Since we first learned that Henry Cavill is the new Superman, there's been a lot of press dedicated to getting comic book and/or movie fans more familiar with who this up-and-coming actor is, and what he might bring to the table in Zack Snyder's reboot movie,  Superman: Man of Steel.

We've already broken down some of the interesting history of Henry Cavill's superhero auditions, which saw the 27-year-old Tudors star almost cast as Batman and James Bond at different points in his career.

Today, we have Cavill's big mainstream media debut via an Entertainment Weekly cover - although, despite the headlines that some other are floating in order to trick titillate fans, Cavill is NOT in his Superman threads.

Take a look a the cover shot below, then we'll move on to what Cavill told EW first-hand about the anxiety-stricken audition he gave for the part:

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Henry Cavill Superman Entertainment Weekly

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Regarding his audition for the role (specifically wearing the Superman suit), Cavill gave the following account:

“All I could think was: Oh, god. They’re going to look at me and go ‘He’s not Superman. Not a chance.’ The actor inside me was going: You’re not ready! You’re not ready!

The main reason for the actor's concern was that he was no longer sporting the muscular frame he had put on for Tarsem Singh's upcoming Greek Mythology epic, Immortals. In fact, at the time of the audition Cavill had been slimming down to play the lead character in the Bruce Willis/Sigourney Weaver thriller The Cold Light of Day - a body change he thought would doom his chances at landing Man of Steel.

However, director Zack Snyder felt differently about seeing Carvill in costume:

“He walked out, and no one laughed...Other actors put that suit on, and it’s a joke, even if they’re great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go ‘Wow.’ Okay: This was Superman.’”

At the moment I get the feeling that people are leaning more toward the "Who is Henry Cavill?" side of things, rather than "he's not right for this." If Snyder says that the man (even with diminished muscle tone) wears the suit right, then that's evidence enough for me (for now).

Like Andrew Garfield - a.k.a. the new Amazing Spider-Man - Cavill is a shooting star right now in Hollywood. And unlike, say, Taylor Lautner, I believe that it's Cavill's talent which is propelling him to these new heights...talent and a really good agent! Hopefully, playing Superman will prove to the world that this guy is the real successor to Christopher Reeve's legacy (sorry Brandon Routh). Because if DC/WB can't bring fans around with this Superman movie, The Man of Steel might not be back on the silver screen for a long while...

Superman: Man of Steel flies into theaters in December of 2012. To read more on Henry Cavill's thoughts about the iconic role, pick up the latest issue of EW.