David Corenswet isn’t your typical Hollywood leading man. Sure, he’s got the jawline, the deep-set eyes, and now, a super suit adorned with the most iconic “S” in pop culture. But behind the superhero costume, behind the muscle and the cape, is a man who has quietly, deliberately grown into a role he seemed born to play—not just on-screen, but in spirit.
Before he was chosen to be the next Superman in James Gunn’s much-anticipated reboot of the DC Universe, and even before he became a new father, Corenswet had long been living a life guided by a kind of innate heroism. It wasn’t loud or attention-seeking—it was quiet, thoughtful, and deeply felt. It showed up when he’d remind friends to buckle their seat belts, or when he’d watch out for others at summer camp as a teenager. That’s just who he was: the responsible one. The one who cared deeply.
“I took a lot of pride in not being the cool one in the group but being the one who really cared about everybody,” he says. “I wanted to make sure that we had a good time and that everybody came out alive.”
That same protective, empathetic quality—what people call “dad energy”—is exactly what makes him such an uncanny fit for Superman. As Corenswet himself recalls, a few friends started to tell him that he had a sort of “Superman energy” even before the role was ever a realistic possibility. “I liked that,” he admits. That warmth, that sense of calm, responsibility, and quiet strength—it made people feel safe around him. And that, in essence, is the beating heart of Superman.
Corenswet’s path to the role has been a mix of fate, persistence, and just the right amount of timing. The Juilliard-trained actor had made a name for himself in recent years with impressive turns in projects like Hollywood, The Politician, Pearl, and Twisters. His performances were nuanced and emotionally rich—often reflective of a maturity beyond his years.
But it was in a 2019 interview that Corenswet first publicly voiced his dream role. Henry Cavill was still wearing the cape at the time, and the idea of a reboot was far from reality. Still, Corenswet said what was in his heart: “I’d love to play Superman.”
At the time, it was a fantasy. “It was just a dream in the same way I’d love to play a Jedi or James Bond,” he explains. “For me, those were the worlds I lived in as a kid when I was playing around in my basement.”
Fast forward a few years, and fantasy turned to fate. Writer-director James Gunn, who has taken the reins of reshaping the DC cinematic universe, found something in Corenswet’s first audition that stood out immediately.
“People have a lot of expectations about what Superman is and what he looks like,” Gunn says. “So there’s a physical thing that accompanies being able to do the acting. But in all honesty, I found David on the first round of auditions.”
From there, the pieces fell into place. Corenswet bulked up, slipped on the iconic suit, and stepped into a role that would redefine his career—and potentially the Superman mythos itself.
In Gunn’s Superman (in theaters July 11), audiences won’t be meeting the seasoned, all-powerful figure we’ve seen in past incarnations. This Superman is younger, earlier in his career, and struggling with the complexities of his dual identities—Superman and Clark Kent.
He faces very human dilemmas: questions of belonging, purpose, vulnerability, and love. Yes, he’s strong enough to stop an alien monster from destroying Metropolis—but he’s also fragile enough to be emotionally rattled by a fight with Lois Lane.
“He can save the city from a giant kaiju one day and the next day be in an argument with Lois that makes him feel like the world’s going to end,” Corenswet says. “What if she leaves him? What if he said something that screwed something up? Anyone who’s been in love when they were young knows—it’s not a life-or-death situation, but it feels like it in the moment.”
That emotional openness is key to the character’s transformation. This Superman isn’t just a symbol of justice and power—he’s also a man trying to figure it all out, just like the rest of us. He wants to love and be loved. He wants to belong. And in many ways, that mirrors Corenswet’s own journey.
Corenswet’s layered understanding of grief, loss, and human emotion wasn’t born from fiction—it was forged in real life. His father, John, was a stage actor turned lawyer who battled cancer for much of Corenswet’s upbringing. He passed away in 2019.
“Death and the possibility of loss was an ever-present subject in our household growing up,” Corenswet says. But it was never ignored. The conversations were “sober but compassionate,” and that shaped his emotional maturity. “Over the years I was able to build a relationship with the darker and sadder parts of life so they don’t feel overwhelming.”
That perspective bleeds into his portrayal of Superman—this idea that vulnerability and strength aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, they coexist. They must coexist.
“There’s a wonderful innocence about Superman, especially in this film,” he says. “He’s a little earlier in his career. He’s not a grown man yet. He doesn’t have kids yet. He has some stuff to learn about that.”
Corenswet sees himself and Superman as kindred spirits in many ways. “Both Superman and me, we share the thing of wanting to be someone that people come to in their darker moments,” he says. “Not just in their moments of celebration. We can be a force for calm and reassurance and centeredness even in the most tumultuous times in life.”
It’s a powerful message—one that cuts through the bombast of superhero spectacle and gets to the heart of why these stories matter. Superman isn’t about being indestructible. He’s about being a light in the dark. Someone who listens. Someone who tries.
That philosophy is echoed by his Superman co-stars, too. Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane, describes Corenswet’s portrayal as layered and instinctive. “There’s dueling lightness and gravitas that David brings to this role,” she says. “He really understands him in a way that none of us can articulate. He is Superman.”
And Wendell Pierce, who plays Perry White, Clark Kent’s editor at the Daily Planet, agrees. “The world is his oyster right now,” Pierce says. “He understands the power that he has playing Superman. But more importantly, he’s got kindness and innocence working for him.”
As the July 11 release date looms, Corenswet is bracing for a level of fame that few actors ever experience. The role of Superman comes with expectations, pressure, and a microscope trained on your every move.
“I told everybody that they shouldn’t expect to hear from me until July 12,” Corenswet jokes. “I may need to just hide under a rug for a week, just to let everything blow over.”
It’s the kind of self-aware, tongue-in-cheek humility that makes him so easy to root for. He’s not gunning for celebrity status. He’s simply doing his job—with care, intention, and heart.
Taking on the mantle of Superman means stepping into a long line of beloved actors who have worn the cape before him—George Reeves, Christopher Reeve, and most recently, Henry Cavill. It’s no small legacy.
But Corenswet isn’t trying to imitate those who came before. Instead, he’s carving out a Superman for a new era—one who still stands for truth and justice, but also empathy, emotional vulnerability, and the struggle to connect in an often chaotic world.
And in that, he’s offering audiences something more than just entertainment. He’s giving them a hero who feels real. A hero who’s relatable. A hero who, despite his powers, is still trying to figure life out like the rest of us.
David Corenswet may have begun his career as a theater kid with a dream, but in many ways, the world has always been preparing him for this moment. His deep emotional intelligence, his lived experience with loss, his empathy and kindness—these aren’t just character traits. They’re superpowers in their own right.
In a genre often dominated by action and spectacle, Corenswet is bringing something far more rare to the screen: humanity. And perhaps that’s exactly what Superman—and the world—needs right now.
So come July 11, when the cape soars again across cinema screens, audiences won’t just be witnessing the rebirth of a legendary hero. They’ll be witnessing the rise of an actor who is redefining what it means to be super.
Because David Corenswet doesn’t just play Superman. He is Superman—in all the ways that truly count.