David Corenswet, the new Man of Steel in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman, recently appeared on the Manly Things (sort of) podcast to talk about the physical transformation he underwent for the role.
During the podcast, Corenswet revealed how his journey to gain weight and muscle for the Superman role was both exciting and challenging, something he has undertaken for a long time.
While the actor had always been tall, standing at 6’4″, he often felt struggled with the feeling of being too thin. This fueled his desire to bulk up, especially when the opportunity to portray Superman arose.
“Nobody wants to date a string bean”
Corenswet recalled a moment from high school that shaped his perspective on body image.
“I always wanted to be bigger. A girl I went to high school with once said, not to me but in front of me, and I definitely heard it. She was like, ‘Look man, nobody wants to date a string bean.’ I was like, ‘I am the string bean,'” he shared. “And it’s not true, lots of people love dating string beans. But I did… I felt I always felt skinny and I always felt like I couldn’t fill out a t-shirt, and I couldn’t quite have the physical presence that I wanted to have.”
At 6’4″, Corenswet admitted that while he reached his full height early on, his weight lagged behind. “I was 6’4″ a lot sooner than I was 200 lbs. I was probably 6’4″ and 165 at some point. Yeah, that’s skinny,” he said.
Superman role the perfect opportunity
Like many who hit the gym without a strict plan, he found his progress slow. “Every two or three years, I would jump up five pounds, and then I was like, ‘Oh, it’s easy to be 170,’ and, ‘Now I can be 175.’ Then I plateaued around 190,” he said.
When the role of Superman came along, Corenswet saw it as the perfect opportunity to push his body further.
“I thought I’d be happy at 190, but I wasn’t. I wanted to push it,” he explained. “So, getting to bulk up for Superman… I was looking for an excuse to really throw on some weight and see what I could do. I thought 210 was going to make me happy, and then I got up to 238. 238 was the peak.”
238lbs was his heaviest weight
While 238 pounds became his heaviest weight, Corenswet acknowledged that this transformation didn’t come without challenges.
“I wasn’t 238 when we started shooting. I was 238 at my max, that was crazy,” he said, reflecting on a now-famous photo of him from a Superman reading session.
“I didn’t fit into any of my pants”
“I put on one of those crew neck sweatshirts. Oh, Champion. Champion, and I put on one of those sweatshirts, and I was like an XL or double XL, and I was like, ‘I fill this out, this is amazing.’ I didn’t fit into any of my pants.”
Though bulking up quickly helped him achieve the desired physique, it wasn’t without its downsides.
“It didn’t feel great because I did it so quickly that my body hadn’t adjusted to the extra weight,” he explained. “I was still trying to eat a lot, but that was at the peak of my bulk, and then I slowly lost weight before we started shooting. I started shooting at about 228, 230. I knew that I wanted this to be my excuse to see what it felt like to gain essentially as much weight as I could.”
Superman flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.
