Liam Hemsworth had not watched Netflix’s The Witcher adaptation or read the original book series before being cast as Geralt of Rivia.

The Hunger Games star is set to take on the mantle of The Witcher’s white-haired monster hunter for the show’s final two seasons, following the departure of Henry Cavill. However, while Cavill was a known Witcher lore aficionado from the get-go (his co-star Freya Allan, who plays Ciri, has even referred to him as a “Witcher bible”), Hemsworth was not as au fait with the source material when he was cast.

During an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark earlier this week, Hemsworth was asked about his familiarity with the series. The actor admitted he hadn’t seen the show or read the books prior to being cast, but was a Witcher fan from playing the video game.

“It’s still, to this day, one of the best video games of all time, and Netflix came to me almost two years ago now and said that they wanted me to step in and take over, and I was really excited by taking on that character because I was a fan of the video game,” Hemsworth told his hosts.

But even with being a fan of the video game, the actor didn’t say yes to the part immediately, as he wanted to do a bit more background research on the Witcher series before commiting. “Let me watch the TV show and have a look at the books and really get stuck into it,” he told Netflix. He has also been known to dip back into the game on occasion, as a bit of a refresher, Hemsworth continued.

“It’s one of those video games you’ve got to spend a lot of time playing, you really got to put in some hours,” he said, adding: “When I’m not surfing, I’m playing Xbox.”
Freya Allen as Ciri in Netflix’s Witcher series. | Image credit: Netflix

Hemsworth was first announced to be joining the cast for the fourth season of The Witcher in 2022, when former Geralt actor Henry Cavill announced he was “laying down [his] medallion and [his] swords”.

“As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men,” Cavill wrote at the time.

Hemsworth won’t be the only new face on set when the next season airs. Matrix star Laurence Fishburne is also joining the Witcher cast as Regis. Danny Woodburn, meanwhile, has been announced as Geralt’s dwarf friend Zoltan Chivay.