David Corenswet made his debut as Clark Kent in James Gunn's Superman. The Pearl star is often cited as one of the parts of the movie, and for good reason. He perfectly embodied the Man of Steel, depicting him as imposing and strong, but still charming and kidnhearted. The Big Blue Boy Scout has been portrayed by many different performers throughout the years, but Corenswet positioned himself as one of the best.
A fun fact about Corenswet is that he is a classically trained actor from Juilliard, one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the United States. It also happens to be the alma mater of another Superman actor: Christopher Reeve. Recently, Corenswet had the opportunity to return to his school to provide guidance to the next generation of performers.
The official Juilliard Instagram account posted pictures of Corenswet at the school, where he interacted with students and talked about his life post-Juilliard:
The post was captioned with the following: "A full-circle moment at Juilliard! Alum David Corenswet (Group 45) visited campus to connect with current drama students and reflect on his Juilliard journey and life after graduation."
Reaching success in the arts is not an easy fit, so it must have been special for Corenswet to return to his alma mater, now with massive blockbuster like Superman under his mantle. The actor has also been vocal about his fondness for his former school. During an interview with Collider, the actor revealed that his training at Juilliard played a pivotal role in both his audition process for Superman, as well for filming the movie once he got the role:
"I was astonished. I did not expect it at the screen test to feel, multiple times, that my training at Juilliard had perfectly prepared me for the screen test specifically, and then the role in general. I think there's a lot at acting school that's really cool and fun, but you sort of think once you're out in the world, you're not going to use a lot. It's sort of like high school trigonometry. You're like, 'Am I really going to use this?' But then [...] You do!"
Corenswet then delved into what the audition process for the James Gunn-directed feature was like, explaining that it felt similar to rehearsing a play, which made him feel right at home, given his formal training in the field: "James [Gunn] immediately made working on the screen test scene feel like we were going to work, not like we were auditioning. And the work felt much more like rehearsing a play than it did like shooting a movie. So, I immediately thought, 'Well, that's what I trained for, rehearsing a play.' I did a lot of that in school."
He also revealed that part of his screen test involved wire work. Though he had never done it before, the movement lessons he took at Juilliard allowed him to be prepared for the challenge:
"Then, when we got up on wires for the stunt evaluation, it's something I had never done before, but the challenge there was all about having isometric control over your body and your limbs, while keeping a relaxed and hopefully somewhat charming facial expression, although not always. [...] So, again, I thought back to Moni Yakim's movement classes at Juilliard, where you'd be lying on the floor and he would say, 'And the right leg up, and down, and up and down!'"
David Corenswet will return as the Last Son of Krypton in Man of Tomorrow, flying into theaters on July 9, 2027. Superman is streaming on HBO Max.
What did you think about these pictures? What has been your favorite performance from David Corenswet so far? Drop your thoughts in the comments.