It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Hollywood’s next romantic leading man?!
Jewish actor David Corenswet isn’t an entertainment industry newcomer. He portrayed the extremely popular River Barkley in “The Politician,” the ill-fated projectionist in “Pearl” and Allan Durst, father of disappeared girl Tessie, in “Lady in the Lake.” But following the release of “Superman” this summer, things feel a bit different for Corenswet.
As the Man of Steel, Corenswet has stepped into the cape of (arguably) the most famous superhero of all time — and according to most reviews, he stepped up to the challenge. “David Corenswet makes an outstanding Superman/Clark Kent,” The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic wrote, “his performance loaded with self-irony, charm and poignant vulnerability as he wrestles with doubts as to whether his mission to do good and protect humankind was based on a lie.” Meanwhile, People offered “David Corenswet Soars” and IndieWire praised him as “the best [Clark Kent/Superman] we’ve ever had.”
It feels like a moment of kinetic energy for the 32-year-old performer. Now that he’s proven himself as a superhero, action star, romantic lead and most importantly for studios, a box office hit, it begs the question: Is David Corenswet Hollywood’s next leading man? All signs point to yes.
Corenswet certainly has the looks for it. His tall, dark and handsome (and muscular) physique is deliciously and classically Hollywood. So are his astronomical levels of charm, which fans are raving over online. It also certainly helps that those same fans are begging to see Corenswet in more, from a screwball comedy in the vein of “What’s Up, Doc?” to a fancast remake of “Singin’ In the Rain” opposite Rachel Zegler and Mike Faist to a Broadway musical to a rom-com adapted from an Emily Henry novel. Even Emily Henry herself said in an Instagram comment that she would be “in” if Corenswet were onboard to play Charlie Lastra in an adaption of her book “Book Lovers.”
Essentially this moment in Corenswet’s career was summed up perfectly by “Superman” director James Gunn in a recent New York Times profile. “I think he’s the biggest movie star in the world,” Gunn explained. “I just don’t think people know it yet.”
Similar to Timothée Chalamet’s or Jake Gyllenhaal’s Hollywood breakthroughs, it feels particularly momentous to have David Corenswet, a Jewish man, become an unquestionable heartthrob. As writer Lana Schwartz wrote for Hey Alma in 2021, “Jewish men are almost exclusively seen as nebbishy, neurotic dudes who wear bad outfits and yell at you over small misunderstandings, a depiction nurtured and reinforced by media.” To have a popular Jewish leading man whose entire being disputes that idea outright is particularly sweet.
And even sweeter is that Corenswet’s Jewish heritage clearly means something to him. His interfaith wedding was co-officiated by a rabbi under a chuppah and his family dog is named Ira, apparently after Jewish lyricist Ira Gershwin.
At the moment, Corenswet’s only confirmed next project is a sports biopic called “Mr. Irrelevant.” So hurry up, Hollywood. Make all our David Corenswet leading man dreams come true.
