‘We want Superman, not a SMASHING GENT!!’: Stephen Colbert Ridiculed Henry Cavill’s British Origin, Claimed He Was Taken Aback When WB Announced a British Star as Man of Steel

Stephen Colbert Ridiculed Henry Cavill's British Origin, Claimed He Was Taken Aback When WB Announced a British Star as Man of Steel
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In 2011, Warner Bros announced that they had cast Henry Cavill for the role of Superman. The casting was announced for Cavill’s first appearance as DC’s Superman in the 2013 Man of Steel. Zack Snyder, the director of the film, also said that Cavill was the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield. Cavill soon took over the conversation for being another British actor to cast in a superhero role. 

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Henry Cavill's Superman falls under the dark influence of Darkseid in the Knightmare timeline
Henry Cavill’s Superman

However, after the release of the film, it was clear no one was thinking about the nationality of the actor, as people loved him in the role. Henry Cavill then went on to play Superman in three more movies. He is also expected to have a cameo in the upcoming film, Black Adam, alongside Dwayne Johnson.

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Stephen Colbert Was Freaked Out by Henry Cavill’s Accent

Stephen Colbert may have been one of the people, who were not initially a fan of Henry Cavill’s casting as Superman. Henry Cavill appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for the second season of The Witcher. Colbert welcomed him by saying, “So nice to meet you. We’ve never had a chance to speak before.”  

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Henry Cavill as Superman

To which he responded with, “But we’re here now.” After which, Stephen Colbert shares that his accent still freaks him out. He said, “I gotta tell you, it still freaks me out when I hear your accent. Because you’re so believably an American to me.”  

He further says that Cavill is the most American of all. “You’re the most American of all, you are Superman,” he says. Listening to his praises, Henry Cavill thanked him, but somewhere he got the sense that it was not always what he thought of him.

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He thanked the host and asked, “That wasn’t always your sentiment, was it?” Stephen Colbert immediately agrees with the actor and also admitted mocking it by saying that we wanted a Superman, not a Smashing Gent.

Read More: “I’m very keen to flesh out”: Henry Cavill Reveals He’s Extremely Invested in Zack Snyder’s Justice League 2 Redeeming Superman After Darkseid Corrupted Him in ZSJL

Henry Cavill Talks About the Missing Accessory From His Superman Costume 

On the show, Stephen Colbert also asked about one of the things that were missing in his costume. He asked, “I love the look of your Superman. How do you feel about the fact he doesn’t have the big red underwear?”

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Every Superman, prior to Cavill has had the big red underwear on top of their suit. The underwear was one of the iconic pieces of Superman’s costume. 

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Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Henry Cavill agreed with Colbert and said that it had the potential to work, and it could have been added in some way. “I really loved my suit, I thought it was pretty cool. However, if it were to happen again, I would definitely be open to the idea of adding the trunks in some way, shape, or form,” Cavill added. 

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Warner Bros announced at the time that they were open to creating a star with the 2013 Superman reboot. The studio primarily focused on either a discovery or a TV actor who was not very popular. 

Henry Cavill did audition for Batman but lost it to Christian Bale. Not just that, Brett Ratner and Joseph McGinty Nichol, professionally known as McG, have Cavill in their mind for Superman Returns. But after Bryan Singer came on to direct the film, Brandon Routh was cast as the lead in the movie.

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Henry Cavill

Henry Cavill was finally cast as Superman in the 2013 Superman: Man of Steel. Cavil has since starred in multiple hit films and is also expected to appear in the upcoming film, Black Adam. He is also starring in Netflix’s Enola Holmes 2 alongside Millie Bobby Brown. 

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Black Adam will release on 21 October 2022.

Enola Holmes 2 will be available to stream on Netflix from 4 November 2022.  

Source: YouTube

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Written by Laxmi Rajput

Articles Published: 2097

Laxmi Rajput is a writer at Fandomwire. She finished her Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism and worked as a Business News writer for a year. But her interest in entertainment and pop culture compelled her to find a way towards Entertainment Journalism. She has worked across various fields and has 2 years of experience in content writing. She likes reading, music, movies, and traveling. She aspires to become a fiction writer in the future.