Before he landed the role of the villain, Lex Luthor, Nicholas Hoult had his eye on playing the hero, Superman.
Nicholas Hoult and David Corenswet stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote their upcoming film, Superman, which was directed and written by James Gunn. The guest host, Diego Luna, asked them about their audition process.
“This is very awkward. Yes, I auditioned for Superman,” Hoult responded before Corenswet added that they auditioned on the “same day” and crossed each other.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed in 2023 that Hoult was one of the finalists for the role of Superman. However, the part went to Corenswet.
“I walked out of doing one of my audition scenes, and I was like, ‘Yeah, not bad. OK,’ And I walked around the corner, and there was lots of shadows on the studio lot and then one ray of sunshine,” Hoult recalled. “David had taken a seat in this ray of sunshine and was sitting there, charging up from the sun like Superman does, getting his power.”
The Nosferatu actor continued, “I walked over to say hello, and he stood up, and I was like, ‘Goddamn, he’s about an inch taller than me. Look at his hair. Look at his jawline.’ And then he started speaking, and I shook his hand, and I was like, ‘His hands are a bit bigger than me.’ And then he spoke, and I was like, ‘Oh, his voice is a little bit deeper too.’ And in that moment, whilst we were shaking hands, I was like, ‘I’d be happy if this guy was Superman. I was like, ‘You’re perfect for it.’”
Corenswet added that he “admired Nick as an actor for a long time” and that getting to meet him when they were “both dressed as Clark Kent” was “a bit weird” but “wonderful.” However, he said, “The day that I found out that he had agreed to play Lex Luthor, I thought, ‘This may be the best thing that happens to this film because a superhero is only as interesting as their villain.’”
Superman, which also stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, hits theaters July 11.
