David Corenswet Reveals What Cavill Told Him About Superman

Speaking at the film's London premiere on July 3, Corenswet told Heart that he'd exchanged letters with Henry Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin, both of whom had some kind words — and some low-pressure advice.

"I had the pleasure of exchanging letters with two previous Supermans — Henry Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin," Corenswet said. "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."

As for what they told him?

"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."

Corenswet isn't the only actor who was in the running for the role. Nicholas Hoult, now playing Lex Luthor in the same film, also auditioned to play Superman himself.

Director James Gunn explained the casting decision in an interview with Jake's Takes (via Variety):

"A lot of time casting is finding the right person for the right role. 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 went on to explain that chemistry with Lois Lane — played by Rachel Brosnahan — played a big part in the decision:

"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."