Meet the new Superman: David Corenswet dreamed of one day playing the Man of Steel, and will be the first Jewish actor in the role … but what is his kryptonite?

29/06/2024

After beating out Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney for the part, Corenswet is replacing Henry Cavill as Superman, with Rachel Brosnahan in the role of Lois Lane in James Gunn's reboot
Corenswet said in 2019 that the role was his 'pie-in-the-sky ambition' - new pics show a complete transformation under celebrity trainer Paolo Mascitti, who stipulated a 6,000-calorie-a-day diet

There's a new Superman in town, and it's none other than David Corenswet, the first Jewish actor to star in the role. Replacing Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, Corenswet will play a young Clark Kent in the upcoming Superman reboot by James Gunn.

Euphoria star Jacob Elordi was asked to read for Superman but turned down the chance, as he told GQ. Corenswet landed the role after beating out Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney. He has since expressed his excitement for the new Superman, describing his screen test with Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane, as "like magic".

So, who is the hunky new Superman, and does he have a kryptonite?

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David Corenswet was cast in The Politician after a nightmarish audition

meet the new superman: david corenswet dreamed of one day playing the man of steel, and will be the first jewish actor in the role … but what is his kryptonite?

David Corenswet at Netflix's The Politician LA Tastemaker in July 2019, in West Hollywood, California. Photo: Getty Images

Corenswet, 30, appeared in numerous professional theatre productions as a child, and in 2016 graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in drama from New York's renowned Juilliard School. Despite this seeming head start, Corenswet initially had trouble breaking into the mainstream.

The actor revealed to Variety that his worst audition experience was for The Deuce, which saw him repeatedly messing up his lines in front of casting director Alexa Fogel. However, it was Fogel who eventually tapped him for Netflix's The Politician. On the strength of that show, Ryan Murphy then offered him the lead part in Hollywood without an audition, which turned out to be Corenswet's breakout role.

He thought his role in the show Hollywood was too sex-heavy

David Corenswet at the premiere of Netflix's Look Both Ways in August 2022, in Hollywood, California. Photo: Getty Images

The Look Both Ways star told Variety that the original script for Hollywood "was, like, soft- to medium-core porn". He reflected, "There were some things that you just knew, reading it, were not going to show up on the screen." He wasn't sure he'd be able to pull off his first sex scene - with Patti LuPone, who plays Avis Amberg in the show. Ultimately though, Corenswet says, the scene is less about sex and more "about the two characters and these lonely people who happened to find each other".

David Corenswet's dream was to one day play Superman

James Gunn's (right) reboot of Superman will star David Corenswet in the titular role, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Photo: @jamesgunn/Instagram

The new Superman seems to have long been aware of his resemblance to the old Superman, even before the media picked up on it. He told Entertainment Weekly in November 2019 that his "pie-in-the-sky ambition" was to one day play Superman.

Corenswet's version of Superman would be more of an upbeat throwback, as opposed to Cavill's dark and gritty take. Now, his dream is coming true as Gunn's Superman will follow the earlier days of the hero. But whether the character's trajectory will be as bright and optimistic as Corenswet would like is for Gunn to know and us to find out.

He followed an insane diet for Superman

David Corenswet in a post shared in May by Paolo Mascitti, the celebrity trainer putting him through his paces for his role as Superman. Photo: @paolomascitti/Instagram

Gunn introduced personal trainer Paolo Mascitti - known for working with celebrity clients including Nicole Scherzinger, Lucifer's Tom Ellis, Swat's Alex Russell, and The Suicide Squad's Flula Borg - to the new Superman. Following rigorous training, Mascitti now boasts that the Pearl star was born to play Superman.

Mascitti put Corenswet on a 6,000-calorie-a-day diet to help give him the perfect "Hollywood physique", per GQ, which is his speciality. The trainer revealed that while the actor is naturally lean, "He probably went from 200 pounds to 240 pounds (91kg to 110kg)," adding that Corenswet is likely to shed some of that weight as he continues to tone up.

As for his kryptonite, "that would be illicit cereal", GQ reported after interviewing Mascitti.

Who is David Corenswet married to?

David Corenswet attends the screening of Marriage Story during AFI Fest 2019, in Hollywood, California. Photo: Getty Images

While Superman and Lois Lane are meant for each other, Corenswet has a different leading lady in real life. In March 2023, he married actress Julia Best Warner, according to Pop TV Culture. However, this has not been confirmed publicly by the actors themselves, who seem to prefer to keep their private life under wraps.

The wedding was reportedly co-officiated by a rabbi and a priest at the Immaculate Conception Church in New Orleans. The ceremony included a chuppah, and Jewish rituals like breaking the glass were combined with Catholic ones to honour the faiths of both the bride and groom.

What else is David Corenswet working on?

David Corenswet at the Pearl premiere during the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, in September of that year. Photo: Getty Images

In addition to Superman, which will be released in 2025, Corenswet has an upcoming series on Apple TV+ called Lady in the Lake. He will also appear in the summer movie Twisters, by Minari director Lee Isaac Chung.