Henry Cavill Was Literally Steaming In The Witcher Season 1, Thanks To A Cold Set And Yogurt Goop

Henry Cavill's Geralt of Rivia is a monster hunter of few words. The White Wolf has put other Witchers to shame, slaying ungodly beasts across The Continent and letting his actions (and deadly combat skills) do the talking for him. Across the first two seasons of the Netflix show, he's faced just about every nightmarish creature imaginable — from Bruxas to Leshen — and come out on top.

There was the time he ripped out the tongue of a Nekker just so he could have something to wield after losing his own blade earlier in the fight. Then, there was the time he easily took care of a flying monstrosity known as the Chernobog in season 2, downing the winged beast with his magic powers before landing a killing blow once the Chernobog took flight again. And who could forget the opening moments of "The Witcher" season 1, when Geralt sliced open a giant Kikimora, introducing both the show and himself in suitably brutal fashion.

But often, we don't get to see Geralt's battles actually play out, instead witnessing the bloody aftermath. Which, as it happens, can often be just as effective a way of conveying the White Wolf's monster hunting skills as actually showing the slaying in question. In one such case, rather than doing battle with a CGI creation, Henry Cavill had a much more tangible experience — specifically being covered in yogurt.

Look, if you're Netflix you can't spend money digitally rendering every single abomination that stalks The Continent. Which means the writers often have to come up with inventive ways of depicting Geralt's violent exploits. Case in point: the Selkiemore from season 1, episode 4. This particular monster had, according to one local, been menacing a village before Geralt took quick care of him, as evidenced by the Witcher's dramatic entrance into the village tavern covered in Selkie entrails.

Speaking at WitcherCon (via CinemaBlend), Cavill explained how "The Witcher" crew whipped up some convincingly repulsive Selkimore viscera using yogurt and fruit. He said:

"It was freezing cold outside, right? There wasn't really a warm tent set up even though I was covered in, I think this was yogurt. Mostly yogurt and something else, and some kind of fruit, I think. And little bits of stuff to make it look like intestines. And I stood in front of the lights outside and I was like, 'This is the good warm spot.' And I realized I was smoking because it was so cold outside and all the liquid had heated up on my costume."

After noticing the steam, Cavill recalled telling director Alex Garcia Lopez to start rolling the cameras, which he did. The actor continued, "If you watch it again, you'll actually see smoke coming off me throughout the scene."

With "The Witcher" season 3 finally upon us, we're about to witness some of Henry Cavill's last monster fights before he bows out to make way for a Geralt played by Liam Hemsworth. After some truly bizarre and ultimately unsuccessful attempts at remaining in the DCEU as Superman, Cavill is off to do some Warhammering for Amazon. Which means his Geralt will no longer be facing down any monsters.

At this stage, it's impossible to say whether Hemsworth will be able to convey the stoic strength embodied by Cavill as the White Wolf. Across what is now three seasons of "The Witcher," the "Man of Steel" star has exuded a quiet power that has been a big part of the show's success. Even in the moments where he's not actually fighting any grotesque demons, Cavill's Geralt just exuded the kind of energy you'd expect from an infamous monster hunter and it will be a shame not to see the guy covered in fake entrails after this latest season wraps up.

Still, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has said Cavill will get a heroic send-off, which will no doubt involve more than a few viscera-filled brawls. After which, we can look forward to seeing whatever gory altercations Liam Hemsworth's Geralt manages to get into.