Superman star Skyler Gisondo shared an anecdote from the casting process of the DC Universe film. The actor portrays Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s coworker Jimmy Olsen, a young photographer at the Daily Planet. In addition to Gisondo, Superman stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Maria Gabriela de Faria, and Sara Sampaio.
In a recent interview with Omar Jimenez, Gisondo opened up about mistaking his audition to play Jimmy for an audition to play Superman. The actor explained:
I skimmed the email a little bit, the original one, basically with these… When you’re auditioning for a movie like this, like a superhero movie, it’s very confidential. It’s top secret. They don’t give you a lot of information. So I got sent the email with the audition and for whatever reason, I had the idea in my head that it was for Superman and I don’t know why.
He ultimately filmed his audition tape thinking it was for the Man of Steel, only to find out he was mistaken after the filmmakers wanted him to move forward in the process. Later, Gisondo relayed the story to Gunn, who he reports laughed louder and harder than he had ever seen the director do before.
Gisondo’s story is comedic, but it’s also ironic. In addition to him, Hoult also initially auditioned for Superman instead of Lex. Nonetheless, each of the actors landed in a role that suited them.
Gisondo himself noted this: “When I read the script — you’re so lucky if this happens once in your lifetime as an actor — where it just lined up in a way where James’s vision for this character and his version felt in my voice. I was cracking up reading the character because it just felt so close to home.“
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Despite the misunderstanding, Gisondo found shades of himself in Jimmy, which lent itself to his performance. He explained: “I’ve been on the receiving end of an incomprehensible amount of good fortune for it to line up in this way, to work with this filmmaker on this movie and to play a character that I have so much in common with.“
While it likely felt embarrassing in the moment, Gisondo seems to have a sense of humor about his confusion. After all, Jimmy is a major supporting figure in the Superman mythos, and he felt a connection to the character. Superman is successful for many reasons, but the biggest has to be the perfect casting, including Gisondo as Jimmy.
