The Witcher: Henry Cavill in Manila 2019

 

On Thursday, December 12, 2019 (12/12 😲) fans are treated to a once in a lifetime chance to meet Hollywood Superstar and lead actor of Netflix's new series "The Witcher", Henry Cavill. 

The Witcher tells the story of Geralt of Rivia, a beast hunter that has a powerful ability to battle and destroy wild beast or monsters. Based on the saga written by Andrzej Sapkowski that was a eventually developed into the very popular video game that it is today. Now fans of both the book and the video games will see their favorite character come to life, thanks to Netflix. 

My sister and I got very lucky that day when we approached the information booth for the wrist bands (I will say no more hence we get into trouble 😉). There was a lot of commotion that happened in our section (Section E), and unfortunately neither my sister or myself (or anybody in that section it seems) was able to get a good picture of Henry.

Mr. Cavill arrived at Activity Center of the Ayala Malls Manila Bay past 5 PM and he immediately approached the fans and started signing autographs. It took him a solid 1.5 hour signing autographs, taking selfies and saying "Hi" to fans. Henry was such a trooper! So gracious and generous with his time. He must have gotten tired at some point, but he never showed it instead gave the fans such warm smiles as he walked along the black carpet and made sure that he's able to accommodate everyone as much as he can. Look, no other celebrity would have done what Henry did. Other celebrity's would have preferred to be whisked away by their handlers rather than spending that much time with the audience. Even celebrity host Metteo Guidicelli sounded amazed and one could feel his sincerity when he thanked Henry for showing such kindness to the Filipino fans. Fans that waited patiently for him for hours. Others even camped out side the night before (now I wish I could've done the same). When Henry finally got on stage, the interview would only last for less than 10 minutes ( I think it's close to 6 minutes by reckoning) but this did not diminish his enthusiasm at all. Matteo even managed to get him say "Mahal ko kayo" with perfect diction and it just melted our hearts even more! 

Below are some videos taken by my sister. Mind you, Henry's barely made it to the black carpet and still farther from where I was standing.

When he finally made it to where I was, chaos ensues (hahaha)! Suddenly I was being pinned against the person in front of me but no matter what I made sure that my left arm was free and had enough room to move around so I can hand him my memorabilia and have it signed, The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson and The Witcher postcard. I'm soft spoken so I tried to call out his name as best as I can, but thank God for having long arms because he saw my book and took it right away (he even dropped my Sharpie pen!). By this time my face was already covered with waving posters and whatnots, and when he's about to hand it back to me he had to look through (the waving items) and find who he's suppose to return it to. Since my face was no longer visible so I kept waving my hand as if to say it's mine and when he saw it, handed me back my book and poster both signed by him. The evening ended with a special screening  of the first episode of the The Witcher to members of the media and some very lucky fans. I read somewhere that screen writer and executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich along with Henry went inside the theater to greet the fans before the screening (I'm so jealous!).

I still find myself staring at the book and The Witcher postcard that he signed and I still can't believe how lucky I was to see him in person. Its like an early Christmas/Birthday present for me (my b-day is on Boxing Day, boring I know)

Going to this event would not have been possible had it not been for a couple of people. I would like to thank my sister @marquezceu who came with me to give her support. She made sure that I was firmly planted on that tiny platform and will not get boxed out by the two people in front to me who kept pushing me back the entire time.  

Also, thanks to Aling Susan for agreeing to look after our mum so we can attend the event that day. It's been hard for us to go out these days as our mum needs constant care due to her illness. It will be a very challenging Christmas for us, however moments like these are the ones that keeps us going. 

My very first fan event ever and what a success that was! Don't forget to watch The Witcher on Netflix on December 20, 2019. Mark your calendars peeps!