How did Superman first enter David Corenswet’s life? Here's all about it

Superman star David Corenswet recently revealed his introduction to the DC superhero. During an interview with the Fotogramas magazine, he said,

“My parents didn’t allow us to watch TV after hours, so I’d use the time between getting home from school & them coming back from work to watch as many ‘Smallville’ episodes as I could."

Corenswet spoke highly of The CW television series Smallville, which ran for ten seasons between 2001 and 2011. It starred Tom Welling as the son of Krypton. Corenswet fondly recalled his memories of watching the show as a kid and trying to catch as many episodes as he could. That is likely how the DC hero entered Corenswet’s life.

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Nearly fifteen years after the show’s conclusion, Corenswet is taking over the mantle in the universe now helmed by James Gunn. He understands the weight of playing the Superman and respects those who came before him, from Welling to Cavill. It’s not the first time Corenswet has highlighted Welling’s portrayal in Smallville.

David Corenswet speaks about the comparisons to previous Superman stars

David Corenswet is all set to lead the DC cinematic universe in a new creative direction with writer-director James Gunn’s vision. It marks the first DCU chapter since Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ended the DCEU in 2023. It’s also the first time Corenswet will be seen playing the role.

As with any role this popular, comparisons were inevitable. So, after Corenswet was officially announced as the next Superman, fans started drawing parallels to the older portrayals of the character. One of them was Tom Welling from Smallville. That’s why, during a conversation with Entertainment Weekly in June 2025, Corenswet addressed them. He told the publication,

"I've also got a lot of physical comparisons to Tom Welling, who played Superman and Clark Kent on Smallville. When I was growing up, he was the Superman who was on TV every week. I think, to one extent or another, all of the Superman actors…There's some Venn diagram of our physical characteristics, which makes sense for a superhero who is classically the one who doesn't wear a mask."

Besides Welling, fans also started taking notice of Corenswet’s striking resemblance to Henry Cavill, who portrayed the hero in Zack Snyder’s DC projects. It started happening around the time Corenswet starred in his breakthrough role in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series The Politician. In line with that, he spoke with EW in November 2019:

"It came to my attention before the internet got a hold of me. But my pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman. I would love to see somebody do an upbeat, throwback [take on Superman]. I love the Henry Cavill dark and gritty take, but I would love to see the next one be very bright and optimistic," Corenswet told EW.

Corenswet’s words are in sync with Gunn’s vision behind Superman. In April 2023, Gunn told Variety,

“The next Superman has to be someone who has all the humanity that Superman has but he’s also an alien. It’s gotta be somebody who has the kindness and the compassion that Superman has and be somebody who you want to give a hug.”