The actor opened up to L'OFFICIEL about all things time at Longines' celebration during New York Fashion Week.

If there's one conversation dominating the fashion world right now, it's personal style. In the Internet age, trends and tastes move faster than ever, but for Henry Cavill, getting dressed is more about staying true to his tastes than keeping up with the zeitgeist.&nbsp;
"The advantage to being in my 40s is that I now know what I like," Cavill tells L'OFFICIEL. "I don’t feel compelled to follow trends or what other people think is cool or fashionable." At Longines' New York Fashion Week cocktail in Tribeca, celebrating the newly redesigned Master Collection, the actor is the picture of poise. With a slate of new films in the works—including a lead role in the Highlander reboot—and a new role as Longines' Ambassador of Elegance, Cavill is busier than ever. Still, his attitude toward elegance helps keep him grounded despite the frenzy. "[Elegance] is calm and controlled, and it has a charm despite potential difficult circumstances. It is the still among the frenetic," he says. "I think there's a real strength in there, and that's what I find particularly beautiful about elegance. It is possibly one of the greatest compliments you can receive."
Below, Cavill expands on his relationship with Longines, fatherhood, and new projects on the horizon.

L’OFFICIEL: If you had an extra hour in the day, how would you spend it?
HENRY CAVILL: I’d spend it with my daughter. Being a father now, and still working—I’m working harder than I’ve ever worked in my life, actually—it’s really important to be the protector and provider, but it’s as important to be the father and be present. And you can’t have one eat the other. So if I’m exhausted in getting home, and I need to rest over the weekend, I can’t be burning the candle at both ends. I can’t work and do my job efficiently Monday to Friday, so that extra hour in a day, I would spend with her. L’O: When you have a rare moment to spare or are looking to kill time, what do you like to do?
HC: It depends. It would be wonderful to have some more time to spare. It’s either reading a book, or if it’s really killing time, like I’m desperately bored and the clock can’t run fast enough, Reddit’s a great hole to fall into. Time just disappears. You’ll be like, Oh good, I just killed two hours and learned nothing. L’O: Looking ahead to the future, you have two films coming out next year. Do you have any favorite memories from being on set? HC: On Highlander, working with Russell [Crowe] again was absolutely amazing. He’s such an extraordinary man. But we had a long day on set, and we had to go up to the old Man of Storr. It’s a rock formation on the Isle of Skye, up in Northern Scotland. It was the end of the day, and we wanted to catch that time of day, but it had already been a long day, so we got dropped off in helicopters right up there. There was a skeleton crew of maybe 15 or 20 people, and we had lugged a whole bunch of equipment up there as well. And then, the sun just started to drop. It had been a warm day, and Scotland had been kind to us—right up until that point. We were up quite high, and the wind was whipping through. We were cold to the bone. I’ve been very cold before, but this was a special kind of cold. I was actually reasonably well dressed for once, which is unusual, but Russell, coming from Australia, was not particularly fond of the cold, and he was not having a good time. I wasn’t having a good time. But then, because we’re losing the light and we have to get these shots, it’s a really important moment in the movie—when we called action, Russell and I both shed that discomfort, and we fell right into the characters. Those precious moments, that time, were extraordinarily well spent. Just the connection between Ramirez and Connor was all there. You didn’t feel the cold; you just felt the affection and love in that moment. It was such a special thing to be able to do. I wasn’t looking at Russell during my close-up, while he was sitting there and shivering and looking super uncomfortable, but he was actually in the moment, and so was I. That was time well spent, doing that.&nbsp; Then of course, the light was gone, and everyone was like, Go, go, go! So we jumped back into the helicopters and went home.

L’O: Including your character in Highlander, you’ve played several roles with an iconic past, obviously Superman and Geralt in The Witcher. What is it like to step into a role like that, and what have those characters taught you about acting? HC: Well, it’s an enormous responsibility. I’ve always felt that from the beginning, because I love Superman, and I especially love Geralt as well. I’ve always gone into it with 100% commitment to being faithful to what the fans love. Not trying to convert anything into my version, but it’s always about doing the thing that people love, whether that’s in tone or essence or a literal copy. I will always aim to do those things. And what those have taught me, going on 26 years of acting, is that there’s an enormous responsibility. I was once given some advice from a friend of mine, who sent me this list. It’s called Advice from an 80-Year-Old Man. One of the pieces of advice is, “Take care choosing your life’s mate, because 90% of your happiness or unhappiness will come from that decision.” The same applies to your partners in film, TV, creativity, and across the spectrum, but especially that. It’s taught me now to be very selective, and also to believe in my own instincts more. L’O: As someone who has a busy schedule, what do you look for in a watch? HC: The advantage of having a relationship with Longines is that I really get to explore what I like. The advantage to being in my 40s is that I now know what I like. I don’t feel compelled to follow trends or what other people think is cool or fashionable. I feel that my passion and my tastes lie in more of the vintage and heritage stuff. So when it comes to a watch, it’s about something that speaks to what I like. My first Longines purchase was the Master Collection Rose Gold GMT. It’s cool as hell. It feels very heritage and vintage. But I was then given the Spirit Zulu Time, which isn’t a watch that I would normally have gone for, but the more I wear it, the more I fall in love. And then there’s the Hydroconquest, again not a watch I typically would have gone for. But now that I’ve got it, with the dark blue face and dark blue bezel, I discovered that one of them has a turquoise accent as well, in various parts of the dial, and I want that one now. So I realized that my horizons are broadening more and more the longer the relationship goes. To answer the question, though, before I go down a very deep rabbit hole, I think it’s something that’s suitable for what I’m wearing, really. It’s always something understated and elegant, which is what’s so wonderful about Longines. In a nutshell, that’s probably what I look for when choosing a watch.
L'O: You've recently been appointed as Longines' Ambassador of Elegance. What does elegance mean to you?
HC: Elegance is a characteristic. It's not arrogant or audacious. It's calm and controlled, and it has a charm despite potential difficult circumstances. It is the still among the frenetic. I think there's a real strength in there, and that's what I find particularly beautiful about elegance. It is possibly one of the greatest compliments you can receive. And you can't force it or buy it. Elegance is, as they say, a characteristic—a state of mind. You have to work hard at it, but when you do, it looks effortless.&nbsp;

For Henry Cavill, Elegance is a State of Mind

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