How Henry Cavill, ‘Man of Steel, ’went workout crazy

The story is all too familiar. A young boy discovers he has extraordinary powers and is not human.  He seeks his origins and his apparent mission.  The drama involves the journey of making the hero inside him emerge, and then the action of saving the world begins. Yet, amid the familiarity, we watch it every time particularly because we want to know how another actor can breathe life into the man of steel or the world’s Superman!

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures present Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Kal-El. He is joined by an award-winning cast including four-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams (The Master) as Lois Lane, Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), Academy Award-winner Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) as Jonathan Kent, Oscar nominee Diane Lane (Unfaithful) as Martha Kent, Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do with It), Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, and Academy Awardwinner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) as Jor-El.

6’1” tall British actor Henry Cavill (pronounced like travel) is the first non-American to play the role of Superman. The good-looking actor with his trademark strong and defined jawline was very close to snatching the role in 2006 for Superman Returns but lost the part to Brandon Routh. That same year, he was very close to being Agent 007 in Casino Royale but lost that to Daniel Craig. He was deemed too young for the role and yet too old to play the 17-year-old Edward Cullen in Twilight which went to Robert Pattinson. Cavill lost one other role to Pattinson, the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  That’s all behind him now, as the world welcomes him as the new Superman.

The experience of coming too close to landing important roles just to be bypassed in the end in a way trained Cavill for the path-seeking character he plays. “I guess you can say Henry was born to play Superman,” director Zack Snyder says. “But all these life experiences have come together. He’s gone through a journey. In our movie, Clark Kent gets jostled around by life and then becomes Superman. Henry has done the same thing.”

According to producer Charles Roven, playing Superman gave Cavill a boost in much the same way it’s given every child who ever donned a makeshift cape and imagined him or herself flying through the skies.  “When he put on that suit, Henry’s whole demeanor changed.  He really owned the character, on- and off-camera, and put an amazing amount of hard work and thought into every aspect of his performance.  It was great fun to watch.”

Cavill shunned using steroids and computer-graphic tricks to make his body look larger on screen. “I wanted it to be me,” he says. “It helped me to get into character. And also because it’s my name. I wanted to provide that image (of Superman) and make it a reality.”

To develop the physique the role required, Henry Cavill engaged in months of training with Mark Twight of Gym Jones.  Twight, who first worked with Zack Snyder on 300, recalls, “Zack came to me and said, ‘I’ve got another project and it’s probably going to be harder than the first one.  I need you to make somebody look like Superman.’”

The very idea, Twight admits, “scared the daylights out of me.  But Zack brought me someone who was willing to put in the work.  Fitness is not just physical strength and conditioning, it’s also strength of character.  It’s committing all of your available resources to the achievement of an objective.  Only if expectations are higher can achievements be higher.”

Cavill went workout crazy with a 5,000- calorie daily diet to bulk up. In the body- sculpting phase, when he had to cut down on calories, the regimen definitely became harder, but Cavill was determined and never lost his cool. “If I was being irritable, I’d save it for being in the car,” he says. “Just some choice words. And I could be professional and go back on set again.”

Incorporating a combination of various transferable functional training techniques, Twight and his team, including trainer Michael Blevins, were able to work with the actor to attain the skills, strength, and confidence he needed to perform wire work, fight scenes, and stunts.

“Once he realized he could dead-lift more than two times his body weight, he believed,” Twight says.  “Henry achieved a level of discipline and a physical capacity that was outstanding.”  Most importantly, Cavill reached his goals — and added 15 pounds of muscle to his frame — with nothing more than hard work and discipline.  “Henry said he wanted to look the same outside the suit as he did when he was wearing it,” Twight adds.  “He didn’t even need body makeup for those scenes where he had his shirt off because he had done the work and he wanted that work to show.”

“The training was a genuine discovery,” Cavill remarks.  “I learned I could do all sorts of things that I never thought possible.  Mark kept things constantly evolving and opened my eyes to seeing past what I thought were my limits.  He had the ability to crush me, but just enough that I couldn’t walk properly and I felt horrible and a little sick …. but I still wanted to come back,” he smiles. 

The intense training led to what Cavill calls a “recognition moment,” during which “you think, okay, I can do this.  It’s not going to kill me, for one.  And two, I’m in safe hands.  And three, I’m actually enjoying it.  Yeah, it hurt.  It was excruciating.  But I liked pushing past that point to where you realize your body is actually more than capable of doing it.  The moment when that happens is wonderful.”

In this revelation, Twight sees parallels between the character and the actor.  “Superman’s  a story of self-discovery.  Henry’s journey was quite similar in a way.  He discovered his capacity and the confidence that comes with being physically capable and knowing how to produce whatever result in his body he wants.”

Roven adds, “Henry completely metamorphosed his body.  He already had a great physique, but he really turned it into something super for this film.”

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Man of Steel opens across the Philippines on June 12 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, and regular theaters. It is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.