Henry Cavill’s salary per episode of The Witcher has been revealed. Season 1 of Netflix’s hit series aired in December 2019, which might have possibly been the streaming service’s biggest debut ever. The fantasy series quickly caught on with viewers for its unconventional story structure, lovable characters, and expansive settings, but at the heart of the show was Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia, a hardened monster hunter who was mutated by magic as a boy.
Based on a series of novels and short stories in the Polish language by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher also follows Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) and Princess Ciri (Freya Allen), with some of these main characters crossing paths at various points. It was a no-brainer for Netflix to renew the series for a second installment, which is set to be released on December 17. The primary storyline is expected to be Geralt and Ciri’s journey to Kaer Morhen where the young princess will be trained as a witcher, but given Sapkowski’s expansive source material, the possibilities are endless.
While fans are eagerly awaiting details about the upcoming season, how much Henry Cavill makes per episode was just revealed by Variety‘s extensive report on the top salaries in television. Cavill makes $400k for every episode of The Witcher, which is in line with what a star of his caliber should be receiving but surprisingly, is on the lower end of the industry’s top-tier spectrum. Other TV salaries on par with Cavill’s include his fellow Netflix stars David Harbour and Winona Ryder of Stranger Things. Jason Sudeikis also takes home $400k per episode of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso.
The same publication also released a report on the year’s highest-paid film stars, which can now be compared directly to the small-screen’s top earners thanks to these recently released numbers. While TV salaries always pale in comparison to feature films, there are a lot of opportunities for movie stars to cash in on the streaming boom with cinematic television. However, Cavill’s salary is dwarfed by Robert Downey Jr.’s for The Sympathizer and Chris Pratt’s for The Terminal List, who each stand to make over $1 million per episode.
It should be noted that RDJ and Pratt’s salaries are both from limited series, so they only stand to make a fixed amount. The Witcher, on the other hand, could easily run for 6+ seasons. Still, it’s hard not to wonder why Cavill, who has led blockbusters like Man of Steel and starred in others like Mission: Impossible – Fallout, is earning less than other stars who don’t carry the same clout. The Witcher is a passion project for Cavill, so perhaps he’s willing to take a pay cut to help the show invest in other areas.
