Liam Hemsworth joins The Witcher as Geralt for Season 4

Liam Hemsworth said he shielded himself from online backlash and immersed himself in source material after being tapped to replace Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in the Netflix series The Witcher, which returns with Season 4 on October 30. Hemsworth described stepping into the role as surprising and distracting and said he deliberately stepped away from social media to focus on preparing for the part.

"There was quite a bit of noise and I had to put that aside. It started to become a distraction," Hemsworth said in a recent interview. He added that he has long loved storytelling and acting and did not want outside commentary to affect how he approached the character. Hemsworth said the offer to join the show "came out of nowhere" and that he was "as surprised as anyone."

Cavill played Geralt in the show’s first three seasons before announcing his departure in 2022; those seasons were released in 2019 through 2023. Showrunner Lauren Hissrich has said discussions about Cavill leaving had been under way and that he wanted to pursue other projects. Hissrich also noted that Hemsworth's name had circulated in Witcher casting conversations for some time and praised the actor's...