Not everyone can grow facial hair. This is a known fact backed by science and genetics! That doesn’t mean that they can’t try. But some people are blessed with the ability to be a real-life chia pet, like Jack Black or Keanu Reeves (just one of his many talents). Henry Cavill has been known to play some clean-shaved men in the past, but his latest role shows off his impressive mustache, which is real.
Cavill stars in Guy Ritchie’s latest flick The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and while most critics are praising the plot and all that nonsense, the real story here is Cavill’s powerful beard, which he grew himself. “I did indeed grow that myself,” Cavill told People of his facial hair. he has come a long way from the infamous Mustache Debacle of Justice League.
“I didn’t have someone else grow it and then just take it on,” Cavill continued, because that would just be too easy. “I wanted to have an interesting bit of facial hair for this, just to switch things up. And a twirly-whirly mustache became an option and I thought, ‘I’m just going to keep on leaning into this.’” He could consider auditioning for the role of Milburn Pennybags for Margot Robbie’s upcoming Monopoly pic.
In The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare , Cavill portrays a fictional version of Major Gus March-Phillips, founder of the British Army’s Special Forces. He stars alongside Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettifer, Tig Schweiger, and Henry Golding in the flick, which hits theaters this week.
Of the hair, Cavill grew quite fond of its unruliness, saying it “became quite a fun look, and it sort of helped inform my character a bit as well, because having facial hair like that sort of implies a certain personality.”
Besides his hair, Cavill is mostly proud of his Nazi-killing tactics in the film, which is followed by some aggressive tongue movements. “It was a co-improvisation between Guy and myself,” Cavill told Variety. “Guy said, ‘I want you to have more fun with it. Stick your tongue out or something.’ And so we did and it stuck, as featured quite well in the trailer. That was the first moment where we decided Gus was going to be slightly unhinged in these moments, and that makes it more fun.” Just like a twisty mustache.