For our final, showstopping interview from our Superman set visit last year, we are pleased to bring you The Man of Steel himself: David Corenswet — our new Superman!
It’s been a long road for Corenswet to become the new Superman on the big screen. There’s a passionate fanbase for the Snyderverse and Henry Cavill’s interpretation. Prior to that, Brandon Routh donned the cape. Before Routh, The Man of Steel was famously portrayed by the legendary Christopher Reeve in the 1978 Richard Donner classic.
As every cinematic iteration of Superman will tell you, filling in those boots was never going to be easy. That said, Corenswet’s interpretation of Kal-El/Clark Kent is, in my humble opinion, the best modern-day version of the character that we’ve seen on the big screen: hopeful, optimistic, kind, and determined to do everything he can to preserve life rather than destroy it. It is an interpretation that puts the Clark Kent persona at the forefront, with Superman being the alter-ego, showcasing who this character really is to Lois and to his family, embracing his own humanity.
While Reeve’s version was perfect for the Pre-Crisis Silver Age era of the Superman comics of the time, Corenswet’s and Cavill’s fit the Post-Crisis Modern Era interpretation of Superman to a much greater degree. The difference is definitely in the tone and the kindness. There’s a brightness to Corenswet’s Man of Steel that simply was lacking from the neck-snapping, property-destroying, dark-hue-wearing Cavill interpretation. In other words, Corenswet’s take is how I prefer my Big Blue Boy Scout!
As such, I’m excited to bring to you everything Corenswet had to say about becoming The Last Son of Krypton!
What would your 10-year old self say if he saw you today as Superman?
Corenswet: So, my 10-year old self was already acting professionally. But in the theater in Philadelphia, and in a production of Macbeth… Playing young Macduff, who gets murdered on stage in front of his mother. And I got to do this really cool thing… I got to learn fight choreography… And I got into a little scrap with the murderer, and scratched his face. And he grabbed me and lifted me up and stuck his knife between him and me, and they did this thing where they pretended to snap my spine, and I’d be kicking my legs and I’d go limp, and he’d drop me in a trap door on stage… So I think 10-year old me would think, “I’ve got it pretty good actually!”
Can you talk about the responsibility you feel to Reeve and the character of Superman?
As a person, I tend to try not to think in those sweeping terms. Ultimately I feel my responsibility is to James and his story. James can take on any bigger responsibilities he wants to take on. The cool thing about seeing [Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story] is that you get the sense of relief after seeing it. Just as a sort of… We all got lucky that the first big-screen Superman was so iconic and lived the part so well in his life. And though he horribly suffered this tragedy, what he made of the tragedy and his own life was so in keeping with the spirit of the character that he really became the character off-screen as well for so many people. Anything you do after that pales in comparison. And all you can really hope to do is honor and remind people of that original spirit. And there’s all this cool stuff with all the iterations of the comics. And I haven’t read all of them yet, but I know how many they are and how many different versions. So that’s fun in the same way doing Shakespeare is fun. Where you’re doing this iconic thing everybody knows, but it’s been done so many times, that you only really have to do your little piece and contribute one little new thing, or put a fun, interesting spin on it. Or bring back something that’s been forgotten about the character. And that’s a fun playground to play in. But as far as the responsibility, I think feeling too much of the responsibility, and thinking too much about what it means really, gets in the way of doing the work. Which is showing up, and having a good time, making scenes work, and being a good scene partner, and a good actor for your director. That’s what gets the movie made. And then we can sit back and decide how it fits in with the broader [picture].
Can you give us your perspective on the story point of coming out of the gate swinging within the story?
Reading the script, the start was very flashy and immediately got me excited. Very little world-building to start. We start with a character you’re meeting in a very interesting circumstance who has a very clear problem and needs to overcome it. And the way I think you learn about a character or iteration of a character is watching what strategies they employ to overcome whatever their challenge is to begin with, and how they react when they fail or fall short of their strategy not working. And that’s the whole opening sequence of this movie. You’re seeing Superman in the middle of the fight of his life at that point, and throwing everything he’s got at this fight, and very few things are working. A couple of things work for a moment, but seeing a character who many think is invincible and impervious and always optimistic and hopeful, and you’re seeing him in a moment where all that is being very heavily tested. And so, as a moment to meet the character, where he really doesn’t overcome (he doesn’t lose but he doesn’t win) – to have that be the jumping off point for the rest of the story was really fun because it leaves you everywhere to go. Which is always great for the character.
Can you talk about your experience in The Fortress of Solitude?
It was magical. To be on a physical set that big, that was… we shot in Norway in the snow for the exteriors, and then on the set for the interiors. But when you stood outside The Fortress on set you felt like you were back in Norway, except a lot warmer. So it had this nostalgic and other-worldly feel. We were there for a week. I think really, the feeling was going back in time, like we were on an old Hollywood-set. And that was really cool. Imagining that’s what Christopher Reeve and others were feeling on those sets.
Is there something you want to pinpoint in bringing to your performance of the character, or something you want to avoid?
For the most part, I lay the responsibility on James’ feet as the writer. I’ve been guilty of this as well, but audiences tend to lay responsibility of the character at the actor’s feet. And I think there are some rare cases where the actor has created the character, where the character was brought to life in a way that wasn’t on the page. But more often when you have those situations, there was a great character written on the page, and things definitive about that character are on the page. What the character says and what the character does are on the page. And you have a great actor who adds another dimension to how the character feels. And it’s amazing when an actor can do that. To be honest I can’t say what’s new about the character, because some old things will strike a new audience as new. Some things that work in the previous iteration that are in this one will be brand new to a 10-year old going to see their first Superman movie, or have seen previous Superman movies but this is the first one that’s theirs, coming out in their lifetime. The thing I’m really interested in is playing Clark. Christopher Reeve gets a lot of credit with how he played Clark as a different character from Superman. And we knew we wanted to do that, but we wanted to try to play Clark in a different way. Christopher Reeve’s version is so iconic and when you go back and read the comics now, you imagine the character as Chris Reeve’s Clark Kent. But if you [play him like] that then you’re just doing what Chris Reeve did, and he did it so well, why would you want to try to play in those waters. So for me, one of the reasons why we dove into the comics, specifically All-Star Superman, which is what James recommended first and foremost, was to read the Clark Kent scenes. And look at the images and try to hear his voice in a different way, and see his relationships in a different way, which are true to the basics where he’s not Superman. He’s gotta feel different and have different relationships, but just wanted a different point of reference to go to, away from Superman. Finding a new direction to go away from that character was a ton of fun.
Chris Evans famously said that he hesitated before accepting the role of Captain America, because his whole life was going to change afterwards. Did you feel the same sense of hesitation when you accepted or were offered the role of Superman? Because your life is going to change.
I always hesitate. I tend to be very skeptical about things in general. One thing I’m skeptical of about every role and everything in life, is when people do say, “This is going to change your life.” I’ve been told that before and actors get told that a lot, whether it’s for a small thing or a big thing. But I’ve had enough experiences where enough people say that and nothing really changes. You know some things change a little bit, but only in the way they would have changed anyway. But for the most part you still gotta eat breakfast and go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Some things change. But I always hesitate. And I hesitated… or rather I paused, and I really thought about it. And it was not a no-brainer to say “yes” to it. It took a lot of my brains. And a lot of thinking and a lot of conversations with my loved ones to see whether this was a thing worth doing. And mostly, because the answer did end up being that this was an adventure and a risk worth taking, that we also felt that you really think through what could come with it. And you don’t just think about being a movie star, and getting all the parts in the world, and financial stability, and paying your rent, but also thinking about the challenges that will likely come along with it. For instance, all the people outside desperately trying to catch photographs of us. I’ve had very little experience with that, but it’ll be probably be part of the whole thing. So it was definitely a well thought-out decision. But I think well thought-out decisions are easier to be enjoyed afterwards, even if they go wrong. Because at least you don’t look back and say, “I wish I thought this through more.” You look back and go, “I did everything I could.”
How much does the movie split you between Clark and Superman? And was playing one more fun than playing the other?
Playing Clark was more fun than playing Superman. As far as acting, you get to do so much more, and you always have a secret. Which is a fun thing to have as an actor. Doing Superman is fun because you get to fly and fight and all that stuff. I’ve done very little of that in film before, but the stuntwork and the wirework in flying is extremely fun. That’s fun just as an athlete. It splits… There’s a lot of Superman, and a small but significant amount of Clark. And then a 20% of a middle ground where he’s with people who know both of his identities, or with people as Superman, but he’s not performing as [he would in public as] Superman. So there’s more of Clark in Superman as there is normally [in those scenes]. And then a few tasteful moments where he’s, as Clark, with someone who knows he’s Superman. So he’s Clark first. For example, scenes with Ma and Pa Kent, where he’s not pretending to be Clark. He’s not the “Clark” character. He’s more the boy who grew up than he is the superhero everybody sees.
Were you ever team “No-Trunks?”
Not even for a minute.
Can you talk about the physical preparation of becoming Superman?
So I never did a DEXA scan, but I gained 40 pounds from July to November. We were on strike. So there was no conversation. We didn’t get to have a conversation about the character before the actors went on strike. So it was basically, I got the part, I got all excited. The strike happens. Radio silence. No communication. I was going to the gym… I mean I was already going to the gym… but I wanted to get started because if this lasts a week or two, I didn’t want to lose a week or two. So I hooked up with a trainer, and said I wanted to get as big as possible within reason, without performance-enhancing drugs, or killing myself. And we got to the edge of what I think are my physical capabilities. I was going to the gym for two-and-a-half hours, then getting home and passing out and sleeping for two hours. And sleeping nine hours a night. And eating so much. Basically drinking shakes to get the extra calories in. I tend to be on the skinny side. So it’s hard to put on all that weight. It was definitely not 40 pounds of muscle! I’d appreciate anybody who wants to clarify in their writing that nobody’s suggesting I gained 40 pounds of muscle. I gained 40 pounds of flesh and water. And then in the end, over the course of shooting, I’d been somewhere about 25-30 pounds up from where I was initially. And there’s quite a bit of fluctuation there, because when you shoot a week of fight sequences in the suit you just lose weight. And then once the strike ended at the end of last year, I started to get to do the flight training/ the wire training. Which is its own athletic… it’s a very cool art in itself. It’s not intuitive at all. If you are hooked into wires and you try to fly in the way you think you’re supposed to, you won’t look right at all. It’s counter-intuitive, and all about balance, and where you’re picked to the wire. Where you have leverage and where you don’t. Sometimes you have a guy who is turning you in the back so you’re just along for the ride. So we got to do a lot of that. And a little bit of fight training, but mostly I was good on that because Superman is not a martial artist. We didn’t have to do anything super fancy or technical. It’s really just throwing punches, throwing haymakers and taking haymakers. So it was a lot of fun.
You said All-Star Superman was one of the comics you read for the role. What about that incarnation of the character resonated with you?
I was a little confused with James’ script when I first read it, and we didn’t get to talk about it because of the strikes, until we got closer to filming. So the fact that he told me that All-Star Superman was one of his guiding lights was super helpful, because the thing I found in that was the… gentle nerdiness of Superman. I love seeing when he goes into his Fortress of Solitude, that he’s got a mancave. Not a Batcave. He has his technology and stuff, but it’s all of his relics and fun things he’s gotten to collect because he does what he does. And he wants to show them off to Lois, because he can’t show them off to many people because he’s not supposed to. It’s sort of the gentle loneliness of that, but without any sense of dark or brooding… just brimming with excitement about the things he gets to do and collect. And wanting to bring in people into that, and just not being able to. There was a great… I really like Superman as a hopeful character. Both as a symbol of hope, but also as a person who has a rosy outlook on the world. Things can be good, things can be better. But of course, that can be a constraint on him as a dramatic character. Because he can’t always be happy and optimistic. So the comic let me in, gave me this sense of longing he has, to share what he gets to do, and to have other people enjoy what he gets to enjoy. And the fact that he has to control that because he can’t be too open, or reveal who he is. That was the biggest thing that I [took away]. And that comes back to what I’m hoping there will be a flavor of in this movie. That longing.
Can you talk about your relationship with Rachel, and your screen tests?
Rachel and I read once together. I read with Emma Mackey about four or five times for several hours. We rehearsed together. Wonderful actress, fantastic actress. And we were working together. And we did the screen test, and shot the scene we did, which is a close version to a scene that’s in the movie, for a couple of hours, as though we were shooting it for the movie. And then I went and did basically a stunt assessment. I worked with the stunt team and got to see what it was like to fly and do some fighting. And they got a sense of how much I was comfortable with that and ready to learn on that. And almost as an afterthought, they said, we want to bring you in and read with Rachel. Rachel was operating on zero sleep. She was on Broadway and had done a red-eye to LA the night before and got in that morning. And had been working with Nicholas Hoult in the morning. And so we read together once, and it was quick and somewhat of a whirlwind. I think I may have blacked out for most of it. I don’t really remember, because I was thinking and I think we were both thinking, we were going to have a couple of go’s at it. So the first time you’re just kind of remembering a scene and getting into each other’s rhythms. And so when they said, “OK. That’s great.” I thought, “I would have loved to do that a couple more times.” But apparently what James and other people saw was this moment where two different energies and kinds of actors just crossed at the right moment, where there was something really interesting. And getting to actually work with her, it makes a lot of sense. She’s a very intellectual actor, and loves to talk things through and ask questions. Which is what I like to do too. Turns out James likes that as well. He’ll talk forever. He’ll argue with us, defend his position, he’ll listen to our position. We spent a lot of time talking about all of the Clark and Lois scenes, and the Superman and Lois scenes. And that was a big conversational relationship that supported some really cool moments on screen and on set.
How do you present yourself as Clark as opposed to Superman? For example, the dynamic in The Daily Planet.
So as well as Christopher Reeve did that, he didn’t invent the slumped shoulders to the straight posture. That’s in every comic book. So that I do too. And I think that’s true of almost every character he plays. Are they slouched or standing up straight? I slouch. It’s much harder for me to stand up straight as Superman, than it is to slouch as Clark. I played with making the voice deeper than higher. Having him have more of an energy, as opposed to the Jerry Lewis clown-feeling that Christopher Reeve had which is so lovable and dorky. I played him as somebody I know well — I spent a lot of time with my brother-in-law, who is 6’8, 250 pounds, and walks in a room, and everybody looks at him, and then he [mumbles]… The thing I took away from Clark is that he’s trying so hard to not get in the way, that he ends up being in everybody’s way all the time. So you can’t really be mad at him because he’s trying not to be in the way. But if he just took up a little more space, he wouldn’t get underfoot so much and be in the way. So there’s a lot of that in The Daily Planet. What’s great is having all these great characters in The Daily Planet. So I get to not be the center of attention. I get to just be off in the corner so many times, listening in, or inserting myself randomly. So that’s what I’ve been playing with mostly. If I stay out of the way there’s no problem… And we had a great space in Macon, GA… And it’s this big long hall, with a lot of space to play with, and a lot of great characters in that space.
This is the start of the DC Universe. How much of James’ plans do you know? And what can you tell us about them?
Essentially nothing. He means it when he says, “No plan is better than the quality of the script and the directors” that he and Peter have to do them. And I don’t really know much about the comic book fandom and getting the timeline announcement. I know it’s a thing. And I know that for better or worse, they will compromise a timeline rather than compromise a film. They want to make good movies and television shows, and want them to be worth watching and rewatching. And if people knew what went into making a movie together and making a movie, they’d understand that if you stick too closely to a plan you’re going to end up compromising on the things that are actually important and the things that keep people coming back to the theater. And getting people to show their kids the movies they saw. So that’s the guiding light for him and Peter going forward… That’s the main principle. And that’s a great person to be working for!
Between what he has crafted with Superman, and finding the perfect cinematic versions of Lex, Lois, and of course, Clark Kent/Superman, it’s hard to disagree with Corenswet’s statements about Gunn and his vision of the DC Universe, because so far it’s terrific. Corenswet himself was kind, courteous, and was willing to stay late during our set visit to ensure everyone had a question. In short, he is on his way to becoming the living embodiment of the character he plays, as well as living up to the model set by his legendary predecessors, particularly Christopher Reeve. The character of Superman means so much to so many, from children who need an example to follow of a true hero who fights just do the right thing, to immigrants in this country who just need one of their own to look up to during a time when so many others are trying to do everything they can to treat them cruelly, and build laws just to outlaw their existence. And Corenswet 100% embodies this persona and these critical aspects of the character.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our coverage of the Superman set visit, as much as we’ve enjoyed sharing it with you all. It was an absolute game-changing experience for myself personally. Yes, getting to set foot in Metropolis and talk with each of the amazing actors who brought this new vision of the DC Universe to life was brilliant. But more importantly, as someone who looked up to Superman growing up, as well as true heroes like Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, being in Cleveland, OH, where the duo created the most iconic superhero of all time — a symbol for hope, equality, and kindness, and an immigrant fighting for the rights of the little guy and a better world — was simply inspiring.
Not to moralize or preach to you, our readers, or to anyone casually looking for a Superman article to read, or anyone waiting to attack me for talking about “wokeness,” but we genuinely do need this character right now. And we need people like Siegel and Shuster right now; people who are willing to use their creativity and voice to create stories about fighting against injustice, inequality, prejudice, discrimination, scapegoating, and corruption. We need people like James Gunn, David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, and the entire cast and crew, willing not just to entertain, but to tell sincere morality stories about the negative consequences of letting selfish, ego-driven people with too much wealth having too much influence on the policies and politics of our world, such as Trump, Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, and many more.
Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, Superman was created as an immigrant who fought against corruption from billionaires like Trump, and corrupt social injustices, like invading American cities and arresting and deporting immigrants who actually make contributions to our society. And this has not changed about the character or these stories at all in nearly 90 years. What has sadly changed is this country, our world, our people, and their values. And while a character like Superman, or real-life figures like Siegel and Shuster, might frown on something like that today, I can guarantee you, that there’s no way they’d ever lose hope in our ability to change all of this.
So my biggest hope is that what people take away from the work each and every one of the actors and crew members we’ve spoken to, as well as Gunn himself, have put into Superman is the desire to be better. The desire and ability to make themselves better, to make society better, and to stand up to bullies and corruption, the way Superman did in the early pages of Action Comics, penned by Siegel and Shuster. Because if we are able to at least take a way a fraction of inspiration from the very things Superman embodies (kindness, hope, and strength), then we’ll all have it in us to actually make ourselves and our world a bit more super.
Superman is now in theaters!
