Henry Cavill covers the latest issue of Men’s Health to promote his new series The Witcher. Does anyone care about The Witcher? Does anyone care about… Henry Cavill? I still sort of care about him, weirdly. He’s a good looking guy and he tries hard and I feel sort of bad for him that professionally, he never really seems to get it together. I was reminded of that in this interview because even though he’s supposed to be promoting The Witcher, he spends a good chunk of his time talking about how he’s still Sad Sack Superman. You can read the Men’s Health interview here. Some highlights:

Whether he’s still Superman: “The cape is in the closet. It’s still mine.”

On being bullied for being overweight as a kid: “I was a chubby kid. I could’ve very well gone down the route of just accepting my lot in life and being like, ‘I guess I’m not going to do anything.’ ”

Sports helped him survive: “It actually helped me survive. Even the kids who were nasty to me at times and took pleasure in squashing me—when I finished a play, they’d say, ‘Wow, you’re really good.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, this is where I draw my strength from.’ ”

He auditioned for James Bond: “I probably could have prepared better. I remember the director, Martin Campbell, saying, ‘Looking a little chubby there, Henry.’ I didn’t know how to train or diet. And I’m glad Martin said something, because I respond well to truth. It helps me get better.” Cavill recalls being the 002 choice for 007, losing out to Daniel Craig. It was the beginning of a long run that positioned him as runner-up: He missed out on lead roles in Tristan + Isolde, Twilight, and an early Superman film that was never realized. “I wasn’t ecstatic about not getting these things,” Cavill says, “but I was so used to disappointment from the acting business, and also from boarding school. ‘No, you’re not good enough’—that wasn’t anything new to me.”

His workouts are high-intensity intervals & bodybuilding exercises. “I know what it feels like to go from out of shape to in shape and [afterward] I’ll look at myself like, ‘Man, well done.’ It’s not like I’m a golden god—I’m just proud of what I achieved. And then you can take your clothes off in front of your significant other, and they’re like, ‘G-ddamn, you look great!’ Like, ‘Yes! I’m making other people happy.’ ”

On those Superman films: Man of Steel? “A great starting point. If I were to go back, I don’t think I’d change anything.” Batman v Superman? “Very much a Batman movie. And I think that realm of darkness is great for a Batman movie.” Justice League? “It didn’t work.”

Again, he’s still Superman: “I’m not just going to sit quietly in the dark as all this stuff is going on. I’ve not given up the role. There’s a lot I have to give for Superman yet. A lot of storytelling to do. A lot of real, true depths to the honesty of the character I want to get into. I want to reflect the comic books. That’s important to me. There’s a lot of justice to be done for Superman. The status is: You’ll see.”

[From Men’s Health]

Personally, I don’t mind Cavill as Superman. All of those films sucked, but it wasn’t from Cavill’s lack of effort – he was a fine, vanilla, muscle-y Superman. The problem was everything around him, from bad directing to bad stories to The Batfleck. But yeah… despite Henry’s protests, I bet Warner Bros does cast a new Superman. They’re getting Robert “Bobby Sparkles” Pattinson as Batman, so wouldn’t it make sense? And so, once again, I feel a little sorry for Henry.

Cover and photos courtesy of Ben Watts for Men’s Health.