Henry Cavill's Coloured Contacts in The Witcher Almost Cost Him His Vision

We all know that actors must be completely committed to any role they play. And it's not uncommon for them to suffer some discomfort for the sake of their art.

While filming The Witcher, Henry Cavill was prepared to take that statement to its limit. So much so that he actually ran the risk of causing long-term damage to his eyes – and even going blind.

Now, that might seem a little extreme. But in the end, as the actor explained to the Metro, he had to be told by the on-set eye technician to 'take the bloody contacts out' as he would 'start to go blind after a while'.

Of course, this wasn't a situation that the showrunners had anticipated – much less wanted. It's just that Henry Cavill is a) a committed artist and b) stubborn.

His character, Geralt, ended up with gold eyes after undergoing the Trial of the Grasses and several other experiments as a child. Clearly, Cavill, who is so suited to the part he's soon to leave, doesn't have gold eyes.

No problem. In a world of CGI and IMAX technology, transforming the actors' eyes into those of Geralt took nothing more than a pair of contact lenses.

So, how did something so innocuous threaten his eyesight?

'I was only allowed to keep them in for three hours at a time,' Cavill said, 'well I was supposed to only keep them in (for) three hours at a time'.

Are you starting to see the problem?

'Drying out isn't the problem,' he went on. 'It's that part of your eye, it's the only part of your body that receives oxygen from the air rather than blood.'

It's worth pointing out here that he did receive medical advice before putting the contacts in. But he chose to ignore it. Maybe it was just a bit of method acting. After all, isn't that exactly what Geralt would have done?

Even when the eye technician told him, quite firmly, to remove the contacts, Cavill said he 'was sure she was probably selling a slightly more dramatic version of the truth' and told her it would be ok to 'shoot (for) a couple more hours'. Which is what he did.

Then, while filming in the Canary Islands, volcanic rock dust got caught behind his contacts. Initially (and this should now come as no surprise) he put the scratching sensation in his eyes down to nothing but tiredness.

Later, the eye technician discovered the actor 'hiding in the shadows' and shielding his eyes from the brightness. This time, she wouldn't take no for an answer and Cavill was forced to acquiesce – saving his eyesight in the process.

It's not a story that covers Henry Cavill in glory. But it is one that shows his dedication to his role in The Witcher.

Source: Metro.