The Man of Steel actor will be seen in a new avatar quite soon, playing the role of a spy. It is a full circle moment for Cavill since he lost out to Daniel Craig to play a special character almost two decades ago. However, he is set to play the person who inspired the legendary character.

Cavill to play the character that inspired Ian Fleming (Source: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare)Henry Cavill is set to play the character that inspired James Bond

Henry Cavill is a very dependable actor, and throughout his career, he has worked hard to prove his mettle. His efforts have reaped rewards, and he has gone on to play a few iconic characters, such as Sherlock Holmes in Enola Holmes, among others.

Cavill is not new to the world of spies, but his latest role is a special one. Years ago, the actor had auditioned to play James Bond, but he lost to Daniel Craig since he was considered “too young” at the time. He has come a long way since then, and as luck would have it, he will play Gus March-Phillips, the World War II spy who inspired Ian Flemming to base James Bond on.

Cavill elucidated how his character inspired Bond (Source: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare)

Cavill appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live recently, and he spoke on a variety of subjects. One of the topics he spoke extensively about was March-Phillips and his part in disrupting Germany’s schemes.

“Ian Fleming was part of the Special Operations Executive, who wrote James Bond, and apparently based James Bond upon Gus March-Phillips, the guy who I played. I reckon it was probably a bit more than that, that it was probably other characters as well. But, it’s my understanding, controversially, my character, Gus March-Phillips in real life, wrote a novel with a spy character, and based upon his various adventures, but he died during World War II, and so he never got to continue writing his books. Had he survived, may be, he would have beaten Ian Flemming to the punch,” he said.

“That really is down to Guy’s way of filming”: Every Director Should Take Note on How Guy Ritchie Made Henry Cavill Bond With His Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Co-stars

Cavill had a great time filming The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Even his colleagues had high praise for the actor, who was very disciplined in leading the team.

What is The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare about?

Helmed by Guy Ritchie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is based on real events that transpired during World War II. The film also stars Alan Ritchson, Eiza Gonzalez, Henry Golding, and Alex Pettyfer in important roles.

The film is a cheeky, and a bit more bombastic, take on what actually transpired during the war. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the UK, formed the Special Operations Executive, or the SOE. The group comprised elements from Section D and a research department of MI6, with Sir Frank Nelson becoming the first director.

The film will chronicle a special operation (Source: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare)

Ritchie’s film will focus on one aspect of the operations: Operation Postmaster. When the intelligence services reported a submarine refueling station, a small group was dispatched to steal Italian and German boats from the station.

Operation Postmaster was a small part of the resistance movement that changed the trajectory of the war. The film releases on April 19th.