While both actors have now given up their capes, Superman star Henry Cavill reflects in a new interview with the British magazine Healthy For Men (Issue 88 - May/June 2020), about his time working co-star Ben Affleck on the set of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
Like most things in life, you put yourself at a certain level, and I thought I was in good shape going into that film. Then I met Ben Affleck. What struck me first was how funny he was, but man was he ripped as well. I've never been the type of guy to get involved in any sort of macho one-upmanship, but I admit I was more than a bit intimidated, and it gave me the desire to push it a bit more, because Ben is really built. The guy is huge. I'm puny by comparison. He is much bigger than I expected, this huge presence and vast physicality. I had to step it up. When you see this mountain of a man walking around set, you think, 'I've got to get to the gym... yesterday.'
Cavill had also said while promoting the film, "Ben and I didn’t compare biceps or see who could do the most sit-ups! Anyway, we filmed our shirtless scenes separately and we didn’t train at the same place either. Having said that, you could feel there was a form of rivalry, of competition, between us on the set" and that "there's always going to be competition between two men if they want to be superheroes."
Affleck returned the favor when he said, "I saw the first movie Man Of Steel and Henry was in it and I saw the kind of shape he was in it and it was very intimidating. I was like, "Wow, I got to look like that? That's going to be a lot of work. I'm not sure I can be in quite that good of a shape. But Henry definitely set a high bar. But he has to be at that high bar because he's playing an alien. I figured I have a lower bar to reach, I'm just playing a man."
Both men pulled off the physicality of their characters in the movie. Cavill shared the above behind the scenes image of himself from the filming of the film on his Instagram. While Ben Affleck is a big presence, questions persist about the CGI enhancement applied to his physique during some of the workout montage shots.
Let us know below if you think Cavill need have been intimidated by Affleck on the set of Batman V Superman?