The words of encouragement from as distinguished an actor as Stewart must have meant a great deal to Cavill.
During a recent Actors on Actors interview, Henry Cavilll revealed to Stewart that the veteran performer had played a similar role in real life for the Superman actor, in the early stages of Cavill’s career.
“As I was walking down some street in London, I thought, ‘I’m not going to walk away from an audition with Sir Patrick Stewart.
You were casting for The Lion in Winter and I had been acting for three years at that stage.