James Gunn Says Nicholas Hoult Wasn’t Cast as Superman Because He’s a “More Controlled Actor” While David Corenswet Is “Loose”

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It’s widely known that Nicholas Hoult auditioned to be James Gunn’s new Superman, and the director is revealing why he lost out on the legendary part.

During a recent appearance on Jake Hamilton’s Jake Takes, Gunn admitted that the Nosferatu star is “a great actor” but he merely “didn’t fit the role” of Clark Kent. The Guardians of the Galaxy director thought he was a bit too “controlled” for the part as opposed to David Corenswet.

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“You know, Nick Hoult auditioned [for Superman]. He’s a great actor. I mean, some might say he’s better than David in certain ways, but he just didn’t fit the role, and that’s why he didn’t get that,” Gunn said. “As much as you can transform yourself as a person, Nick was just more controlled.”

The DC Studios boss further explained that Hoult took part in chemistry tests with other actresses who were up for the role of Lois Lane.

“One of the things that we were also doing was mixing and matching Lois’ and Clark’s when we were auditioning them, and so I wanted to make sure that we had that chemistry right,” he said. “And the truth is, Nick, who is a more controlled actor, had really good chemistry with another Lois that was less controlled, so they were opposites.”

Ultimately, he settled on casting Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois because of their opposite on-screen chemistry. Gunn clarified, “David had better chemistry with Rachel [Brosnahan] because she’s a very controlled actor, and David is a little bit more, you know, loose, and that creates a different type of dynamism on-screen.”

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It was previously reported by THR that Hoult was in talks to star in the next Superman. However, he ultimately joined Gunn’s new DC universe as villain Lex Luthor.

Of their time going for the role, Hoult and Corenswet recalled when they crossed paths on-set while auditioning for the film on the same day during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

“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 said. “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… 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.’”

Earlier in the interview, Hamilton asked Gunn what other actors who were up for the part lacked in comparison to the Twisters star. “A lot of times casting is finding the right person for the right role,” he said. “So, most people weren’t doing anything wrong; they just didn’t fit how I envisioned this Superman to be.”

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