David Corenswet

Beginnings (2002–2018)

As a child actor, Corenswet appeared in numerous professional theater productions, including the Arden Theatre's 2002 production^[17] of Arthur Miller's All My Sons,^[18] the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival's 2003 production of Macbeth,^[19] the Walnut Street Theatre's 2003 production of La Vie En Bleu,^[20][19] and the People's Light and Theatre Company's 2004 production of The Forgiving Harvest,^[21][22] among others.^[17] Corenswet wrote the screenplay for and acted in Following Chase (2011), directed by Greg Koorhan.^[23] He next co-wrote, produced, and starred in a two-season sketch-comedy web series, Moe & Jerryweather (2014–2016) along with fellow Juilliard grad Adam Langdon.^[24] In 2016, director Rob Reiner cast Corenswet as a co-lead in his planned television series, The Tap, set at Yale College in 1969. Corenswet played a student.^[25] USA Network ordered the pilot episode,^[26] which was filmed in 2017, but declined to pick up the series.^[27]

In Corenswet's first film role after graduating from Juilliard, he starred as Michael Lawson in Affairs of State (2018), a political thriller. The film also stars Thora Birch, Mimi Rogers, and Adrian Grenier. Los Angeles Times described the film as "well-acted".^[28] Corenswet then appeared in several guest-star roles, including in House of Cards,^[29] Elementary, and Instinct.^[24]

Rising popularity (2019–present)

In Netflix's The Politician (2019–2020), directed by Ryan Murphy, he portrayed River Barkley, the lover and high-school political rival of Payton Hobart (Ben Platt).^[30] Vanity Fair described River as a "wealthy, sporty, straight-A student".^[31][32][33] Corenswet next starred as Jack Castello^[34][35] in Hollywood (2020), a Netflix limited series about the post-World War II film business in Los Angeles.^[36] The project reunited him with Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the creators of The Politician. Corenswet was also an executive producer on the series.^[37] Men's Health magazine praised Corenswet's performance as that of a "breakout lead".^[38] IndieWire called it "another star-proving turn from David Corenswet."^[39]

In We Own This City (2022), a fact-based^[40] HBO limited series from The Wire's writers and executive producers David Simon and George Pelecanos, Corenswet co-starred as the veteran police investigator David McDougall, whose work in 2016 helped uncover years of corruption in the Gun Trace Task Force of the Baltimore police department.^[41][42] Also in 2022, Corenswet co-starred as Jake in Look Both Ways, a Netflix original romantic comedy-drama film.^[43] Corenswet then co-starred as The Projectionist in Pearl, a feature film directed by Ti West and released in theaters by A24 in 2022.^[44][45]

In 2024, Corenswet co-starred with Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min, and Austin Crute in The Greatest Hits, a film for Searchlight Pictures written, directed, and produced by Ned Benson.^[46] Described as a "musical time travel romance," the film premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival.^[47][48] Also in 2024, Corenswet played Scott, a member of a team of tornado chasers, in Twisters, a disaster film.^[49] Corenswet also appeared alongside Natalie Portman in the Apple TV+ series Lady in the Lake, directed by Alma Har'el.^[50]

In a November 2019 interview, he expressed interest in portraying Superman and hoped to eventually see a bright and optimistic version of the character, while also praising the dark and gritty tone in Man of Steel (2013).^[51] Corenswet portrayed the male lead in a pilot from 20th Television, filmed in January and February 2023: The Answers, FX's adaptation of Catherine Lacey's novel of same name. His character, Christopher Skye, is a charismatic but troubled movie star involved in an enigmatic, futuristic dating experiment.^[52] In June 2023, Corenswet was cast as the titular superhero in the DC Studios film Superman by director James Gunn.^[53] The first live-action film in the DC Universe (DCU), it was released in theaters in July 2025 and received widespread critical praise.^[54][55] He will reprise the role in the upcoming 2026 film, Supergirl, and the upcoming 2027 film, Man of Tomorrow.^[56] In October 2024, Corenswet was cast in Jonathan Levine's as-yet-untitled upcoming film as football player John Tuggle, the last player chosen in the 1983 NFL draft.^[57]

Film

Television

Theatre