Henry Cavill’s Favorite Actor of All Time Is Also One of His DC Co-Stars

No one becomes Superman overnight. For Henry Cavill, who would go on to play the Man of Steel in five movies within the DC Extended Universe, his journey to becoming an A-list name was a slow journey, but the grind paid dividends. With Superman now past him, Cavill’s post-DC career should be fascinating, as he will either use his cachet to broaden his talents or be forever overshadowed by the character’s prodigious stature. Rises and falls are an essential part of the acting saga, something Cavill’s idol and early mentor, Russell Crowe, knows all too well. Before the two appeared as father and son on the planet Krypton in Man of Steel, Crowe, at the peak of his powers as a movie star and prestigious actor, took a special interest in a young Cavill, a fan and aspiring actor, and the former’s advice had an invaluable impact on the latter.

Russell Crowe Met a Young Henry Cavill and Gave Him Enduring Advice

Image via Paramount Pictures

In 2013, on the cusp of Zack Snyder‘s bold re-imagining of Superman, Henry Cavill revealed to GQ that Russell Crowe was his favorite actor. Unsurprisingly, his favorite movie was the film that launched the New Zealand-born actor into household name status, Gladiator. When he was a student at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, the 16-year-old Cavill was blessed with the opportunity to be an extra for a scene in Proof of Life, the Crowe-led kidnapping and ransom thriller co-starring Meg Ryan. Coming off his first Oscar nomination for The Insider and the recent release of Gladiator, Crowe was hot stuff, and all the teenage pupils wanted to get a close look at Maximus himself. Cavill, who knew acting was his dream job, wanted more than just an autograph from the star.

While most people get star-struck to the point of being petrified, Cavill saw this as an opportunity to make serious strides in his acting career. After introducing himself and exchanging pleasantries, Crowe told the teenager that acting as a profession is made up of a series of ups and downs. “But if you want to go for it, then really go for it. Commit,” Crowe said. Cavill, seeing the other kids take note of Crowe’s presence, played the role of security guard, ushering the Oscar-winner away from the crowd of eager young fans. Where most celebrities quickly brush off these fan encounters, Cavill, two days later, received a package in the mail that included treats, a CD of Crowe’s band, and a picture of him in Gladiator with a signed message that read “Dear Henry, a journey of 1,000 miles begins in a single step. Russell.” As an emblem of good luck, Cavill never finished opening the entire package.

How Henry Cavill Compares and Contrasts With Russell Crowe

On the screen, you can see Cavill trying to mirror Crowe’s accomplished career, which is frequently glossed over now due to his recent run of bizarre and uninspired choices. Like Crowe, Cavill is a traditional action lead with unshakable charm, allowing him to pivot between the DC universe and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Crowe may have become a joke to some people, but he is much more in on the joke than anyone realizes. Cavill’s recent comedic cameos in Argylle and Deadpool & Wolverine suggest that he’s happy to humorously reflect on his Herculean stature.

As much as Henry Cavill wants to emulate Russell Crowe’s career and work ethic, Hollywood ultimately won’t let him. The old adage “one for them, one for me,” has gradually devolved into “five for them, and maybe I get one for me.” Once Crowe became one of the most bankable names in movies, his brand value could greenlight films like Master & Commander and Cinderella Man, adult-oriented dramas by renowned directors.

Custom image of Russell Crowe in Master and Commander

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“Brothers, what we do in life… echoes in eternity.”

The status quo when casting Supermen, Cavill was plucked from relative obscurity and launched into stardom. Even if he had ambitions of making Oscar-worthy dramas, due to the time-consuming nature of any superhero film, he would have received a marginal amount of time to make them. Not to mention, the industry is not as interested in releasing movies like Master & Commander on the big screen. The dissolved pipeline between franchise success being parlayed into the creation of original, mid-budget movies speaks to the gradual death of the movie star. Studios and audiences only care about the man in the cape, not the man himself.

A young Henry Cavill’s meeting with Russell Crowe in the early 2000s perhaps manifested their future collaboration in Man of Steel. For all the film’s grave flaws, their shared screen time is electric, capturing the mythical and operatic energy required for a Superman movie. In many ways, Crowe’s turn as Jor-El was a passing of the baton to Cavill, who will hopefully one day be the promising cinematic icon that Crowe saw before anyone in Buckinghamshire.

Man of Steel is available to watch on Max in the U.S.