Even Superman needs a sidekick! Henry Cavill, who plays Clark Kent in DC’s two most recent film adaptations of the classic comic, as well as the upcoming Justice League, took to Instagram on Monday, April 3, to share a post in honor of his lovable dog, Kal.
“These past few days have been very busy with travel to new destinations for my next job. What seemed like an impossible task was made into less of a mission by my constant companion,” he captioned the collage of photos of Kal, which he hashtagged, “#TheTravelingBear.”
Before there was Spartacus or The Tudors, Vikings or The Borgias—before Game of Thrones—there was Rome. As the first salvo of a legion of period epics and historic fictions on premium cable, Rome was one of the most ambitious gambles ever ventured by HBO with a first season cost that was upwards of $100 million due to pricy sets (the biggest in the world), principal photography in Italy, and the usage of old fashioned 35mm cameras.
The series proudly attempted to tell a sort of an “Upstairs, Downstairs” drama between Rome’s patrician class and its plebian underbelly, making it something of a semi-prequel to I, Claudius as we witnessed the rise and fall of Gaius Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), and then the many years of warfare between the various parties in the wake of his death—including a young Octavian (first Max Pirkis, then Simon Woods)—as well as Rome’s transition from republic to empire.
It was a grand effort… perhaps too much so. Indeed, the popular cult series only ran for two seasons, abruptly ending 10 years ago in 2007. While there was some second-guessing and regret after the ratings for Rome season 2 increased, the die was already cast and that season concluded the story with Octavian becoming Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, and his quiet plebian right-hand, Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson), taking on the responsibilities of raising a son since his best mate Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) lies presumably in the grave.
“Bruno [Heller] once did outline a story that he was going to start the whole series with,” Stevenson said. “An 88-year-old Pullo going down to the riverside by Vorenus’ tomb, or sarcophagus, pouring wine on it, taking a sword out while sitting there on the banks, looking at the glistening river, and committing suicide.
“And as he has his face hit the sand on the banks, a fish jumped out of the water, and the silver light on the fish caught the sword, which brought us right into that first battle with Lucius Vorenus and [Titus Pullo] where he breaks ranks.”
Sunday nights have been taken over by the dark and brooding Aidan Turner, who plays the lead role in new BBC drama ‘Poldark’.
Every time the show is on Twitter breaks out into a frenzy over the 31-year-old leading man, but how much do you know about his life before Poldark?
Here’s 10 things you might not know about Aidan Turner…
His TV Debut Was In Another Sexy Period Drama
Turner’s first TV role was playing Bedoli in ‘The Tudors’ - but he only had 52-seconds of screentime! He’s in the very first episode if you fancy trying to find him.
His First Acting Gig Was Flogging Eggs
When he was just 18, Turner was in an advert for Bord Bia - AKA The Irish Food Board - who promote sales of produce in the country. In the advert, a barely recognisable Turner played a young man who finds love amongst the aisles.
He Knew How To Makes Sparks Fly Before Poldark
Before becoming an actor, Turner worked alongside his father as an apprentice electrician. In an interview with The Independent he said, “There were a lot of things I didn’t want to do,” he says. “I wasn’t very academic so I didn’t want to go to college and study anything. I worked as an apprentice with my dad [an electrician] and knew manual labour wasn’t where it was at either.”
You Can Buy An Aidan Turner Handbook
Turner has his own fan-run wiki page, which has followed him throughout his career. On the site you can buy items his film and TV characters have worn (including Kili’s necklace ‘The Hobbit’ franchise), a LEGO figurine of the star, magazine covers he has been on and even an Aidan Turner handbook, which provides everything people need to know about him.
As Captain Ross Poldark, he’ll be providing plenty of (often shirtless...) entertainment, so there’s no better time to brush up on the facts.
The 31-year-old actor has previously appeared in a number of TV shows and trod the boards in numerous Shakespeare plays, but which films do you know him from? And which racy period drama gave Aidan his big break?
Find out everything you need to know with these 9 facts in 90 seconds…
1. The Irish actor was 23 when he first appeared on TV
Let's start with the basics, shall we? Aidan was born in Dublin in 1983, and he graduated from The Gaiety School of Acting in 2003.
After appearing in a number of plays, he was given his big break with 2007, when he won a guest role in 'The Tudors'.
2. Here's where you've seen him before
You probably recognise him from 'The Hobbit' films, in which he played the dwarf Kili (on the right).
The films' director Peter Jackson added the character of Tauriel, who isn't in the books, and created the franchise's key romantic storyline. (That's not Tauriel in the photo by the way, non-Hobbit fans, it's Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield.)
3. Aidan doesn't understand why people think he's hot
We know, right?!
Aidan wasn't best pleased when the BBC released this behind-the-scenes snap, and he told Newsbeat: "I don't know why the BBC are releasing photos of it. It's a bit strange."
6. Aidan gets starstruck just like us
He's previously revealed how daunting it was to film 'The Hobbit' with Ian McKellen, and now, he's opened up about what it was like when Robin Ellis, the original Poldark, stopped by for a cameo.
"We had this scene together when we’d just started filming – a scene where Robin is a judge at a trial," he explained to The Telegraph. "After we’d filmed the scene, Robin turned to me and gave me a wink and a thumbs up."
8. We'll be seeing him half-naked a LOT
The actor has promised that he gets his kit-off multiple times in the series, not that we're counting or anything.
Aidan spent an awful lot of time in the gym while filming, and he's previously stated: "I hate the gym. Working all day and then doing 90 minutes in the gym is a pain, but it's part of the job."
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By ANDREW GOLDMAN
March 5, 2015 3:36 p.m. ET
HAS THERE EVER LIVED a lustier, more murderous cast of characters than the Tudors? The infamy of the English dynasty owes largely to the treacherous 38-year reign of Henry VIII, but an even more compelling character may be his enabler and brain for hire, Thomas Cromwell, the commoner who rose in his court to become a kind of Henry whisperer, an advisor renowned for his ability to read the king’s mind like a book. For 500 years, Cromwell was viewed as a great heavy in the Tudor drama, a character whose lure became irresistible to the British novelist Hilary Mantel. “When I was researching, I started off with a fairly conventional viewpoint: that Cromwell’s a villain but an interesting villain,” Mantel says. “Then I began to discover other things and modified my view very fast.” Cromwell was the consummate fixer—in Mantel’s words, “the man to cut through some legal entanglement that’s ensnared you for three generations, or talk your sniffling little daughter into the marriage she swears she will never make.” Mantel also found him unusually sympathetic: After the deaths of his wife and daughters, he went on to support his large extended family. She devoted eight years and a thousand pages to novelizing the first 51 years of Cromwell’s life with Wolf Hall, released in 2009, and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies, published three years later.
The books made Mantel a literary star—the first British author to win the Man Booker Prize twice. Naturally, film producers came calling. “There were many suitors, yes,” she says. But her books are serious works of historical fiction. The Tudors—notably in the Showtime series of the same name and the filmed adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl—had been transformed in the popular imagination as characters scheming and copulating through airbrushed Hollywood bodice rippers (“bonkbusters,” as the genre is known in England). Mantel feared what would become of her Cromwell in the wrong hands, how tempting it might be to drown him in an orgiastic, Game of Thrones–style bloodbath.
One suitor stood out from the rest: Colin Callender, the British-born producer who’d just left HBO after 21 years to start his own production company. As the president of HBO films, Callender had overseen the production of John Adams, a miniseries based on David McCullough’s biography. Mantel loved the seriousness of the project—the fact that it starred Paul Giamatti, not Tom Cruise—and that it made colonial life look as cold and austere as history tells us it was. Callender, she trusted, wouldn’t make the Tudors, in her word, too “cute.”
While devouring Wolf Hall, Callender recognized something novel, but also enticingly familiar, about Cromwell. As he’d seen firsthand at HBO, The Sopranos had irrevocably darkened the public’s taste and tolerance of its television protagonists, opening the doors for the likes of House of Cards’ Frank Underwood, Ray Donovan and, Callender imagined, the centuries-despised Thomas Cromwell. “Audiences are increasingly interested in characters who live on both sides of the moral equation,” Callender says. “I thought, here was the way to reinvigorate the television historical drama for the post–Sopranos, Breaking Bad world.” The rights to Mantel’s book became the first acquisition at Callender’s Playground Entertainment. Now he just needed actors with the gifts to sell Mantel’s portrayal of the insatiable Henry and his deft consigliere, Cromwell.
THERE ARE MANY who swear that Mark Rylance, the man Callender tapped to play Cromwell, is the greatest actor alive, that seeing him embody the small-time drug dealer Johnny “Rooster” Byron in Jerusalem is as close to a religious experience as the theater can offer. At lunch on a Pasadena, California, hotel patio, Rylance blushes, looking at his feet while Damian Lewis, who plays Wolf Hall’s Henry VIII, testifies to his brilliance. “I don’t know who the greatest actor is—it’s kind of a ridiculous notion—but if you haven’t seen Mark onstage, I’m here to tell you he’s extraordinary,” Lewis says. “He’s kind of cornered the market in redefining characters that we think we know.”
As they are both actors who spent their early professional years performing the Bard at the Royal Shakespeare Company, it might be tempting for American audiences to toss Rylance and Lewis into the same classically trained British actor bin. But just eyeballing them sitting next to each other suggests that their social circles rarely intersect. Rylance, who arrived wearing his trademark fedora, comes across as a theater bohemian, with silver Navajo bracelets on each wrist (he’s actively involved in Survival International, a group committed to protecting tribal people around the world) and a short-sleeved patterned bowling shirt; Lewis, the Eton-educated, St. John’s Wood–reared son of London privilege, is chic in a tailored dark blue shirt, designer jeans and a Rolex, and carries himself with a natural masculine confidence. Given that Rylance has spent his life projecting his voice onstage—he’s won three Tonys and two Oliviers—it’s surprising that he speaks so softly one has to lean in to hear him, even sitting a few feet away. (As a child, Rylance suffered from an intense shyness that kept him from speaking a word until he was 6.)
Through Wolf Hall, Rylance has taken on the job that Mantel began—redefining Cromwell, saving him even, almost 500 years after he was beheaded on trumped-up charges of treason. Rylance, best described as sprightly, might not be the first actor who comes to mind to play Cromwell; in Wolf Hall he’s a physically imposing brute who had likely killed a man or two in close combat during his mysterious younger days and was depicted in the enduring Hans Holbein likeness as a bruiser, fleshy and austere under his black bonnet. “I’m aware I’m not so big as Cromwell is physically, but I can take on psychological weight,” Rylance says. Playing bigger isn’t a problem for an actor of Rylance’s gifts; in fact, just the day before, he’d been sitting with Steven Spielberg, discussing how he will play the titular big friendly giant in The BFG, the director’s upcoming adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book. He’s thought deeply about the mechanics of the Cromwell-Henry relationship and came upon an unexpected insight when he encountered a man who keeps grizzly bears in Montana. “He said to me, the thing with bears is they are incredibly emotional, they’re made of emotions,” Rylance says. “You have to be very clear and very loving towards this bear, which is emotionally like a 15- or 16-year-old autistic child. I compare Damian’s Henry to that.”
SUNDAY EXPRESS
Published: 00:01, Sun, January 11, 2015
By DAVID STEPHENSON
We love our period drama. A glimpse of the schedules, particularly during autumn and winter, reveals a surfeit of costume delights, from Downton Abbey to Call The Midwife, from The Musketeers to Channel 4’s soon-to-be-seen Indian Summers.
However, the quality can vary wildly and so can the attention to detail, with the viewers often wondering, given the modern language used in dialogue, whether they are actually watching a drama set, for instance, two centuries ago.
Worry ye not, viewer, about the quality on offer later this month in BBC2’s Wolf Hall. Adapted from the best-selling historical novels of Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, this six-part series about the political chicanery of the Tudor court raises the bar for its costume rivals.
It has one of the performances of the year from Mark Rylance, in the lead role of Thomas Cromwell. He is ably assisted by Damian Lewis, pictured, as Henry VIII, and Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey. Not a regular TV face, Rylance is known for his striking performances in the theatre, and is a two-time Olivier Awards winner.
As the author Mantel herself points out, “Mark Rylance gives a mesmeric performance as Cromwell, its effect building through the series.”As lawyer to Wolsey, Mantel describes him as both “hero, and anti-hero”, which indeed he is, although by the close of episode one you will be rooting for Rylance’s Cromwell all the way.
Unlike many authors, who are often indifferent about TV adaptations, Mantel is inspired. She says: “It’s a privilege. It’s illuminating, exciting. It’s not, as people sometimes think, in any way odd or jarring. It seems to continue a natural process that goes on in the writer’s head. “As you write, you see and hear. To have the images transferred to the outside world, to hear the voices externally, is a kind of magic, but it’s also a logical step.”
The choice of director is inspired, too. To enhance the political intrigue of a Tudor royal household, Peter Kosminsky, whose work mostly includes factual dramas, has given the production an authentic, contemporary feel.
But where do you begin with two 500-page novels? “I guess it starts with Peter Straughan’s script,” says the director. “Many people have done incredible work on this show.
Many on it acknowledge that these are some of the best scripts they have ever read. They are the best I’ve read. I knew the books, but to turn that into six hours of TV is an extraordinary feat.”
The stories are about “revenge”, says Straughan. “It’s also there in the novels, but that’s the theme I decided to run with. Thomas sets out for revenge for the fall of Wolsey, and the drama is about the consequences that flow from that.”
Rylance hasn’t done a major TV lead since 2005’s excellent The Government Inspector, about tragic whistleblower Dr David Kelly, which was also directed by Kosminsky. Why return to TV? Rylance is breathtakingly honest. “My wife said the books were very good! And I liked working with Peter, and it was obviously a wonderful part.”
But what was it specifically about the role that drew him to it? “There can be few characters in literature that keep most of their judgments and thoughts to themselves. He doesn’t reveal it, or show very much. I expect a lot of people who have read the books will watch the show, so to manifest him in a way that wouldn’t limit their imaginations of what he was like, was quite a challenge. I also wanted him to be a real person.”
KPOP STARS
By Staff Writer | June 01, 2014 09:56 PM EDT
Numerous sightings of the couple together in places where Cavill was filming his movies as well as them adopting a dog together are just few hints that this maybe a very serious relationship. Reports have also suggested that neither of them is secretive of their relationship nor shy about posing with fans as a couple.
In an April story on New York Post’s page six, the couple was seen spending time together in Chicago. The celebrities were seen enjoying their drinks at the Vertigo Sky Lounge, atop the 26th floor of the Dana Hotel & Spa, where they took a break from their get-together to pose for pictures with fans.
Earlier this year, the couple adopted an Akita puppy from Big Bear Akitas, a breeder in Arkansas – where some fans see the move as an indication that Cavill maybe ready to settle down.
The “Batman vs. Superman” actor and Hollywood heartthrob has also been vocal about his desire to start a family. And it won’t be surprising if he pops the question soon to his on-again and off-again girlfriend.
FASHION & STYLE
Mar 07, 2014 02:36 PM EST
By Erika W. Smith,
Fashion & Style Assistant Editor, Features
It seems like “Man of Steel” star Henry Cavill claimed a top spot on every single “Sexiest” list last year – so of course everyone is wondering, is he single? It looks like the British heartthrob, 30, is currently dating his on-again, off-again girlfriend Gina Carano – they have even adopted a puppy together!
Jillian Michaels (2007)
Way back in 2007, when Henry was best known for his supporting role on “The Tudors,” he was linked to “The Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels, but neither star ever confirmed the buzz. Whatever happened, it ended quickly; Jillian, who is openly bisexual, now has two children with her partner, Heidi Rhoades.
Susie Redmond (2007)
We have no idea who she is, but Henry took someone named Susie Redmond as his date to the “Stardust” premiere in 2007. They were never seen together again, so if she was a girlfriend and not just a friend, it probably wasn’t serious.
Maude Hirst (2009)
Another rumor – Henry and Maude, an actress who appeared on “The Tudors” and is now in "Vikings" – were briefly linked while filming the show. They went to a few events together, however, neither confirmed the relationship and the rumors ended quickly.
"I saw ['Man of Steel'] when it came out," he said. "I am in awe of the world building and the scope of that picture. There were things I might have done a little differently just because of the way I view the character."
When Singer came on board to direct "Superman Returns," Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) was set to play Superman, but Singer replaced him with Brandon Routh. "I think Henry Cavill is great. I knew Henry. He and I were friends years ago," said the director. "The reason I didn't cast him was because I was making a sequel to Christopher Reeve and I wanted somebody who embodied Reeve more."
M LIVE
By Eric Lacy | elacy@mlive.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on January 28, 2014 at 9:14 AM, updated January 28, 2014 at 1:01 PM
DETROIT, MI -- Actor Henry Cavill appeared to settled into Metro Detroit over the weekend before he is expected to begin work with Ben Affleck on the new "Batman vs. Superman" film in the area this spring.
Cavill, who plays Superman, was reportedly spotted at a few bars and took a few photos with fans, according to the website Henry Cavill News.
The website claims Cavill hung out at a bar Friday night and met music video director Adrean Mangiardi, musician Mark Levin and several others.
With Henry Cavill @ Bodo’s Schloss – I taught him a bit of Sign Language- a great guy! #manofsteel#superman #henrycavill #bodosschloss #randomnight#awesome - pghyland (Via HenryCavillNews)
Mangiardi confirmed Tuesday to MLive.com over the phone that he did indeed meet Cavill at a place called
Imperial.
"My initial thought was 'Whoah, there's a guy just making a living as an actor,'" said Mangiardi, a Ferndale resident. "I've seen some his work - TV shows, things like that - but I didn't expect him to show up at Imperial!
"It was definitely unexpected, but nice. He seemed like just another guy enjoying the night."
For a photo of another fan's meeting with Cavill and some related tweets, check out the slideshow near the end of this post.
'Batman Vs Superman' has been delayed until 2016.
The release date for the superhero blockbuster, which will see Henry Cavill reprise his role as Superman alongside Ben Affleck as Batman, has been pushed back by 10 months to allow filmmakers time to work on the ''nature of the story''.
A Warner Bros. spokesman told Total Film: ''We know that there is already great anticipation building for the next superhero film from Zack Snyder, and we are equally eager to see what he has in store for Superman and Batman as they share the big screen for the first time ever.''
The untitled 'Man of Steel' sequel, which is being directed by Zack Snyder, was originally slated for a summer 2015 release, but the date now stands at May 6, 2016.
It's official: Henry Cavill is among the nominees of Critics' Choice Movie Awards! He will compete for the award as the best actor in an action movie. His nomination is the only one for Man of Steel at the Critics' Choice Awards.
The highlight of Henry's acting career to date happened this year — it was the Man of Steel in which he played the title role of Superman. Immediately after the premiere audiences unanimously recognized Henry as Superman for our generation. Critics also were smitten by his screen incarnation of Superman, and, as a result, Henry Cavill is now nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
In a nomination for best actor in an action movie, Henry Cavill will compete for the award with such stars as Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 3), Brad Pitt (World War Z), and Mark Wahlberg (Lone Survivor).
This is the first time Henry has received a nomination for Best Actor. We are very proud of him and wish him luck in winning.
Henry Cavill photos series was a huge hit for you all and due to popular demand, we’re adding a few more images to our “evidence” of why Henry must be named by People Magazine as Sexiest Man Alive for 2013.
People Magazine
Isn’t that what the “Sexiest Man Alive” of PEOPLE is all about? To give everyone hope!
