This year marks that 10th anniversary of the announcement of Henry Cavill's casting as Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (2013). As the auditions took place at the tail end of 2010 and early 2011, the Man of Steel suit wasn't ready yet and Cavill had to audition in Christopher Reeve's classic Superman suit from the original Superman (1978).
Needless to say, it is quite different to the high tech modern suit that Cavill would eventually don in his three outings as Superman. What's interesting is that since Cavill was a far-cry then from his mega-buff, ultra-ripped Superman shape, he felt very insecure about putting on the form-fitting suit.
He recently told The Hollywood Reporter, "If I’m going to be honest, what was going through my mind was, ‘Lord, I’m too fat to be wearing this suit right now'". At the time of his casting announcemnt he had told Entertaiment Weekly in February 2011, "All I could think was: Oh, god. They’re going to look at me and go ‘He’s not Superman. Not a chance.’ The actor inside me was going: You’re not ready! You’re not ready!”
Cavill was coming off filming The Cold Light of Day, a film where he had been ordered to lose the rippling eight-pack abs he had developed for Immortals. He told Time in June 2013, "It was petrifying, mortifying and embarrassing all at the same time. I was coming off a movie where I had to be out of shape, and then I had gone through Christmas, so I was extra out of shape. I just had to throw on this Lycra-like outfit, and that never looks good when it's basically a sort of sausage casing."
He further elaborated on his discomfort to Square Mile in July 2018. "It was a linen suit, and I wasn't in great shape. Linen doesn't look good when it hugs all the fatty bits. Don't try it, it's not worth it. I felt horrendous.”
So much so that Cavill felt he might lose the job! He told GQ in June 2013, "It was totally embarrassing. I wasn't in training. I wasn't feeling fit or looking good, and you put on a Lycra suit and it does not help it. I just thought, OK, I'm not getting this job. I'm fat Superman. It'll be some really in-shape dude that when they step out they look amazing."
Clealy, director Zack Snyder did not think so as he has spoken about Cavill's audition through the years and has always noted that when he saw Cavill in the Reeve costume, he instantly saw Superman.
This isn't the first image that has been released from Cavill's audition, but it is the first full length shot.