Henry Cavill » Quotes

(When asked how he deals with his fame.) "My fame? Truly I don't consider myself famous...long way to go yet. But if anyone does ask for an autograph it's a wonderful feeling..."

(on whether his abs were digitally enhanced in Man Of Steel (2013)) Oh that's 100 per cent me, believe me. And I am not afraid of saying it because I went through hell to get them.

(on seeing himself shirtless on the big screen) It's one of those things where on the day you always think you can do better. You always think you haven't done enough. You watch the movie later and go 'whoa, OK, I did OK. I did OK'.

(on auditioning for the Superman role in Christopher Reeve's original costume) It was petrifying, mortifying and embarrassing all at the same time. I was coming off a movie where I had to be out of shape, and then I had gone through Christmas, so I was extra out of shape. I just had to throw on the Lycra-like outfit, and that never looks good when it's basically a sort of sausage casing.

(on why it was important to him to have a shirtless scene in Man Of Steel) It's only a small sequence in the movie but it is an essential thing for something like Superman. You've got to prove to everybody that actually it's a "Super" man, it's not all fake, it's not all smoke and mirrors.

(on how to convincingly appear muscular on screen) You can't act your way into a six-pack. You have to put the (hours and hours of) work in the gym.

(on his extreme leaning phase during Man of Steel (2013) to shoot his most difficult scenes) Shooting the oil rig scenes - where I am half-naked and soaking wet - was the toughest because of the "extreme leaning'' phase I was on to show all the hard (muscle) definition. I dropped down to 2,500 calories per day (from 5,000 previously) which , at the size I was and at the shooting workload I had, and the gym training I was doing at the same time, was extremely low and absolutely exhausting. And we did it for six long weeks! Normally bodybuilders lean down for a week or two before a show but I had to keep it down there at whatever it was - 4 per cent, 5 per cent body fat - for the entire six weeks. And, on top of that, have my shirt off, outdoors, in Vancouver in winter with a helicopter above me, while covered in water!

(on enjoying being Superman despite the hard work it entails) I'm really enjoying it, getting my hands dirty and just immersing myself in the job. I'm just coming off of a 45-day lean because there were various shirtless scenes and representing Superman in that physical way both efficiently and sufficiently for the fans. I'm sure you probably saw (the pictures) online over the past month. To lean and to train and to work 12 hours a day is taxing on the willpower and the body, but the stuff (images and footage) we're getting is fantastic. And I get to wake up every morning and say, "I'm Superman." I'm not complaining.

(on how his appearance changed after he had trained to become Superman) The body got harder and leaner. But the biggest change was the waist getting smaller. A lot smaller. I genuinely had to throw my clothes out, since my shoulders are too big and my waist is too small. Everything just doesn't fit like it used to. I have never been this big.

I'm a giant softy, for sure, but I honestly think these days it's probably considered more masculine to be emotionally connected.

We think a mental affair is worse. Sending dirty texts and emails is a true betrayal. Men can have an emotional detachment from sex.

It takes a strong woman to be with me because I'm always hopping around, and not always there. It's really tough.

(About which three wishes he would like to see fulfilled) For my family to be fully content and happy with life... to have a wonderful marriage and to be happy and successful myself.

Budgie smugglers or swimming shorts? "(laughs) Definitely, definitely swimming shorts. More like a parrot smugglers. A Macaw or something. Perhaps a large bird of prey. Bald eagle. There you go."

“Polo necks are great! There’s this attitude towards polo necks, where if you wear one, then all of a sudden you’re a dickhead. And it’s not fair, because polo necks look really good. It’s just a matter of people opening their minds to it. We can wear all sorts of stuff these days, so why not a polo neck?"