You’ll believe a man can lie. When David Corenswet answered the call to play the Man of Steel in James Gunn’s Superman reboot, he was skeptical that the co-chief of DC Studios — and the director of Marvel’s blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and 2021’s The Suicide Squad — was actually on the other end of the phone. The actor was in the middle of shooting Twisters and had screen tested for the Superman role in a process that came down to three contenders: Corenswet, Tom Brittney (Grantchester), and Nicholas Hoult (the X-Men movies), who would ultimately be cast as Superman’s nemesis, Lex Luthor.
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“I was at home in Philadelphia, I was on a break from Twisters. It was the end of June, beginning of July of 2023. I was already on another phone call — it was exciting, full of intrigue and suspense — when I saw an unknown number pop up with a 310 area code,” Corenswet told Hoult in a joint interview for Wonderland Magazine. “And I said, very politely, ‘Uh, pardon me, I think I need to take this phone call.’”
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While Hoult admitted he will “never answer if there’s an unknown number,” Corenswet said he’s “since adopted that practice.”
“I hadn’t been explicitly warned, but we’d just screen-tested for Superman a couple of weeks earlier, so I was hoping I’d hear something one way or another,” Corenswet said.
“The context makes sense. As for why they didn’t cast me [as Superman] — I kept screening ‘no caller ID’ numbers and they didn’t leave a voicemail,” Hoult joked. (Hoult previously auditioned for The Batman role that ultimately went to Robert Pattinson, and had been cast in the Mission: Impossible villain role that went to Esai Morales when Hoult was forced to drop out.)
“I stepped away and answered the phone, and James Gunn said, ‘David, it’s James Gunn.’ And I said, ‘Can you prove that?’ Because I was in a suspicious mood,” Corenswet continued. When Hoult asked whether Corenswet really said that, he confirmed, “I really said that.”
“I never think I’m being pranked. But in the moment, it occurred to me, ‘How am I supposed to know?’” he explained. “People knew I was screen-testing for Superman, so somebody could’ve pulled [a prank].”
Corenswet shared the news with his inner circle — his mother, aunt, uncle, sister, and his wife — before Gunn confirmed the casting news on June 27, 2023. Gunn also announced that Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) came out of the screen tests with the Lois Lane role over Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) and Emma Mackey (Barbie).
“The last person I got to tell, a few hours after it was available publicly, was my high school theater teacher, who was the one to convince me to audition for The Juilliard School and is a very close friend,” Corenswet recalled. “He texted back, ‘I’m doing a radio show for this theater thing I’m involved with in Philly. I’ll call you back.’ So, when he was done, I called him and asked, ‘How’s it going?’ He replied, ‘Oh, it’s great! I was talking about this and that David, you know how it is…’ I then said, ‘Oh, did you tell them what it feels like to have your high school theater student playing the next Superman?’”
“And the phone just went dead. Then he exclaimed—I don’t really remember what he said, but it was a really great phone call,” Corenswet said.
As for his own reaction to being cast as Superman, Corenswet said that “confidence was definitely not the feeling. I’d compare it to an astronaut who’s been one for a while but finally gets the call they’re going to the moon. You’re thinking, ‘Well, I’ve still got to go to the bloody moon now!’ So, there’s excitement.”
“Actually, my first feeling … is usually relief when I get a part,” the Superman actor added. “It’s rarely excitement or pride, just relief because I know what I’m doing next.”
Superman — starring David Corenswet as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, with Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Neva Howell, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Frank Grillo — is only in theaters July 11.
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