In true Clark Kent form, the new Superman would like to correct the record.
David Corenswet gave an interview to Entertainment Weekly in 2019 where he said his “pie in the sky ambition” was to play Superman.
At that point, the role was not on the market. And Corenswet, a Julliard graduate and Philadelphia native, was just making a name for himself in the industry, with plum breakout roles in two Ryan Murphy Netflix series: “The Politician” and “Hollywood.” Tall, dark, and you know, handsome, people had told him that he looked like Superman for a long time. He did not, he told The Associated Press in a recent interview, think that he was going to get the chance to play him.
But a few years later he was actually cast to lead James Gunn’s “Superman” which will begin a new, hopefully high-flying, era for the DC universe of films when it hits theaters on July 11. And that once innocent quote took on a life of its own. Many headlines and stories misinterpreted the phrase and wrote that he said it was his dream role, as though he’d manifested it into existence.
“I said it was my pie in the sky ambition, which I meant to mean that there was no (expletive) way it was ever going to happen,” Corenswet, 31, said. “I sort of was thinking of it as, ‘Oh, who wouldn’t love to get to play an iconic role like that? Wouldn’t it be amazing and impossible if we lived in a universe where that could even be considered?'”
“He is Superman”
Right around the time when Gunn was starting to think about casting his new Superman movie, he decided to watch his friend Ti West’s movie “Pearl.” In that darkly comedic horror, Corenswet stood out to him as an interesting and charismatic presence. He played a projectionist at a local movie theater who catches Pearl’s attention (and, later, faces her wrath). West had nice things to say about him too.
“David was one of the very first auditions that I got,” Gunn said. “Instantly, it was a relief because he had a playful charm about him that was not evident in ‘Pearl.’ He had a sense of humor. That made me go, ‘Ooh, this might be a really good match.'”
That was just the beginning of the long casting process. Even Nicholas Hoult, who was ultimately cast as Lex Luthor, was up for the part. And though it was “extensive,” Corenswet said it was one of the most “satisfying audition processes” he’s ever gone through — not because he booked the role, but because he felt he got the opportunity to show them what he had to offer.
Gunn laughed that Corenswet actually has a lot of Superman in him.
“Superman is a square and David is a square,” Gunn said. “He listens to American Songbook. Like Dean Martin and Cole Porter. That’s what he listens to on his iPad. That’s weird. But oh, so Superman.”
When Gunn called him with the good news, the first person he told was his wife. The second was his sister, who couldn’t pick up the phone because she was on a golf course.
“She texted, ‘Is it possible that was a phone call with super good news?'” he said. “I said, ‘Yes. Super good news.'”
Growing into the suit
It may be something of a Superman tradition to try on your predecessor’s costume during a screen test. Henry Cavill did it with Christopher Reeve’s, and Corenswet did it with Cavill’s, which he called a “marvel of engineering.”
But the first time Corenswet put on his own Superman costume was not some magical, transportive moment. In fact, he said, it was “wonderfully mundane.” The suit was still in its beginning stages, not totally put together and even a little small, as he’d already started putting on weight for the role.
“I remember the feeling of kind of growing into the suit and the suit growing around me fitting by fitting,” Corenswet said. “We had such an amazing costume team and they built the suit around me over the course of many weeks and months and it started to feel just a little bit like home for me.”
The first time he felt the impact of it was through the eyes of other people. To him, it was old hat, but when he walked onto set the first time in the suit he noticed something different from the cast and crew.
“I saw their faces sort of light up and I went, ‘Wait a minute, these people aren’t that fond of me,'” he laughed. “That’s when it hits you.”
Superman, Clark (and Lois)
There are almost three roles involved in playing Superman. There’s the person he is with his parents and the people he grew up with. There’s Clark Kent of the Daily Planet. And then there’s Superman.
“He’s a public facing character, he’s a symbol,” Corenswet said. “There’s a presentational element to it, because he does want to present an image of calm and authority. While he doesn’t always feel that way, he always wants to make other people feel that way as Superman.”
To prepare for Clark Kent, Corenswet looked at the All-Star Superman comic and how Christopher Reeve changed his posture when Lois left the room, but he also drew inspiration for the voice and demeanor way outside of the canon: His brother-in-law, who is 6’8″ and 270 pounds, but is the “quietest, most wonderful man.”
“That’s where I sort of took the spirit of Clark,” Corenswet said. “He’s this big presence, but he’s desperately trying to be as small as possible and as quiet as possible.”
Gunn has promised that the film is “a personal journey for Superman that’s entirely new.” He’s a character who is “pretty damn good, but flawed.” And anyone who has seen the trailer knows there will be romance with Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane — but there’s even a different spin on that.
“He’s in love with her,” Gunn said. “She’s the one that needs the convincing in the relationship. It’s not him. You really see where he needs her in his life.”
Corenswet said that in addition to the action and thrills, the movie also has a Preston Sturges quality to it with “longing romance and witty comedy.” Fitting for their reporter characters, “His Girl Friday” was also a big reference with “the rhythm, the patter and the feeling of two people in love who really are an equal match for the other.”
Summer camp comes to an end
The movie is the start of a new era for DC films, and will raise Corenswet’s profile immeasurably. He’s been in big movies before, including “Twisters.” But being Superman is different.
“The thing that it changed about my life immediately was that I had this amazing mission that I got to go on of playing the part and getting to be a piece of making this awesome film,” he said. “I have so many new friends now. James brings together such a familial cast and crew. And shooting the film is sort of like an extended summer camp.”
Adding to the summer camp vibes: On the last day they even gathered to watch a little blooper reel that Gunn had put together. But what will happen come release is not really something he can fathom at this point.
“I expect some things will change when the film comes out,” he said. “But you know, one still has to wake up and eat breakfast.”
