Casting director Sophie Holland opens up about pushing to cast Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg in Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher.

The Witcher casting director Sophia Holland recently explained how casting Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg was intended to make viewers rethink their beauty standards.

Holland discussed pushing for Chalotra to land the Yennefer role in the Netflix fantasy series in an interview with Variety. “Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is the showrunner [on The Witcher] and we work so well together and she’s so open to conversations,” she said. “In the book, [Yennefer’s] described as the most beautiful woman in the world. This was a few years ago and I’d like to think things have changed. But when you think about people’s unconscious bias — especially in the fantasy world, it felt like these worlds were predominantly white. And I remember saying, ‘I feel like we need to challenge what people think of as the standard of beauty. And having a woman of color in this role does incredibly powerful things to the people watching.'”

Holland presumably had a hand in sourcing the rest of The Witcher‘s line-up of acting talent, including leading man Henry Cavill. Cavill’s portrayal of series protagonist Geralt of Rivia is popular with many fans of the show, in part due to his obvious affection for Andrzej Sapkowski’s original Witcher novels and short stories. In a recent interview, Chalotra noted that her co-star’s extensive knowledge of Witcher lore came in handy during filming. “[I]t’s a blessing because there are days when you might disbelieve the world a little bit more than the next. And [Cavill’s] there to go, ‘Hang on, we’ve got this.'”

The Witcher Star Recalls His Failed Geralt Audition

Cavill beat out at least one other candidate for the part of Geralt: Eamon Farren. Farren recently revealed that he originally auditioned to play Geralt, only reading for the Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach role once he proved unsuccessful. “I made my way to this other character that was like a mercenary sort of fighter/killer guy. I sent [the audition] off and didn’t expect anything, and then I got the job,” the Aussie actor recalled. Farren has since portrayed Cahir across all three seasons of The Witcher, with the Nilfgaardian commander seemingly set to feature prominently in Season 3’s second batch of episodes.

No matter how big a part Farren has to play in The Witcher Season 3, Volume 2, he (like the rest of the show’s supporting cast) will almost certainly be overshadowed by Cavill’s swansong performance. The fantasy series’ third season marks Cavill’s last outing as Geralt, with Liam Hemsworth set to replace him in Season 4. Executive producer Tomek Baginski touched on Hemsworth’s introduction in a recent interview, insisting that the show’s transition between lead actors will be “quite flawless.”

The Witcher Seasons 1 and 2 and Season 3, Volume 1 are currently streaming on Netflix. Season 3, Volume 2 is set to premiere on the platform on July 27, 2023.