David Corenswet wants to be a Superman you can count on

Even before he became the linchpin of a new superhero universe, David Corenswet took great pride in being reliable.

- Kyle Buchanan

It is a reputation the American has cultivated since he was a child actor, when he once delivered his lines so efficiently during a commercial shoot that the crew got to go home early.

“I want people to feel that every day my name is on the call sheet is going to be a better day - a little bit of an easier day, and maybe a more fulfilling day,” he said.

Now, Corenswet's reliability will be put to its ultimate test. The 32-year-old is playing the iconic title character in James Gunn’s Superman reboot, which is showing in cinemas and has earned US$220 million (S$282 million) at the global box office.

If this latest iteration is the foundation for the American filmmaker and DC Studios head’s ambitious, years-long plan to revitalise DC, then Corenswet is its cornerstone, and his take on the character could not be more different from the moody brute Henry Cavill played in the Superman films of 2013 to 2017.

Buoyant and good-natured, Corenswet's version sees the best in everyone, winces at bad language (he’s more likely to exclaim, “Golly!” or “What the hey, dude!”), and is so devoted to doing the right thing that in one chaotic action scene, he even swoops in to save a poor squirrel from being crushed.

But this is no boring Boy Scout. Corenswet brings plenty of charm and humour to his portrayal and, during tetchy tete-a-tetes between Superman and his girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), shows just how troubled the character can become when his unsolicited do-gooding has real-world repercussions.

“Oftentimes Superman, in media, has been just this perfect blank slate without a personality,” Gunn said. “And that’s not David's Superman at all.”