James Gunn’s Superman is about to hit the theaters, and fans are excited to see David Corenswet’s iteration of the character. The actor will follow in the footsteps of Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill to play the titular role in the DCU. While the odds were stacked against him earlier, Corenswet has proved himself to be amazing in the role from the promotional materials.
Before he put on the Superman suit, Corenswet appeared in a bunch of movies like Pearl and Look Both Ways and TV shows like Lady in the Lake. He played lead roles in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix shows, Hollywood and The Politician. He also starred in the HBO limited series, We Own This City, from the writers and executive producers of The Wire.
5 movies David Corenswet appeared in before taking on the Superman role
David Corenswet made his on-screen debut with the 2011 short film Following Chase. He also wrote the screenplay for the film, which was directed by Greg Koorhan. His debut feature film came in 2018, when he starred as Michael Lawson in Affairs of State. It appears that Superman is his first major leading role since appearing in that film.
Besides his five notable appearances listed below, he also appeared in a small role in Jenny Slate’s The Sunlit Night. He is set to appear in the biographical sports film based on football player John Tuggle in Mr. Irrelevant.
5. Affairs of State (2018)
David Corenswet makes his film debut as the lead in this political drama, also featuring Mimi Rogers, Thora Birch, David James Elliot, Grace Victoria Cox, and Adrian Grenier. In Affairs of State, he plays Michael Lawson, a young congressional aide who becomes entangled with the wife of his boss, the Congressman. Yes, our Superman star romanced Tom Cruise’s ex-wife in this film!
Things get more complicated when he falls for their young daughter. The film also explores his interesting relationship with his activist housemate. Get ready to watch Corenswet in the unlikeable antihero role, where he crosses a lot of moral boundaries to climb the political ladder. It came out the same year that he criticized Frank Underwood while appearing in a small guest role in House of Cards.
Affairs of State is now available for streaming on The Roku Channel and Plex.
4. Look Both Ways (2022)
Netflix’s unoriginal film doesn’t offer much for David Corenswet to work with. The film, Look Both Ways, features Riverdale star Lili Reinhart in the lead role as Natalie Bennett. When her casual fling with aspiring musician Gabe sends her into a frenzy with a pregnancy test, the film splits into two parallel worlds based on the result of the test. Oh, hello, Sliding Doors?!
Corenswet appears in the universe where the result is negative, and she is childless. She plays her too nice of a boyfriend, Jake, who has to move away to Nova Scotia to pursue his dream. But hey, he returns to Natalie’s life by the climax of the film, and they get back together. Although the film is dull, Corenswet’s effortless chemistry with Reinhart can be a good pastime.
Look Both Ways is now available for streaming on Netflix.
3. Pearl (2022)
David Corenswet appears in this second installment of Ti West’s X film series. Pearl, a prequel to X, serves as an origin story for the titular villain. The story revolves around Mia Goth‘s character aspiring to become an actress while dealing with her violent tendencies. Corenswet is the movie projectionist in town, who encourages her to leave her family and pursue her dreams.
However, he doesn’t have the most noble of intentions. Corenswet comes off as a sleazy character who has no real interest in Pearl other than s*x. Once he learns of her mental illness, his dread for Pearl comes to the surface. With the slasher genre of the film, we can all guess his character’s fate. The future Clark Kent dies a gruesome death at the hands of Pearl.
Pearl is now available for streaming on Max.
2. Twisters (2024)
Twisters is another film where David Corenswet plays the bad guy. From the beginning of the film, he is this cynical partner of Anthony Ramos’ Javi. We don’t like him when he dismissively calls Glen Powell‘s character, “A hillbilly with a YouTube channel.” He aligns with the other bad guys in the film and sells out his team.
It was during the filming of Twisters that Corenswet’s Superman casting announcement came. There is a short video of the film’s cast and crew celebrating the news. Director Lee Isaac Chung told THR that he saw a bit of Superman in the actor during one scene in the film. He shared that his character, Scott, “turned to the camera really angry and ripped his shirt off.” For Chung, it was kind of a meta moment.
Twisters is now available for streaming on Prime Video.
1. The Greatest Hits (2024)
In The Greatest Hits, David Corenswet played Max, the deceased boyfriend of the film’s protagonist, Harriet, played by Lucy Boynton. Harriet can travel back in time whenever she hears a song associated with Max. In her time travel expeditions, she tries to save Max’s life multiple times. In the real world, she meets with David Park in her grief support group and hits it off with him.
With some music worthy of your playlists and an emotional storyline that slowly gets to you, The Greatest Hits is a nice, cozy watch. However, Corenswet’s character is just there to move Harriet’s story forward. And it is kind of a repetition of what he did in Netflix’s The Politician. Nevertheless, it’s a way better watch than Look Both Ways when it comes to Corenswet’s romantic outings.
The Greatest Hits is now available for streaming on Hulu.
4 TV Shows of Superman actor David Corenswet
David Corenswet’s debut show was a sketch-comedy web series, Moe & Jerryweather, that he co-wrote, produced, and acted in with Adam Langdon. He appeared as a guest star in a string of shows, including Elementary, Instinct, and House of Cards. He will appear as Christopher Skye in the upcoming FX show, The Answers (via Deadline). Here are four of his popular TV show roles:
4. Lady in the Lake (2024)
In the 1960s Baltimore-set murder mystery, David Corenswet truly lived any Star Wars fan’s dream. He gets to romance Queen Padmé herself in this show, even though his role is very limited. He plays Allan Durst, the ex-boyfriend of Natalie Portman‘s Maddie Schwartz. Corenswet appears in three different time periods, and hence three different looks in the series.
While his and Portman’s portrayals as teenagers looked bad on screen, his appearance in his 30s and 40s looked decent. The angry, bearded guy didn’t look anything like the Man of Steel. Portman and Moses Ingram played the leads in the show, delivering some gripping performances. However, the execution of the seven-episode series had significant flaws.
Lady in the Lake is now available for streaming on AppleTV+.
3. The Politician (2019)
Not really a spoiler, but David Corenswet’s River Barkley dies in the first episode of The Politician. But don’t worry! He will stick around for eleven episodes spread throughout two seasons of the show. The Politician marked Corenswet’s first collaboration with Ryan Murphy. In one of his breakout roles, he is phenomenal as the rival and former lover of the show’s protagonist, Payton Hobart, played by Ben Platt.
Platt’s character is overtly ambitious (he wants to become the U.S. President), and Corenswet’s character keeps him grounded during most of the show. During a scene, Platt actually tells him that he looks like Superman. Corenswet delivers a great performance in the show that also features Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Lange, and Bette Midler.
The Politician is now available for streaming on Netflix.
2. Hollywood (2020)
David Corenswet reunited with Ryan Murphy for another Netflix show, Hollywood. It deals with the movie industry in an alternate history, where the industry was more accepting of diverse actors. Yes, even before the Civil Rights Movement! Corenswet, who was also an executive producer, played the lead role of Jack Castello, a World War veteran and aspiring actor.
The series had an ensemble cast, portraying characters who openly embraced their identity. Murphy intended to conquer racism and homophobia in 1940s Hollywood on the screen. Corenswet’s Jack Castello sweats to catch a break, even working at a gas station, which is actually a front for a gigolo service. This side hustle means that we get to see some R-rated scenes from our Superman.
Hollywood is now available for streaming on Netflix.
1. We Own This City (2022)
Did we already mention that the writers of The Wire were behind this HBO crime drama miniseries? It is based on journalist Justin Fenton’s book of the same name, which details one of the most startling police corruption scandals in American history. The focus of the show is on Jon Bernthal‘s Sergeant Wayne Jenkins and the corruption surrounding his Gun Trace Task Force.
David Corenswet appears as Officer David McDougall with the Harford County Narcotics Task Force, who looks into the corruption case. Before Superman, it would be nice for Corenswet’s fans to catch him in an upright guy role. Corenswet delivers a strong performance, even though it is an out-and-out Jon Bernthal show.
We Own This City is now available for streaming on Max.
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