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The world is eagerly waiting for the relaunch of the DCU with James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie. But, while we’re understandably excited to see David Corenswet’s take on the Man of Steel, we can’t ignore the supporting cast. After all, where would Superman be without his good pal Jimmy Olsen? Turns out, the actor portraying Jimmy in the upcoming Superman movie couldn’t tell you as he intentionally didn’t research the character before filming.

It wasn’t a case of Skyler Gisondo not wanting to do right by the character. It was very much the opposite, actually. “When you’re doing Superman, everyone in your life in this very well-intentioned way is like, ‘Holy shit. Superman! Are you like…’” Gisondo explained in a recent interview. “So, in an attempt to not spiral and, like, freak out, I was kind of like, ‘That’s just – you know, it’s gonna be fun. It’s not a big deal.’”

Gisondo avoided doing too much research into the character simply to try to manage his nerves around the legacy that comes from being in a Superman movie. “And I like, I almost didn’t – intentionally didn’t want to dive into, like, the history and just feel this, like, weight of like ‘Holy shit, we have such a responsibility to get this right and like everyone who’s come before us.’ So, I kind of just came in freestyling, man. So hopefully that works.”

It is refreshing to see someone willing to admit that they weren’t a huge fan of the comics before being cast in a comic book movie. It is far better to find the best actor for a role rather than look for someone who obsessively collected Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen comics as a kid.

Superman is due to be released on July 11, 2025.

James Gunn's Superman movie is out now - and we have a lot to say about it. You can also read about Superman's S-Shield through the ages, how Superman and Clark Kent keep their secret identity secret, our recs for best Superman comics, and how to watch all his TV series and movies in order.