When James Gunn took on Superman he made one thing clear… if he didn’t find the perfect actor to play the Man of Steel, the movie wasn’t happening. Gunn told GQ:
“I said from the beginning, If I don’t find Superman, I’m not going to do this movie. Because I knew that this was dependent on the guy that’s playing Superman.”
That search became the defining saga of summer 2023. Hundreds of actors auditioned. David Corenswet (Pearl, Hollywood), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), and Tom Brittney (Grantchester) emerged as top contenders. Screen tests followed with full costume, chemistry reads with potential Lois Lanes, and scripted debate scenes between Daily Planet reporters. But for Gunn, it always came back to one name… Corenswet. He said:
“From the very beginning, he was the guy to beat, frankly.”
Even Lois came easy. “Rachel [Brosnahan] was probably [only] the eighth Lois I saw read,” Gunn noted. “You [think], God, is this really right? Can it be this easy?”
For Gunn, it wasn’t about just finding someone who looked the part. Superman had to feel real as Clark Kent, the farm-raised journalist; as Superman, the public icon; and as a vulnerable being capable of warmth and humor. Gunn explained:
“I couldn’t go for someone that didn’t work. I couldn’t go for someone that had the look, but didn’t have the chops. I couldn’t go for someone that had the chops but didn’t have the look.
“I couldn’t go for someone that had the looks and the chops, but couldn’t do the comedic parts, or couldn’t do the more vulnerable aspects.”
Corenswet, a Juilliard-trained actor, seemed born for it in Gunn’s eyes. His performance brought an old-school flair that immediately resonated with the filmmaker. Corenswet said:
“James has told me that the one thing that surprised him, that meant something to him initially, was the humor that I brought to that first scene.
“I immediately read it in the terms of the movies that I grew up on, which are Singin’ in the Rain and His Girl Friday, and the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. Just the timing and the patter and the style of humor — and it turned out that that was what he was imagining.”
Even Nicholas Hoult, who ended up being cast as Lex Luthor saw it, and said:
“When I first met David at the screen test, he’d found a patch of sun in the studio and was relaxing in between readings, almost charging up like Superman does from the sun’s power, and there was something about meeting him in that moment…. I mean, he obviously looks exactly like you imagine Clark Kent and Superman to look.”
Hoult added:
“He’s got this Old Hollywood persona which makes him feel even more relevant and timely to this version of Superman and Clark. It’s his charisma, his idiosyncrasies. He is what he idolizes, that silver screen era of acting and musicals.”
And that’s exactly what Gunn was aiming for, a Superman rooted in timeless ideals, navigating a cynical world. A Superman who reflects “truth, justice, and the human way” in a society where kindness is often dismissed as outdated.
Credit:Source link