He’s now one of Hollywood’s hottest hunks, and has bagged the leading role in one of this summer’s most eagerly anticipated action movies.

But Henry Cavill wasn’t always a chiselled superhero in the making, with new photographs showing him as a chubby-faced schoolboy cutie.

Grinning away on the front row of his cricket team photo at St Michael’s Prep School in Jersey, the adorable youngster looked worlds away from the preened to perfection actor that is soon set to hit the big screen in this summer’s Man Of Steel.

Then and now: Man Of Steel actor Henry Cavill has come a long way since his days as a schoolboy cutie

And although his ripped screen shots would suggest otherwise, the 30-year-old star has admitted he underwent a huge amount of training to hone his body in anticipation for the movie.

Speaking alongside his Superman co-stars Russell Crowe and Amy Adams in an interview on Friday night’s Graham Norton Show, he said: ‘I trained for nine months.  I look nothing like that now.  It’s a Superman shape and great for playing Superman but not much else.’

Russell added of the strenuous regime: ‘There were four of us on the same hellish contract.  We actually had to sign a deal that we would only eat the food the studio supplied for about three and half months. That was a bit odd.

Schoolboy days: Grinning away on the front row (second from left) of his cricket team photo at St Michael’s Prep School in Jersey, the adorable youngster looked worlds away from the preened to perfection actor that is now gracing screens

‘You’re sort of hungry all the time.  At one point I was brought down to only 1800 calories a day.’

Following his shirtless scenes, Henry was treated to a ‘food amnesty’, which he joked was the ‘best food coma’ of his life.

He said: ‘I had a whole apple pie, a tub of ice cream and a large pizza, followed by the best food coma of my life.’

Meanwhile, Henry admitted he is enjoying his new level of fame after seeing his star skyrocket thanks to landing the coveted leading role in the big screen blockbuster.

Sporty: Henry, second from left, admitted he was dubbed ‘Fatty Cavill’ throughout his school days

Go Grease Lightning! Henry (in white jacket) appeared in a school production of Grease back in 1999

He explained: ‘There’s no real preparation you can do for it.  You can ask people but you don’t know what it will be like until it happens to you.

‘You just have to take it in your stride and enjoying it is the most important thing because this only ever happens once.  And rolling with the punches if they come.’

And the hunky actor seems to have found a firm fan in the form of Amy’s three-year-old daughter, Aviana.

Action hero: The 30-year-old star has admitted he underwent a huge amount of training to hone his body in anticipation for his role as Superman

Felling chatty: Henry appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside his Man Of Steel co-stars Amy Adams and Russell Crowe

She said: ‘She loves Henry and asks all the time, “Where’s Henry’s super suit?” in this breathless three-year-old voice – it’s very funny.  She’s going to kill me when she’s older because I keep telling people.

‘She came to the set and turned around and touched Henry’s bum – she just reached her little hands out. And Henry turns to me and says, “Like mother, like daughter!”‘

Henry also opened up on his raunchy sex scenes during his stint in Showtime’s The Tudors, joking that getting steamy on set wasn’t ‘nearly as sexy’ as he had previously imagined.

Co-stars: Amy opened up about her three-year-old daughter’s love for Henry, while Russell discussed the strenuous eating plan the stars were forced to adhere to throughout filming

Speaking to chat show host Norton, he joked: ‘Normally when you’re thinking about having sex with someone you are alone.

‘When you’re on set you’ve got at least 12 very heavily set men watching you and it’s not comfortable.

‘Things aren’t happening as naturally as they should and it’s not nearly as sexy as one may imagine.’

The Graham Norton Show is on BBC One and BBC One HD, June 14 at 10.35pm

Every boy’s dream: Henry Cavill playing Superman in the new blockbuster Man Of Steel

Man of Steel: After narrowly missing out on roles as James Bond and Superman in 2006, Henry Cavill has finally got his big break

In spite of his incredible physique at present, the actor has previously admitted he was bullied as a teenager and nicknamed ‘Fatty Cavill’ throughout his time at boarding school.

He said: ‘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.

‘I was bullied, but I’m not going to sit here and say: “Woe is me.” It’s never easy when you are homesick. I wasn’t part of a big group. Kids are kids. Kids are mean.’

‘Excited’: Cavill, pictured with co-star Amy Adams, says he cannot wait for Man Of Steel to be released