The Selkiemore scene is memorable not just for viewers, but for Cavill as well — although not for the reasons you might expect. The actor spoke at WitcherCon in 2021 about an unfortunate accident that left him worried about his American Akita dog Kal throughout the goop-filled shoot. “This day, Kal had run out of my trailer,” he recalled in a conversation with Josh Horowitz. “And there [were] these metal stairs outside the trailer.” The stairs were apparently designed with holes in the steps to prevent rainfall from gathering on them, but instead of preventing a slipping hazard, they ended up injuring Kal. Fair warning: skip the next paragraph if you get squeamish thinking about doggies in distress.
“Kal got one of his claws stuck in it as he jumped off and all I heard him do is yelp,” Cavill recalled at WitcherCon. “And I thought, ‘Oh, he’s landed badly on his shoulder or something.'” It turns out the injury was much worse; the poor creature had actually “ripped his claw all the way off apart from a little bit.” Cavill realized this as soon as he walked up to Kal and noticed the pup “looking shamefaced and holding his paw up,” and he was called to set at the same time. Luckily, his longtime assistant Leah Gyimah was able to help take Kal to the vet, but when it turned out the Akita had to be put under anesthesia to remove the injured nail, veterinary professionals warned Cavill that some dogs don’t wake up from surgeries.