Henry Cavill’s Salary For The Witcher Revealed
Just how much is Henry Cavill being paid for The Witcher on Netflix? A recent report has revealed surprising numbers.
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Last week, we found out what Henry Cavill learned in the wake of an injury on the set of The Witcher. Now, thanks to a new report about how the streaming boom is boosting the salaries of TV’s leading actors, we know what the guy playing Geralt of Rivia has earned.
The story comes courtesy of Variety, who gives us the figure along with the going rate per episode for close to 30 other actors in current series. The list is ordered alphabetically by series title, so Henry Cavill’s salary for Netflix’s The Witcher appears towards the bottom of the list, revealing the actor receives $400,000 per episode. As ComicBook.com points out, Variety’s list doesn’t specify if this salary is what Cavill received for the upcoming The Witcher season 2, the first season, or if his salary was the same for both. Regardless, both seasons include eight episodes, meaning Cavill received at least $3.2 million to appear in whichever season Variety’s rate refers to.
Believe it or not, Henry Cavill’s compensation for The Witcher is not particularly high compared to the other names on their list. Jason Sudeikis reportedly gets the same amount for every episode of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, as does Ted Danson for NBC’s Mr. Mayor, and both John Goodman and Sara Gilbert for ABC’s The Conners. On the higher end of the scale are Bryan Cranston who takes home $750,000 for each installment of Showtime’s Your Honor, while at the very top is Chris Pratt who gets a whopping $1.4 million for every episode of the upcoming Amazon Prime series The Terminal List.
Variety explains that there are a number of reasons why the salaries of television’s leading actors like Henry Cavill are growing. Along with the fierce competition between the growing number of streaming services producing original content, the potentially massive back-end paydays actors could get from their hit shows getting syndicated are a thing of the past. With less potential back-end compensation, actors want more money upfront.
If The Witcher continues to perform as it has for Netflix, Henry Cavill will earn every penny of his salary and then some. While, like most streaming services, Netflix isn’t very transparent about their view rates, the proof of The Witcher‘s success isn’t difficult to find. Along with greenlighting an upcoming second season, Netflix just released the animated prequel film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf which enjoys an impressive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Then there’s the upcoming live-action prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin, and reports have been suggesting for about a year that Jason Momoa could join the show.
The only really bad news for The Witcher fans comes from the world of gaming. According to Games Radar, if you’re waiting for The Witcher 4, don’t wait for it underwater. While CD Projekt Red has apparently said they have a “relatively clear concept” for a sequel to The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt, there’s nothing confirmed for the near future. It’s understandable considering the studio is apparently busy upgrading The Wild Hunt to the newer generation of consoles as well as updated Cyberpunk 2077, but unfortunate especially considering sales of The Wild Hunt got a 554% boost thanks to Henry Cavill’s Netflix series’ popularity.