Henry Cavill will surprise fans with his witty performance as Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie, cinematographer John Mathieson has revealed.

The Man Of Steel star is taking on the role made famous by Robert Vaughn in the hit sixties spy series, which is being remade by director Guy Ritchie for the big screen.

John, who has worked on films including Gladiator and X-Men: First Class, has been working as director of photography on the project with Guy, and described Henry as a "peacock".

Speaking at the launch of the new Samsung Curved UHD screen TV in London he said: "I thought Henry was terrific.

"He plays it quite humorously, everything's slightly quirky, slightly sharp. It was very comic strip in some ways, I mean that in a good way.

"He plays it very differently [to Superman], this is much more earthbound. He's a peacock, and he's very funny. I thought he was great."

John also revealed Guy's reimagining of American TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - which is rumoured to feature a cameo from David Beckham - has a strong British vibe, and was shot to emphasise the style of the sixties.

"Guy's very British, isn't he?" he said. "It's definitely his sensibilities and humour, so it's got a very British feel."

John added: "We filmed in London on a digital camera but we were trying to give it more of a sixties feel.

"It's a very good looking film, it's set in the sixties, it's very chic.

"So in some ways we were using old lenses and things to deteriorate the image. However what we did has a certain flavour to it, and that has to be screened so the cinema goer or viewer at home can see what we were trying to do. Not everything has to be bright and colourful and full of light. There's mood and there's atmosphere and there's softness.

"We're just finishing off some bits and pieces. Guy's still cutting, he's very close to finishing. I'm not sure when the release is, we've got to do some post production to get that sixties look really right."

Speaking about Samsung's new Curved TV, John admitted it really was like watching a home cinema.

He said: "It's like a compressed cinema screen. When you look into it you can see little people in little rooms running around the city. It has this incredible depth of feel to it. It is an experience.

"I'd rather people went to the cinema, but if you're going to watch films at home, watch them on one of these please."