10 Best Henry Cavill Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

Henry Cavill is our generation’s Big Blue Boy Scout, a man of facial hair supremacy, and oft-second fiddle to Robert Pattinson. Born and raised in the Channel Island of Jersey, Cavill began his career in the early 2000s with supporting roles in film and television. In the nearly 25 years since his debut, Cavill has built a career around some of the most storied franchises in literature and cinema, proving himself to be a driver of action vehicles and a captivating leading man, armed with the ability to drop comedic beats with absolute precision. 

With a new Cavill-less “Superman” approaching, it feels like the first chapter of his career has come to a close. As we await a new phase in his career, let’s take a look at the British actor’s best projects so far. Before we dive in, though, let’s get the obvious out of the way: as much as we all love “Cavillrine,” given it’s a brief (but glorious) cameo, “Deadpool & Wolverine” doesn’t make the cut; and the same can be said for Matthew Vaughn’s “Stardust,” with Cavill’s inclusion in the fantastic Neil Gaiman adaptation being a tad too fleeting. Caveats aside, here are Henry Cavill’s 10 best movies and TV shows.

It’s the collision comic fans had been waiting for: the Boy in Blue versus the Dark Knight, righteousness against vigilantism, red briefs versus black. Within the context of the Snyderverse (or more formally, the DC Extended Universe), “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” came off the back of Cavill’s DC debut, “Man of Steel,” and introduced Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.

Although the film begins with great promise, showing the final events of “Man of Steel” through Bruce Wayne’s perspective, the overall movie was underwhelming to say the least. What should have been the greatest showdown in comic book lore became reduced to Martha quips and jokes, only reflecting the clunky dialogue and lackluster narrative. However, perceptions changed when Snyder’s director’s cut, dubbed the “Ultimate Edition,” was released alongside the home video release of the theatrical cut.

Adding over 30 minutes of deleted footage, “Ultimate Edition” rounds out a lot of the more confusing subplots of the theatrical release, including Lois Lane’s (Amy Adams) mission in Africa and Clark Kent’s excursion to Gotham City. The latter in particular offers the film a wider approach to the two co-leads sussing one another out in parallel: as Bruce considers Superman an existential threat and seeks a solution to control him, Clark uncovers Gothamites’ true feelings towards the Caped Crusader.

Perhaps it’s not everything we wanted or hoped, but I’m willing to wager that the cat and mouse game of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)” cat will get a positive reassessment in the years to come.

Adapted from Dodie Smith’s 1949 novel about the eccentric Mortmain family living in a castle in disrepair during the 1930s, “I Capture the Castle” tells their story through the eyes of 17-year-old Cassandra (Romola Garai). The film follows the Mortmain family attempting to bring themselves out of genteel poverty by way of marrying the eldest daughter (Rose Byrne) to their wealthy American landlord, while their father (Bill Nighy) struggles with writer’s block.

“I Capture the Castle” strikes the difficult balance of paying homage to a beloved novel while finding its own charming identity, which director Tim Fywell does with ease in no small part to the formidable set design and costuming, capturing the era perfectly. Additionally, Garai, Nighy, and Byrne deliver delightful performances bringing to life the family’s alluring peculiarities.

In a supporting role, Cavill plays Stephen Colley, the Mortmain’s handyman, son of their former cook, and deeply in love with Cassandra. Only his third film appearance, Cavill lends Stephen a wistful, dream-like quality, emphasizing young love’s innocence and fervor.

Cavill’s second Guy Ritchie outing is a complete romp. Telling a heavily fictionalized version of the British special op that saw British forces raid Italian and German ships in Spanish territory bringing them to Lagos. In reality, Operation Postmaster was an explosive affair and demonstrated the determination of Britain who encroached upon neutral Spain to achieve their objective.

Leading the mission, Cavill’s Gus March-Phillipps assembles a rag-tag group of soldiers with Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, and Babs Olusanmokun filling out “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”‘s ensemble. Ritchie puts his fingerprints all over the, at times, comically dramatized retelling with explosive action sequences and the driest of humors. Clearly, Cavill’s having a ball, and his bromantic chemistry with Ritchson has us all hoping for a buddy comedy in the near future.

The film also provides a roundabout kismet for Cavill, who auditioned for James Bond ahead of “Casino Royale,” because in real life, Gus March-Phillipps served as one of Ian Fleming’s inspirations for 007.

One of the more surprising pandemic-era watches, “Enola Holmes” adds to the Holmes mythology with a fresh take on one of literature’s most revered classics. Starring Millie Bobby Brown as the titular youngest Holmes sibling, Enola only meets her big brothers upon her 16th birthday when she wakes up to find her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) missing. The movie follows Enola on an adventure set off by her travels to London in search of her mother, with her brothers assuming the position of guardians.

Cavill’s Sherlock and Sam Claflin’s Mycroft enjoy an entertaining back and forth — sniping and challenging — but it’s Cavill and Brown that provide the movie (and its sequel) the duo we keep returning to. Their chemistry is palpable with the brother-sister dynamics heightened from Enola disregarding the famous detective’s warnings or having to care for Sherlock in a way only sisters can.

“Enola Holmes” falls into Cavill’s filmography at a time where his biggest franchise character showed signs of wear and other arguably more interesting roles for the actor sprouted up, such as August Walker and Geralt of Rivia (more on those in a bit). It also serves as a reminder for those too young to recall Cavill in “The Tudors” that he’s perhaps at his most dashing when embroiled in olde worlde Britain.

From the outset of his career, Cavill has made his status as a bona fide gamer well known, famously missing the call from Zack Snyder telling him he got the role of Superman because he was playing “World of Warcraft.” Unsurprisingly then, he made his desire to play the legendary monster hunter in the series adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy series, “The Witcher,” very well known, telling IGN on the press tour of “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” that he’d “absolutely” be interested in the role and even sharing fan art of him as Geralt of Rivia on his Instagram. Because sometimes fans get what they deserve, Cavill was announced as the series lead in September 2018.

Not without its flaws, the first season introduced a darkly humored Geralt with Cavill’s effortless charm seamlessly baked into the character. Series creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich built a world familiar to gamers, injecting the episodes with the necessary fantastical elements, albeit within a languid narrative. Similar to many series, “The Witcher” found its footing in season 2, expanding the world and diving deeper into its characters, with a particular the focus on Geralt and Ciri (Freya Allan). Although the two-part season 3 didn’t quite live up to the success of its predecessor, undoubtedly Cavill’s passion and respect for the character and lore shine through.

For reasons still unknown, Cavill left “The Witcher” after season 3 and Netflix announced Liam Hemsworth would be taking over the role for the last two seasons of the series. Regardless of the why, Cavill lived out an actor’s dream by bringing a childhood joy to life, and he did so in spades.

For the vast majority, Cavill’s introduction came by way of 2013’s “Man of Steel.” Considered a reboot of the original Christopher Reeve-Richard Donner “Superman” film series, Cavill dutifully symbolized hope for Superman and DC’s future in a new age.

A markedly darker take on Supes than Donner and Reeve’s version, Snyder and Cavill honed in on the imposing threat an all-powerful alien possesses. An interesting thread to pull that distinguished the film and Snyder’s vision from the poppy and bright lights of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Man of Steel” broke canon rules and borrowed the solemn gravity Christopher Nolan gave to Batman. (Nolan, in fact, served as a producer on the film and worked with David Goyer on developing the story.) The film has its critics of course, but the leap Snyder took and the manner in which Cavill served the movie and character deserves to be held up high in this era of superhero cinema.

As we all know, the Snyderverse crashed and burned with Cavill as collateral damage. In many ways, Cavill’s stint as Superman is akin to Pierce Brosnan’s time as James Bond: actors who understood and delivered upon decades of legend, but were ultimately underserved by their films, save for one.

My personal introduction to Cavill, “The Tudors” aired for four seasons chronicling King Henry VIII’s vicious and violent reign. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers portrayed the volatile monarch with Cavill as Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, the king’s long-time friend and one of the few supporting characters to appear across the entire series run.

Cavill lent Charles Brandon a cheeky magnetism that bode well for the philandering playboy, creating memorable moments and life-long Cavill fans. Although initially seen as an entitled member of the king’s court enjoying his status, Charles Brandon offers the king and the show a grounding sentiment by series end. King Henry VIII is not a monarch to be revered in any sort of way, but especially through the last good-bye between the two men, we see the scars of life in a raw and tender light.

In one of Cavill’s earliest roles, he plays an unsuspecting pawn in one of the greatest revenge stories ever told, “The Count of Monte Cristo.” As the son of Edmond Dantès, Cavill’s Albert has his life turned upside downwhen he’s captured by Edmond, who’s unaware of his relation to the young man. A small but important role, Cavill’s burgeoning talent shines in the film with his bright-eyed optimism and eventual disastrous discovery dashing his youthful innocence.

Kevin Reynolds’ film as a whole harkens back to a time of grand production and expansive adventuring, including intrigue, secret passageways, espionage, and even a treasure map. In addition to Cavill, “The Count of Monte Cristo” stars Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, Dagmara Domińczyk, Luis Guzmán — a cast of actors reveling in the rich traditions of the source material. Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel has been adapted many times and Reynolds’ effort serves its swashbuckling joy with a steady hand.

Listen, Tom Cruise prompting Cavill to “reload his arms” during multiple media visits eventually became… uncomfortable to say the least, but I get it. As August Walker, Cavill brought a physicality and menace to the “Mission: Impossible” franchise that felt refreshing and modern. Although Cruise did prevent Cavill from joining him in the sensational HALO jump stunt sequence, it’s clear the Hollywood superstar has a soft spot for Cavill and hopefully added him to the Tom Cruise Coconut Cake recipient list.

Unlike the majority of movie franchises that go beyond a simple trilogy, “Mission: Impossible” has done the unthinkable and actually improved movie-to-movie. Cruise’s increasingly zany stunts certainly contribute to the success, but it’s also his penchant for thrilling storytelling that naturally comes with an eye for casting actors to bring those stories to the big screen, Cavill included. As Superman we saw Cavill capable of action sequences, but with “Fallout” we could see that he could be an action star.

Beyond what Cavill brought to another legacy franchise, “Fallout” served as a bit of a savior for Cavill’s career as well. With the DCEU films faltering, August Walker represented an opportunity for Cavill to prove to Hollywood that he provides an added benefit to films, in spite of the biggest notch on his belt superficially suggesting otherwise; something he proved with aplomb.

Across Cavill’s entire filmography to date, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” is the entry that most encapsulates the actor. An adaptation of the 1960s television spy series, Cavill’s aesthetic and demeanor fits the decade like a glove. Throw in the dry humor, dazzling charm, suave sophistication, and athleticism needed to believably play CIA Agent Napoleon Solo, everything about the film and character feels almost tailor made for him.

Directed by Guy Ritchie and co-starring Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, and Elizabeth Debicki, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” unjustly received a lukewarm response from critics and similar tepid reaction from audiences, in spite of the impressive world-building, stunning performances, and entertaining narrative. While Hammer’s legal troubles have all but ended the possibility of a sequel, the film stands as an example of what Cavill can do when paired with the right director and a script that serves all of his sensibilities. In the age of streaming, audiences seem to be giving the film its rightful due, and maybe Cavill will one day return as the urbane, chilled out spy once more.