In ‘Superman,’ Philly’s David Corenswet shows the makings of ‘the biggest movie star in the world’
The actor, who got his start on the city's stages, is a more fun Superman than most would imagine. The film has some other Philly-bred surprises too.
Superman doesn’t live in Philadelphia, but actor David Corenswet has called this region home for most of his 32 years on this planet.
The new superhero star takes the national spotlight this week in James Gunn’s reboot of Superman, coming out on July 11.
Gunn, charged with taking the DC Comics universe in a different direction, recognized his Clark Kent in Corenswet, who grew up in Center City and then Merion Park, on the first day of auditions in early 2023.
That was before the earnest Corenswet — a Juilliard graduate and relatively unknown TV actor who got his start on Philly stages — wrote Gunn a handwritten letter about what the role means to him.
Today, the writer-director believes that he’s found “the biggest movie star in the world and people don’t know it yet,” he told CNN, because “there are very, very few people that have the acting chops, the comedy chops, and happen to be extraordinarily handsome at the same time.”
The strong-jawed Corenswet uses his lush locks and dimples for good in Gunn’s slightly goofier, lighter take on the typically serious comic book character.
(Some spoilers ahead!)
He’s the kind of compassionate, extraterrestrial guy who saves a squirrel from a giant fire-breathing monster, loves eating breakfast for dinner, and says phrases like “Good gosh” and “What the hey?!” unironically.
One moment, he’s finding comfort in a cup of hot cocoa; the next, he’s saving a woman from a collapsing building, emerging from the dust cloud in midair like a god with heroic backlighting.
Perhaps his most human reaction comes when the lovably untrained superdog Krypto is taken; Superman stops being polite and loses his temper.
Despite his overwhelming power, Corenswet’s Superman gets beaten up and taken down often throughout the film, always getting back up — not unlike a determined Philly underdog. (The actor is familiar with the feeling as a Philadelphia sports fan.)
Corenswet exudes a boyish sincerity that makes you want to root for him, not only because he’s fighting bad guys, but because he cares about how he wins.
It’s a relatable approach to a character balancing the weight of the world while remaining down to earth, even if he’s a bit corny and trusts too easily.
Gone is the Superman who is flawless and omnipotent, distant and domineering. Corenswet’s version carries those cosmic responsibilities with a humanity that feels tangible, vulnerable, funny, and convincingly real.
There’s no pretense of cool, either. He’s openly romantic and eager around Rachel Brosnahan’s unflappable Lois Lane, who doesn’t just challenge him but has doubts about dating him. Together, Brosnahan and Corenswet are a magnetic pairing.
But that’s not all that’s new.
Fellow Philly-area-raised actor Bradley Cooper makes a cameo as Superman’s father, Jor-El, speaking Kryptonian alongside his wife, Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan). They sent their son from Krypton to Earth to be a force for good, a mission that Superman carries proudly. (Cooper also appears in Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies as the voice of Rocket Raccoon.)
Gunn has been clear about Superman representing an immigrant story. Two Jewish American comic book writers, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, created the all-powerful, all-American hero in 1938 to fight Nazis.
Nearly 90 years later, this Superman is a refugee who fled his home to build a better life — a hardworking guy raised on a small farm in Kansas who gets called an alien, whose loyalties and motives are questioned no matter how many lives he saves.
“You’re destroying us!” villain Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) tells Superman in the movie, trying to convince the public to turn on the hero. “His strength illuminates how weak we really are.”
“I mean, Superman is the story of America,” Gunn told the Times U.K. recently. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
In Corenswet, Gunn has found a touching, endearing lead to embrace that kindness without cynicism. And early reactions to the movie so far indicate that critics and crowds agree: Corenswet is a superstar.
An earlier version of the article misstated where Corenswet grew up. It was between Center City and Merion Park.