said to fill that Game of Thrones-style hole that has been gaping since we said goodbye to the epic series in 2019. It seems that monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia, and the world that he inhabits will be here to stay for a long while yet.
Source: The Wrap
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