Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill was born on the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency in the Channel Islands. His mother, Marianne (Dalgliesh), a housewife, was also born on Jersey, and is of Irish, Scottish and English ancestry. Henry's father, Colin Richard Cavill, a stockbroker, is of English origin (born in Chester, England). Henry is the second youngest son, with four brothers. He was privately educated at St. Michael's Preparatory School in Saint Saviour, Jersey before attending Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, England.

His interest in acting started at an early age with school play renditions of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and Sonny LaTierri in "Grease". He also starred and directed Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in the BBC documentary "40 Minutes". It was at age 17 when Henry was discovered by casting directors at school who were looking for a young boy to play Albert Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). He went on to star in Vendetta (2001), appear in BBC's The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2001), the television film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2002), and the television series Midsomer Murders (1997).

When Henry was 20 years old, he gained starring roles in I Capture the Castle (2003), Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005), Red Riding Hood (2006) and Tristan + Isolde (2006). He also had a minor role in the fantasy-adventure epic Stardust (2007) alongside Sienna Miller and Ben Barnes. During 2007-2010, Henry had a leading role on the television series The Tudors (2007) as Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The series was a success and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and won an Emmy Award in 2008. Entertainment Weekly named him "Most Dashing Duke".

He also starred in Blood Creek (2006) and Woody Allen's comedy film Whatever Works (2009). On January 30, 2011, it was announced that Henry Cavill had been cast as the next Superman in Man of Steel (2013), making him the first non-American actor to play Superman. The movie was directed by Zach Snyder, produced by Christopher Nolan, and scripted by David S. Goyer. On November 7, 2011, Henry starred in Tarsem Singh's fantasy-adventure epic Immortals (2011) alongside Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto and Luke Evans. On September 7, 2012, Henry starred in the action-thriller Cold Light of Day (2003) alongside Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver.

On June 10, 2013, Man of Steel (2013) kicked off its world premiere in New York City followed by London, Bailiwick of Jersey, Sicily, Madrid, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo. The movie became the highest-grossing Superman film to date, and the second-highest-grossing reboot of all time behind The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Glamour magazine ranked him the #1 "Sexiest Man". In August 2014, Henry became the Ambassador for Durrell Wildlife Park and created a website and social media called #CavillConservation to help raise funds and awareness for his love of animals and conservation. On November 3, 2014, it was announced that Cavill, his brother Charlie, and London-based producer Rex Glensy, have formed their own British production company, Promethean Productions.

On August 7, 2015, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) began its premiere tour with a people's premiere at the famous Somerset House in London, followed by its world premiere in New York City, then Toronto, and Rio de Janeiro. Cavill reprised his role as Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017).

Henry Cavill at an event for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Upgrade membership to get access to client roster details.

Upgrade to see how you're connected to other professionals through your credits.

Upgrade membership to unlock contact and representation information.

Upgrade membership to unlock box office data.

Upgrade membership to add and manage your images.

Select your profession and Known For titles

Access full contact and representation details

Find the right people with Discover advanced search

View contact info and get hired with IMDbPro

Add your primary image and get discovered

Find contact info for agents and management

View connections to industry professionals

See who's working on in-development titles

Upgrade membership to access historical STARmeter charts for yourself and other professionals.

Get insights on who this person is frequently credited with.

Upgrade membership to add and manage demo reels.

Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal in In the Grey (2026)

Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza González in In the Grey (2026)

Henry Cavill, Rory Kinnear, Alex Pettyfer, Alan Ritchson, Babs Olusanmokun, Eiza González, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Henry Golding in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Henry Cavill in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Henry Cavill and Alex Pettyfer in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, Alan Ritchson, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Henry Golding in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa in Argylle (2024)

Henry Cavill, John Cena, and Dua Lipa in Argylle (2024)

Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher in Justice League (2017)

Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, and Elizabeth Debicki in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Toss a Coin to Your "Witcher" Season 2 Theories

Henry Cavill

Henry Cavill

Known for

Credits summary

Photos523

Videos113

STARmeter

Contacts

Frequently credited with