Rachel Brosnahan On Seeing David Corenswet in the ‘Superman’ Suit For the First Time: ‘In That Moment, I Knew It Would be David’

Rachel Brosnahan knew David Corenswet was the perfect Superman even before he was cast as the Man of Steel. Brosnahan, who plays intrepid reporter and love interest Lois Lane in James Gunn’s “Superman,” spoke to Variety on the Critics Choice Awards red carpet about starring in the film and what it was like seeing co-star Corenswet don the iconic super-suit for the first time.

“It sort of happened twice,” Brosnahan said of seeing Corenswet dressed as Superman. “When we tested for the parts together, I was doing a play, so I had to get out very quickly. I was leaving and I knocked on the door, and he was standing there in a Superman suit, testing. I was just like, ‘Superman is in the building.’ It was wild. It was one of those electric moments that feel really rare. In that moment, I knew it would be David.”

For Brosnahan, playing Lois Lane means following in impressive footsteps: “I was a big ‘Smallville’ fan. I’d seen ‘Superman and Lois.’ I grew up on the Donner ‘Superman’ movies with Chris Reeves and Margot Kidder. I didn’t want to re-watch too close to when we started, because we wanted to make it our own, but we’re aware that we’re standing on the shoulders of giants.”

But according to Brosnahan, any anxieties about taking on such an iconic character were soothed by Gunn’s enthusiasm for the project: “The thing about this particular experience is that it was just so much fun.”

“From the test process forward, it always felt like it was being made with this really special spirit, and that’s James,” Brosnahan added. “That’s Peter Safran, this new interaction of DC. James is a nerd. He loves Superman, and what a dream to be a part of somebody else’s dream.”