Alex Pettyfer Says Henry Cavill Saved His Life on Set of New Movie

Even on the set of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Henry Cavill is quite the gentleman.

Alex Pettyfer, one of his costars, confirmed as much when he revealed that Cavill, 40, saved his life while they were filming.

“He saved me from falling off a boat,” Pettyfer, 33, revealed in an interview Entertainment Tonight recently conducted with the film’s stars. “I nearly drowned! So I can officially say I’ve been saved by Henry. And I’m very grateful to be on this film with [him].”

“It was an amazing honor, by the way, to be on this film with you,” Pettyfer added, speaking to Cavill. “Because it’s a learning curve to see how a No. 1 [on the call sheet] treats everyone in the cast and crew. I got an email two weeks before I started filming from this man saying, ‘I’m excited to collaborate with you.’”

Cavill and Pettyfer join Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Eiza González and Hero Fiennes Tiffin in the Guy Ritchie–directed film, which is based on Damien Lewis’ 2014 book, Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII. It is a fictionalized account of Operation Postmaster, a British operation in World War II to steal axis ships on the Spanish island of Fernando Po.

“Gentleman is the right word, for sure,” Tiffin, 26, said of Cavill. “And it’s because he has an unwavering commitment to the cause and energy and consistency and mood. [He has an] ability to just keep everybody up and keep the momentum going.”

González, 34, also joined in the pro-Cavill pile-on. She told Entertainment Weekly that she would like to see her costar portray James Bond.

“It’s hard not to look at Henry Cavill and think of James Bond, to be really honest,” González said. “Obviously, I’m part of the group of people that are rooting for him to get it hopefully, if that was a possibility.”

Daniel Craig beat out Cavill for the role in 2006 and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is rumored to be next in line, but EW reports that no official offer has been made.

Cavill, meanwhile, made sure to heap praise on his costars as well.

“I think it was an enjoyable experience and it’s all thanks to these guys and Guy and our crew,” he said. “Because it creates that environment where you can have fun and it’s easy to enjoy the day. … I think that’s why we all get to shine in an environment like this.”

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare will hit theaters on April 19.