{"id":335284,"date":"2025-12-07T15:46:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T15:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/335284\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T15:46:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T15:46:15","slug":"jonathan-bailey-david-corenswet-on-wicked-superman-and-sexiest-man-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/335284\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Bailey, David Corenswet on Wicked, Superman and ‘Sexiest Man Alive’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve been plugged into some sort of matrix,\u201d Jonathan Bailey<\/a> says to David Corenswet<\/a>. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve been slowly working on the hardware over the years, but the software has just been accidentally upgraded exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d star is enjoying his newfound fame, but he\u2019s struggling to make sense of it. He shares that feeling with Corenswet, who ushered in a new era of superhero movies earlier this year with \u201cSuperman<\/a>,\u201d the summer blockbuster directed by DC Studios co-chief James Gunn. Bailey, 37, and Corenswet, 32, both began acting as children of the theater and expected to have humble careers. Instead, they\u2019ve become heartthrobs \u2014 with Corenswet\u2019s dark hair and strong jaw earning him Clark Kent comparisons years before he booked the role and Bailey recently being crowned as People\u2019s first openly gay Sexiest Man Alive \u2014 at the center of box office smashes. But as they marvel at their own successes and each other\u2019s, their most profound similarity isn\u2019t their career trajectories. It\u2019s their earnestness.<\/p>\n

\n\tDavid Corenswet: I said to James Gunn, \u201cIf you wanted somebody cool, you should have hired somebody else.\u201d And he was like, \u201cOh, believe me. I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJonathan Bailey: That\u2019s a really good place to start. What is cool these days?<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Not caring. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what happens, because I\u2019m cool.\u201d That\u2019s what cool is, and that\u2019s why I reject it outright.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: But I think you\u2019re cool. Because you care. \u201cSuperman\u201d felt like a very honest version of integrity, and therefore values, and therefore cool. The hero was fallible and sees the world in a different way. The thought processes were very scientific.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Scientific curiosity does take a willingness to look a little foolish by trying really hard. James is that way in life, and especially with his movies.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: When you get the call for \u201cSuperman\u201d \u2014 presumably no one\u2019s ever mentioned that to you before in your life, because that was a wild casting against type \u2014 must\u2019ve been crazy.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Well, when I got the audition, I was standing on a ladder changing a light fixture. My agent said, \u201cWe think you know what this is about.\u201d I said, \u201cIs it \u2018Top Gun 3\u2019? What am I waiting for?\u201d I really was not expecting it, although I think other people thought that I should be expecting it. Just statistically speaking, it feels completely impossible.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: We\u2019ve got things in common, haven\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Theater is one of them.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: And from a young age. How old were you when you started?<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: I was 9 when I did my first professional play in Philadelphia. I played Bert in \u201cAll My Sons.\u201d I had two scenes in the first act, and then I fuck off before intermission to go home to bed so I can wake up for school the next morning. One of the adult actresses, when the gunshot goes off at the end of the play, she would squeeze my shoulders. And I always thought, \u201cI\u2019m not sad.\u201d I was so happy to be there. At some point my dad explained to me, \u201cShe\u2019s not trying to comfort you. I think she\u2019s trying to comfort herself.\u201d I remember, as the lights came up, seeing the faces of the audience light up with relief at seeing this 9-year-old boy running out all carefree after this sad ending. That was when it struck me.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: The crackle of energy, and how it can change.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: That in-person, immediate impact was quite intoxicating for a 9-year-old kid. I liked school, but I didn\u2019t understand why it all felt like \u201cBecause next year, and because next year, and then you want to get into a good school\u201d \u2014 and it all sort of fades off in the distance. With the theater, you need to go to rehearsals, because in three weeks there\u2019s going to be a paying audience, and if you don\u2019t know your lines, you can imagine how that\u2019s going to feel. It wasn\u2019t for some other reason. It wasn\u2019t to get the next part.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: No. It was to be there and maximize the experience with the people around you. With that in mind about theater, the performances in \u201cSuperman\u201d are so brilliant. The long scenes with you and Rachel [Brosnahan], they play out like theater scenes.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: And we rehearsed them like theater. That was when I realized that I had not done a deal with the devil in taking this big role. I was actually sort of returning home. Let\u2019s talk about \u201cWicked: For Good,\u201d because I think there\u2019s some interesting parallels here too.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: Jon M. Chu and James Gunn must\u2019ve been in a room together. Jon was someone who, probably like James, could see it all in his head and would know how to invite the right people.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlexi Lubomirski for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: You would think those are antithetical. James storyboards every shot of the movie, and with a musical like that, you\u2019ve got to have a very clear vision. But then to invite people in, not to fit your vision, but to contribute in a real way \u2014 that\u2019s much harder. You also shot two films back to back.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: At the same time. On a Monday, you\u2019d be shooting Dr. Dillamond\u2019s classroom in the first film, and then on Wednesday, it would be \u201cFor Good,\u201d the duet at the end of the second film. It\u2019s testament to the two extraordinary women playing those two roles [Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande], because they were so locked in with Jon. It\u2019s great when you\u2019re playing a supporting role where you know your job is making your contribution, but mostly you don\u2019t want to fuck up the process that\u2019s already going on.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: What was your singing prep?<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: Being in a film like this, you get these extraordinary experts who are there to gift you technique and time. We\u2019ve actually trained with the same physical trainer, Paolo.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: I forgot we have Paolo in common. Love you, Paolo!<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: If you think about your \u2014 forgive me. I assume your body wasn\u2019t \u2014\u00a0I mean, maybe you were born Superman?<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: No, no, no. I was what one of my high school crushes very unaffectionately described as a string bean.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: Some people are Popeye, and some people are Olive Oyl.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: And I was Olive Oyl. So yeah, I put on 40 pounds with Paolo.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: That\u2019s incredible. But also, the process there, if you apply that to vocal training, you get the same [result]. For me, it\u2019s about confidence. Those eight days of doing \u201cDancing Through Life\u201d were some of the most extraordinary and toughest days I\u2019ve had on a film set. Jon Chu had a baby, so we did one day without a director. You have to train that hard. There will be variables on the day. You might not sleep. You might have a cold. The director might have a baby. It\u2019s so satisfying to really commit fully.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: And to have a good reason to put so much into it. I had always wanted to put on weight, and I would love to take singing lessons for six months, but when you\u2019re not Cynthia Erivo or Ariana Grande, you feel like you might have a long way to go. The first couple months, maybe you don\u2019t sound so good, or you\u2019re not putting on so much weight.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: Trust the process. Something similar [between] \u201cSuperman\u201d and \u201cWicked\u201d: Like you said about Cynthia and Ari, it\u2019s so easy with superhero films to go, \u201cThey\u2019re just so talented. It\u2019s a God-given gift.\u201d Absolutely, yes, of course \u2014 but there\u2019s years of honing craft.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: And they still have to warm up in the morning.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: Totally. Ari changed her whole tone and her voice, and Cynthia was training so that she could deliver that every single take. If it looks like it\u2019s something that you were born to do, then you\u2019ve done the work so well.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Part of it is making it look easy.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlexi Lubomirski for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: There\u2019s something about the values of Superman, and this version of Superman, that felt so alive and connected to the audience. Did you feel that?<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Yeah. It\u2019s interesting, because there\u2019s so many different measures of that. How do the cast and crew feel about the film? How does the director feel? The publicists, the agents and managers who get to watch it ahead of the release. The press. The screenings you do for diehard fans, people who really want to love it or have extremely high expectations and are easy to disappoint. And the people who are writing about it and who want to talk about the zeitgeist and how it fits in. And then you have the box office, which is just a measure of how many people buy tickets. You can tell a bunch of different stories depending on what you focus on.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: It\u2019s a lot of noise, isn\u2019t it? Because there\u2019s only so much you have control over: the process and the making of it.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: When I leave set, I have done my work. To a certain extent, promoting the film is part of your work as well. But people can love the press tour and not love the film. My contribution happened a year ago when I was on set. It\u2019s that thing of running out for my curtain call and seeing the audience\u2019s face light up. That\u2019s the feedback that tells you whether you\u2019re on track or not. If my scene partner gets what they need from me, or if my director says \u201cThat was good. We\u2019ve got it,\u201d and even more importantly, if the crew is happy to see me \u2014 I like to put my energy there.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: It comes through on screen.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Well, good. I don\u2019t pretend to know how that happens, because so much happens between your performance and it showing up on screen. The edit. Color correction and sound design.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: I feel like you\u2019ll probably, one day, write and direct.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Probably. Do you have any interest in writing and directing?<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: I\u2019m in reverence to every person on set and every moment of the process, and actors come on set for 15% of the whole process. So it would be a great honor working with something all the way through.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Is this your humble way of saying yes?<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: I\u2019m, like, wriggling nervously.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: I also think, as an actor, there is just a desire to be more involved. You are the last person to find anything out. And there\u2019s a culture of protecting actors from too much information, which I think can hamstring us. I often get frustrated feeling like I want to contribute in this moment when we\u2019re shooting the scene, but I don\u2019t know why we\u2019re shooting it in this room.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: There\u2019s amazing footage of you and James having an extraordinary conversation.<\/a> Obviously, this is coming with such privilege to be able to say this, but certain career paths are very restrictive. It feels entirely right to be curious all the time. And the conversation you had with James was so brilliant because \u2014 godGod, this is such a nerd thing to say, but \u2014 I always think there should be tension, but not friction. And that was such a good example. It was actually kind of vulnerable. You have to be able to make those mistakes.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: I love that. Tension without friction. Because friction creates unnecessary heat.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: And it\u2019s not economic. You hemorrhage energy, whereas tension holds energy.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: I feel so lucky that that is on film, and it was interesting hearing from people what they thought of it \u2014 everything from, \u201cWell, that\u2019s what always happens,\u201d all the way to, \u201cWhat a terrible working environment.\u201d For me, it does happen all the time. It was amazing how indefatigable James was. He very rarely got fed up with me, because I think he knew that the reason I\u2019m having those conversations with him is, at my boldest, because I think I might see something that he doesn\u2019t see and he might value. I never want any director to say, \u201cFine. If you need that, go do it.\u201d I\u2019m not doing it just for me. I might see something here that you actually like, and then you\u2019ll feel like it\u2019s yours.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut on the other end, I don\u2019t know how to do a good job otherwise. I got this criticism in theater school quite a lot, and that was a good lesson to learn. As an actor you do need to let go. As a young actor, you\u2019re sort of waiting to feel ready to make the action. There\u2019s a practice of just, \u201cWalk before you\u2019re ready to walk. Just say the line before you\u2019re ready to say the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: That\u2019s what we do as humans, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: I think we do it at our most interesting. And as actors, you don\u2019t want to just be human. You want to be humans at their most interesting, dynamic, dramatic moments. Drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.<\/p>\n

\n\tLet me ask you this. Sexiest Man Alive. Where do you go from here?<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: No. Okay. [Laughing nervously, he turns to the director and gestures to cut.] It was so lovely to chat. OK.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: \u201cWicked: For Good\u201d is fucking fantastic. You fly in this movie.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: We both kiss levitating!<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Yes. But you have the bigger challenge. As the man, and as Sexy Man \u2014 and that\u2019s not me saying that \u2014 which magazine does Sexiest Man Alive?<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: All of them. Horse & Hound.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Anyway, Sexiest Man Alive, you are carried by Cynthia. She\u2019s levitating you. Every man out there would think there\u2019s no way you can look masculine and powerful and in control when you\u2019re being levitated by a woman. And you, in that moment when she\u2019s lifting you by your fucking massive arms, maintained your masculinity. Well done, mate. Because it\u2019s a lot easier when you\u2019re carrying the girl.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: I mean, listen, I\u2019d be carried by both Cynthia and Ari for the rest of my life if I could be. I was like, \u201cOh, shit\u201d when I saw your kiss at the end [of \u201cSuperman\u201d]. My favorite moment of chemistry is the chuckle.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: James, when I was doing that chuckle when she says, \u201cI love you too,\u201d he came up to me and said, \u201cIt\u2019s not working. It needs to be solemn.\u201d I was like, \u201cNo! The whole point is, \u2018I fucking know that you love me.\u2019\u201d Credit to James. He was right on 90% of everything, but on that one, he saw that chuckle was a very truthful thing.<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: That is what makes a leading man smash it out of the park.<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: So how do you top Sexiest Man Alive?<\/p>\n

\n\tBailey: Ugliest.<\/p>\n

\n\t[They stand up to say goodbye.]<\/p>\n

\n\tCorenswet: Should we kiss or something?<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is a conversation from Variety and CNN\u2019s Actors on Actors<\/a>. To watch the full video, go to\u00a0CNN\u2019s streaming platform<\/a>\u00a0now. Or check out Variety\u2019s YouTube page at 3 p.m. ET today.<\/p>\n

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