Fans are losing it after American actor David Corenswet’s Superman audition tape went public. The clip, uploaded by 21 Casting on YouTube, shows the actor in Clark Kent’s glasses and suit reading through an early draft of the famous interview scene, with his wife Julia Warner filling in as Lois Lane. The video has gone viral across social media, with many calling it undeniable proof that David was always meant to play the Man of Steel.
“You better be blown away by David Corenswet’s audition. This dude just oozes that Superman vibe,” one fan wrote. Another added, “You can always tell who went to Juilliard and who didn’t. Corenswet is such a theatre kid and it’s so great. He is channeling (Christopher) Reeve so much here it’s wild.” A third was even more direct: “Sorry to everyone else who auditioned because it couldn’t have been anyone else.”
The excitement online has only reaffirmed what film’s director James Gunn already knew. “From the very beginning, he was the guy to beat,” he had told GQ. Even though he auditioned over 400 hopefuls, James admitted Corenswet was always ahead. His pairing with Rachel Brosnahan sealed the deal.
“We mixed and matched these different actors and actresses to find out not only who was the best Clark and who was the best Lois, but who was the best ‘Clois,’ who was the best together. I do think that David was the best Clark, Rachel was the best Lois — but they also had the most chemistry together,” he had told Entertainment Weekly.
David had also revealed what helped his tape stand out. “James has told me that the one thing that surprised him, that meant something to him initially, was the humor that I brought to that first scene. I immediately read it in the terms of the movies that I grew up on, which are Singin’ in the Rain and His Girl Friday, and the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. Just the timing and the patter and the style of humor—and it turned out that that was what he was imagining,” he had said.
The actor’s debut as Superman has already crossed $331 million in the U.S., making it the highest-grossing Man of Steel film yet. Set three years into his superhero journey, the film shows Superman grappling with his first major loss while Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor works to dismantle his public image. David said he was drawn to playing the character at his most vulnerable.
“I had the same ideas about Superman, that he’s quite reserved and has ultimate control over his emotions and his reactions to things. I was very excited when James said all of that is true about Superman, but we get to meet him in this moment where those things are least true,” he had said.