The superhero genre continue to be wildly popular, and fans have recently been treated to a new shared universe with the DCU. The first slate of projects is titled Gods and Monsters, and James Gunn's Superman (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) was the first movie installment. David Corenswet recently explained why he didn't "do the dehydrating thing" when getting into shape for the role... and then got some serious sass from Nicholas Hoult.
The Superman cast list was led by these two actors, who played enemies but actually seem to get along great. David Corenswet put on weight to play Superman, but he doesn't have the crazy ripped appearance of other actors like Chris Hemsworth or Kraven's Aaron Taylor-Johnson. While appearing on BBC Radio 1 (via Twitter) the Hollywood actor spoke about the vision of his hero's physique, stating:
Our version of Superman is much more the sort of farm boy build... We didn't do the whole dehydrating thing. We figured it was more important for Superman to have a lovely outlook and personality than have shredded bits.
There you have it. While Corenswet still ate a ton of carbs in order go gain bulky muscle for Superman, he wasn't trying to be totally shredded and lean. He wanted to look like a farm boy, rather than a professional body builder. And that stands in stark juxtaposition with his peers within the genre.
Like many other hero actors, the star of The Politician (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription) did the work to look powerful as Superman. But he didn't have to try and dehydrate his body to be lean enough to cut glass with his abs.
Of course, Hoult was sure to pull a Lex Luthor and poke fun at his Superman co-star. He responded to Corenswet's comments by saying:
You didn't have a lovely outlook and personality. You're just hot, god damnit.
I mean, he's not wrong. Corenswet truly looks incredible as both Superman and Clark Kent. And while he did bring the character's hopeful and kind personality to the screen, you can't deny that the 32 year-old actor also looked the part. Per Hoult's comments, he's "just hot."
This give and take is just the latest example of these two actors' delightful friendship. Nicholas Hoult also spoke about his fondest memory of Corenswet, where the Superman actor was parenting his infant in the full costume and cape. Luckily they'll be able to work together on the upcoming DC movie Superman: Man of Tomorrow, which has already been green lit and written.
Superman is on HBO Max now and Man of Tomorrow is expected to hit theaters on July 9, 2027. For now, the next DC movie hitting theaters is Supergirl on June 26th as part of the 2026 movie release list.
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