David Corenswet's 'GQ' Superman Photoshoot Will Have You Giggling & Kicking Your Feet

David Corenswet really understands Clark Kent.

You might recognize David Corenswet from Twisters or Netflix's Look Both Ways with Lili Reinhart and Danny Ramirez, but Superman is a huge step forward for the actor. He has the same kind of Americana 90s magnetism that Tom Welling brought to the hero in Warner Bros. TV's Smallville, with equal parts upbeat energy, hopefulness, and vulnerability.

“There are things you have to hit about Superman that are indelible to the character,” David tells GQ. “The things we’re aiming for are the things that are truest and therefore most interesting about Superman, the things that set him apart from other heroes. The fact that he is essentially free from angst and turmoil internally."

"He’s a good guy who had a great upbringing, loving parents, has wonderful relationships with his friends, and a romantic relationship, and loves what he does," he continues. "Metropolis is a wonderful, cosmopolitan almost utopia—it just happens to get invaded by Kaijus and other monsters and whatnot every now and then.”

James Gunn says David Corenswet was "the guy to beat."

In short, David Corenswet really makes you believe his Superman cares about the world. "He’s got this Old Hollywood persona which makes him feel even more relevant and timely to this version of Superman and Clark," Nicholas Holt says. "It’s his charisma, his idiosyncrasies. He is what he idolizes, that silver screen era of acting and musicals.”

“From the very beginning, he was the guy to beat, frankly,” director James Gunn adds. "The easy part is, he looks like Superman. But the fact that David is a theater kid that’s so athletic is even weirder. I don’t know if anybody I’ve worked with before would’ve been able to do this stuff, besides maybe Chris Pratt.”

David also has a sort of blunt, dry, yet uncynical humor where every joke he makes sounds half serious (I already know that as someone with a chronically-online humor, his request to be turned into a Lego will become part of my vernacular). Oh, as briefly mentioned, he's also an athletic, Star Wars-loving, super nerdy theatre kid. IRL Troy Bolton, is that you?

Superman Is A Comic Book Movie — Is It Also A Romance?

Superman might be a comic book movie through and through, but the scene I mentioned at the very beginning that had me giggling (when Clark and Lois are at her apartment) crackles with so much chemistry, that it has internet users everywhere fancasting David Corenswet in Emily Henry movies, and joking that Superman is this year's Challengers.

“To me, Superman has always been a love story," Rachel Brosnahan (who plays Lois) says in the GQ story. "Superman is an alien who loves humans and is curious about them—and what brings out our humanity better than getting unexpectedly knocked off your —ss by love?”

That's not to say Lois is a damsel in distress by any stretch of the imagination. She's smart and vibrant and dedicated all on her own. In fact, she's off with the Daily Planet team for so much of the plot, my biggest critique of the movie is that I wanted Lois and Clark to have even more scenes together.

David Corenswet IS Superman.

But that's kind of how I feel about David's Clark Kent in general. Every scene he shares with a costar is one you can't look away from. Because David really is Superman.

“Ultimately, what I landed on for myself was, if this is the only role I get to play for the rest of my life, and that means whether I get to play it once or get to play it 10 times, would I still say yes?" the actor asks GQ. "The answer was yes.”