When you give your all to something and you're hitting a wall, it just feels so wrong.

I was overweight when I went to school. In fact, I was overweight when I left, just taller. Fatty Cavill was the nickname. I mean, no one wants to be Fatty Cavill.

Playing an icon [superman], you don't try to be an icon because that defeats the purpose. The responsibility attached is enormous, and the realization that it actually really, really matters meant that I wanted to put the most amount of work into representing the character properly.

There are these fantasies among people who watch movies where they're like, "Oh, there's a chemistry between them - something going on." And sometimes there is. But for me, it's more like, I go to work, I do a job, I play a role, and then I go home. I don't wear a cape at home. I'm not an invulnerable alien at home.

Finding the physical aspect is important to me because that is often how we read people in everyday life.

If I'm talking to someone and they're feeling a certain way, I will definitely tie into that very quickly. You have to learn to read emotions and feelings when you grow up in a family with four brothers - especially if three of them are a lot bigger than you.

I never thought of myself as unlucky. When you aim high, it's tough to get there unless something really fortunate happens.