Before stepping into Superman‘s red boots and dawning the “S” across his chest, the franchise’s latest star, David Corenswet, got a super blessing — twice over — from two of the DC Comics character’s previous portrayers.
“I had the pleasure of exchanging letters with two previous Supermans — Henry Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin,” Corenswet told Heart at the “Superman” London premiere on July 3. “They were very encouraging, and we had a lovely exchange, and I’m excited to meet them one day. It’ll be great when we can all get in a room together.”
Not only were the actors supportive, but they also offered Corenswet advice on how to play Superman and his glasses-clad mortal counterpart Clark Kent.
“They really just conveyed to me an encouragement and a sense of, you know, have fun with it, which I think is Superman’s way of doing it, too,” he said.
Corenswet was not the only performer considered to take on Superman in the new film. Nicholas Hoult, who ended up as the movie’s Lex Luthor, also auditioned for the role. Writer/director James Gunn explained on “Jake’s Takes” (via Variety) why Hoult was cast as the film’s antagonist instead.
“A lot of time casting is finding the right person for the right role,” Gunn said. “Most people [auditioning] weren’t doing anything wrong, they just didn’t fit how I envisioned this Superman to be. Nicholas Hoult auditioned. He’s a great actor. Some might say he’s better than David in certain ways, but he just didn’t fit the role. That’s why he didn’t get that.”
Gunn also said that, ultimately, Hoult did not match as well with the filmmaker’s choice for Lois Lane, Rachel Brosnahan.
“One of the things we were doing was mixing and matching Lois and Clark actors when we were auditioning them. I wanted to make sure we had that chemistry right. The truth is Nicholas, who is a more controlled actor, had a really good chemistry with another Lois who was less controlled. They were opposites. David had better chemistry with Rachel because she’s a very controlled actor and David is a little bit more loose. That creates a different dynamism on screen,” Gunn said.
“Superman” hits theaters everywhere July 9. Watch the trailer below: