Warning: spoilers for The Witcher season 4.
The Witcher season 4 is the debut of Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia, and his version of the title witcher is different from Henry Cavill’s, though mostly in good ways. After playing Geralt since The Witcher’s debut on Netflix in 2019, Henry Cavill left the show after season 3, with Liam Hemsworth being announced as his replacement shortly after.
There was a lot of doubt and speculation around Hemsworth’s performance as Geralt of Rivia, more so as Henry Cavill did a near-perfect job in seasons 1 to 3. The biggest questions about Hemsworth’s Geralt were how similar or different it would be to Cavill’s and if the show would acknowledge Geralt’s different face in some way.
Although Hemsworth’s performance will inevitably be compared to Cavill’s, the truth is that his version of Geralt is both similar and different from Cavill’s, but in the best ways, as it feels like an extension of Cavill’s version while also bringing a version that is his.
Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt Is More Subtle Than Henry Cavill’s
There are some characteristics that made Netflix’s live-action version of Geralt so popular, and they were thanks to Henry Cavill’s performance. Throughout the first season, Geralt had very little dialogue, relying on facial expressions, grunts, and curse words (one, in particular) said in a very low voice.
After criticism from viewers and fans of the Witcher books and video gams, Netflix’s The Witcher made some adjustments to its version of Geralt. In seasons 2 and 3, Geralt was given more dialogue, but the character continued to express more through facial expressions and grunts. These are still present in Liam Hemsworth’s version, but there’s more subtlety in his performance.
Hemsworth’s Geralt is at a different point in his life than Cavill’s Geralt. Hemsworth’s version has found a purpose, one much bigger than he could have ever imagined, which has also helped him open up to other people, forming more meaningful friendships and alliances. However, this also means that Geralt is suffering in different ways than before.
The subtlety in Hemsworth comes in how he portrays this pain through body language and his eyes, rather than through words or grunts. Geralt has an ongoing inner struggle as he does his best to rescue and reunite his family, and Hemsworth portrays it perfectly.
Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt Doesn’t Look Angry All The Time
Geralt hasn’t had an easy life, and he has gone through some truly tragic and traumatic experiences from an early age. Geralt was separated from his mother, who left him in the mountains of Kaedwen for the witcher Vesemir to pick him up, as he was his Child of Surprise. Vesemir took Geralt to Kaer Morhen, where he was trained and turned into a witcher.
As a witcher, Geralt witnessed many atrocities across the Continent, and not all of them necessarily linked to or caused by monsters. It’s understandable, then, that by the time the audience met Geralt in The Witcher season 1, he was cold, detached, and always with an angry look on his face, which added to why people feared him and tended to run away from him.
As mentioned above, Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt is at a different point in his life, and he has gone through a lot in three seasons that have led to some positive changes in Geralt. Thanks to this, Hemsworth’s Geralt is less cold and doesn’t look angry, making him more approachable, which is key in his journey to rescuing Ciri.
Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt Is Missing Henry Cavill’s Comedic Timing
Despite all the unresolved trauma and the heavy past that Geralt carries, Henry Cavill managed to bring some unexpected but great comedy to his performance. Surprisingly, Cavill had excellent comedic timing, and it was very subtle, as he didn’t need obvious jokes or funny lines, unlike other characters, like Jaskier, who are meant to bring in the laughs.
Cavill’s comedy often came from the perfect timing of his grunts, facial expressions, and those perfectly delivered swear words. While Hemsworth got many things right in his performance as Geralt, the comedy of Cavill’s version is something that he couldn’t bring back.
However, going back to the above-mentioned point of Hemsworth’s Geralt being on a different personal journey, perhaps his version of the witcher didn’t require those brief lighter moments, though, then again, it could be argued that it was a great time to bring some lightness to it.
Liam Hemsworth’s Action Scenes As Geralt Are Much Better
The Witcher began on the right foot with Cavill’s Geralt battling a Kikimora, and the first season was very action-packed. Unfortunately, for its second season, The Witcher slowed down on monster hunting and action scenes, and the show did its best to fix this problem in season 3, though it still lacked in that area.
Still, Cavill had some great and exciting action scenes during his time as Geralt, but something that Hemsworth did better than him was his action scenes. Perhaps it was the way Cavill’s action scenes were shot, but most of the time, they were so fast and with so much camera movement that they looked unreal and were difficult to follow.
Hemsworth’s action scenes, on the other hand, looked a lot more carefully choreographed and thus are more exciting and enjoyable to watch. It’s clear that Hemsworth trained a lot to master those fight scenes (not to say that Cavill didn’t, because he clearly prepared extensively for the role), making them look more flowy and natural.
Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt Is Slightly More Expressive Than Henry Cavill’s
As mentioned above, Cavill’s Geralt was detached, cold, and didn’t express much with words and facial expressions, though this changed in The Witcher season 3. Now, although Hemsworth was subtle in his portrayal of the pain and struggles Geralt is going through in season 4, at the same time, he was more expressive.
Hemsworth’s Geralt has moments of community and friendship with Jaskier, Milva, Regis, Zoltan, Yarpen, Cahir, and Percival, and he doesn’t hold those emotions back. Hemsworth’s Geralt can be seen smiling, even if subtly, but he also shows his pain when he needs to, such as when opening up to Milva and when Beata is killed in front of him.
This change helps make Geralt more human and is key to his character development, while still keeping his essence and style, as he’s still not the most expressive man on the Continent, but he’s more in touch with his feelings – pleasant or not – after everything he has gone through.
Liam Hemsworth’s Geralt Is Physically Less Imposing Than Henry Cavill’s
Of course, one aspect that was going to be hard to match was Henry Cavill’s physicality. After all the training he went through to prepare for the role, Cavill was very physically imposing as Geralt, which, along with his angry facial expressions and low voice, made the character even more intimidating.
Liam Hemsworth got Geralt’s tone of voice right, but he’s not as physically imposing as Cavill’s version. Hemsworth is slightly taller than Cavill, and in that regard, he’s definitely more imposing than Cavill’s Geralt, but he doesn’t have the physical strength that Cavill did.
Surely, this isn’t really a requirement to be Geralt of Rivia, but it’s a big change when the character was initially portrayed as a very physically strong and imposing character. All in all, Liam Hemsworth did a great job as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher season 4, and it’s to be seen what else he brings to the character in the fifth and final season.
- Release Date
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December 20, 2019
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
- Directors
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Stephen Surjik, Charlotte Brändström, Edward Bazalgette, Loni Peristere, Louise Hooper, Bola Ogun, Alex Garcia Lopez, Gandja Monteiro, Sarah O’Gorman
- Writers
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Haily Hall, Clare Higgins, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jenny Klein, Tania Lotia
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Anya Chalotra
Yennefer of Vengerberg
