Ahead of The Witcher’s final season, Geralt’s video game voice has nothing but love for both Netflix Witchers

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Published Jun 15, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT

Doug Cockle calls both versions of Geralt on the Netflix show 'awesome Witchers'

Henry Cavill as Geralt in front of a ring of smoke in The Witcher.

Netflix’s The Witcher returned for a fourth season last fall, but with a different face under Geralt of Rivia’s gray-haired wig. Liam Hemsworth replaced former Superman actor Henry Cavill in the lead role and will reprise it for the fifth and final season of the show. Taking over any role mid-series is a daunting task for an actor, and Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt in CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher video games, sympathizes.

“It's tough to do what [Hemsworth] did. Really, really tough, especially with a character in a show that so many people adore,” Cockle told Polygon during a recent video interview. “To be the actor replacing someone else who originated a character in the same series is so difficult.”

Liam Hemsworth as The Witcher crouching with a flaming sword in a blue-hued woods

He said that Cavill “did a fabulous job” over his three seasons, and commended both Geralts for making the role their own. “I find that Henry's performance has a little bit more weight to it and Liam's is a little bit more energized and actually kind of youthful, but in a fun way,” Cockle said.

He likened the situation to an actor taking on a role that’s been around for centuries, like Hamlet. “What I always say about these kinds of things is that every actor has to make a role their own,” Cockle said. “There have been thousands of people who've played Hamlet, and each Hamlet is different. Every individual brings their own quirks, emotional life, experiences, and ideas to the table and interprets the character through all of that.”

Cockle applauded Cavill and Hemsworth both for “being awesome Witchers.” But they’re not the only awesome Witchers who brought their own interpretations of Geralt to Netflix. Cockle himself is part of the streamer’s Witcher continuity as he lent his gravelly voice to the 2025 animated movie, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, based on the short story “A Little Sacrifice.”

“At this point, any opportunity to step back into those lovely boots is a welcome opportunity,” Cockle said of reprising the role for Netflix. “[Geralt is] such a special part of my career and part of my life. It's just such a joy to revisit him whenever I get the chance to do it.”

If Cockle has his druthers, he’ll be playing Geralt for “as long as I am able to and am welcome.” Next up? The Witcher 3’s upcoming expansion Songs of the Past, which Cockle knows as much about as you do.