‘Immortals’ Henry Cavill: What’s Next for the THR Next Gen Actor

Up until recently, Henry Cavill has been known around Hollywood for the film roles he didn’t get instead of the ones he headlined. But things are about to change for the actor, 28, who now has a box office hit under his belt.

Cavill — who was recently featured as one of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Next Gen Class of 2011 — appeared on the big screen this weekend in the worldwide debut of Immortals, opposite Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto and Kellan Lutz. The Greek gods action film drew in an impressive $68 million worldwide, far exceeding the $25 million expectations for its opening weekend.

PHOTOS: THR’s Next Gen Class of 2011

This wasn’t his first time in a box office hit; Cavill made his feature debut in 2002 in The Count of Monte Cristo. But he didn’t garner an international fan base until 2007, after he scored the role of Charles Brandon in Showtime’s period melodrama The Tudors.

Cavill’s Tudors success (and in part, we assume, his shirtless acting abilities) led him to the role of Immortals’ Theseus, a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against King Hyperion. In an ending fit only for Hollywood, the man who had previously been passed over for the leads in Superman Returns and Casino Royale has gotten a second shot at Superman, becoming the first non-American to portray Clark Kent in the upcoming Zack Snyder-directed Man of Steel (now in production).

FILM REVIEW: Immortals

While his fans will have to wait until the summer of 2013 for Man of Steel, they can catch him again on the big screen opposite Bruce Willis in The Cold Light of Day, set for release by Summit Entertainment next April. Cavill, born on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, again plays an American, this time attempting to save his family who were kidnapped while on vacation in Spain.

PHOTO: Henry Cavill as Superman in ‘Man of Steel’

Movie roles aside, this is a great year for Cavill on a personal level as well: the actor proposed to his girlfriend of just over a year, horse show jumper Ellen Whitaker, this past May. “I couldn’t believe it when he asked me to marry him,” Whitaker said on her website afterward. “I thought there we were there [at a Hollywood hotel] to celebrate his birthday. It was such a surprise and I am so happy.”