In a year where the DC Universe rebuilt its foundation and won back audiences worldwide, David Corenswet has emerged as its quiet center of gravity. As ‘Superman’ was flying at the box office and receiving rave reviews, another form of discussion was happening behind the scenes, one that fans could only peep through a short, out-of-context viral video on the set of the movie.
During Variety’s Actors on Actors with Jonathan Bailey, the subject changed to curiosity when Bailey mentioned the clip that had taken over social media earlier in the year. Now, finally, Corenswet is addressing that moment.
“It Wasn’t A Fight, It Was Creation”: David Corenswet On His Heated Exchange With James Gunn
The video had captured David Corenswet and director James Gunn in what appeared to be a heated exchange. This prompted everything from think-pieces to hot takes about tension on the Superman set. Bailey did not tiptoe about it. He referred to it as an extraordinary conversation, the type of conversation actors usually have but are never caught on camera.
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And he praised it for something unusual in big franchise filmmaking: vulnerability. “There should be tension, but not friction,” Bailey told him. “And that’s exactly what that conversation showed.” Corenswet lit up at the phrase. “Tension without friction,” he repeated, almost as if saving it for later. “Because friction creates unnecessary heat.”
To a lot of people, that single line was the answer to all the questions that the viral clip failed to answer. The two were not fighting; they were creating. Corenswet said he felt “lucky” that moment was documented at all. “For me, it does happen all the time,” he said. “Everything from people saying, ‘That’s what always happens,’ all the way to, ‘What a terrible working environment.’ And neither is true. It’s just work. It’s collaboration.”
He pointed out that Gunn was tireless, and he rarely lost his temper. For Corenswet, such discussions were not ego wars; they were chances. “If I’m speaking up, at my boldest, it’s because I think I might see something he doesn’t see, something he might actually value.” He didn’t want permission. He wanted a partnership. And Gunn, he says, welcomed it.
Corenswet Had To Fight To Keep A Small But Meaningful ‘Superman’ Moment
As the discussion grew more intense, Corenswet disclosed the now-notorious incident at the heart of one of his largest points of disagreement with Gunn. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a stunt or accuracy thing. It was over a very human moment. Jonathan Bailey raised the subject of the intimate flying kiss between Superman and Lois Lane, a scene that viewers loved.
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One very small moment, which critics pointed to, is the small involuntary laugh that Clark Kent utters when Lois tells him, I love you too. It felt real, human, and warm. However, what’s shocking is that it nearly didn’t survive. Corenswet said that Gunn had at first thought the moment had to remain solemn. But Corenswet didn’t agree and trusted his instinct. “The whole point is, I know that you love me,” Corenswet told Gunn at the time. “That chuckle is true.”
That was not a simple line reading; it was his interpretation of Clark. And Corenswet carried that point. “He was right about 90% of everything,” he admitted, laughing at himself. “But on that one, the chuckle was a very truthful thing.” The coziness that viewers experienced in that scene was Corenswet’s contribution. One which he had to defend.
