David Corenswet Broke The Internet Shirtless But His New Biopic Has A Catch
A shirtless behind-the-scenes shot of David Corenswet training for his upcoming football biopic, Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story, went viral this week, and the timing feels deliberate. The 32-year-old Superman star is in peak NFL-running-back shape, and the internet noticed fast.
What the film is actually about
Due in cinemas on 25 December 2026 from Paramount Pictures, Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story is directed by Jonathan Levine (Long Shot, Warm Bodies). It follows John Tuggle, the New York Giants running back picked last in the 1983 NFL draft, hence the “Mr. Irrelevant” tag given to every final pick.
Tuggle was the first-ever last pick to actually make the team that drafted him, and he was named the Giants’ Special Teams Player of the Year in his rookie season. After a 1984 car accident, a teammate told him to see a doctor. He was diagnosed with cancer and died on 30 August 1986, aged 25. The Giants paid his health insurance for the rest of his life and wore his number 38 on their helmets during the franchise’s 1986-87 Super Bowl win.
First look at David Corenswet in ‘MR. IRRELEVANT’.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 15, 2026
The film follows John Tuggle, who was given the title of ‘Mr Irrelevant’ after being the last pick of the last round of the 1983 NFL draft.
In theaters on December 25. pic.twitter.com/8C2OxxxFq9
The cast around Corenswet
Isabel May (Scream 7) plays Tuggle’s love interest Katie. Michael Shannon (Knives Out, Man of Steel) plays Giants head coach Bill Parcells. The screenplay is by Nick Santora, the Emmy-nominated writer behind Reacher and FUBAR.
What Corenswet has said
Corenswet framed the film as a question about what you leave behind. “Can grace and dignity and humor and love transform failure into its own kind of success?” he said, according to Out. He also talked about appreciating the moment and how a short life can still mean something to the people who were in it.
Why the photo is doing numbers
This is not the first time training footage of Corenswet has done the rounds. Behind-the-scenes Superman shots did the same thing last year, so we know the pattern. He trains hard for the work, and biopic-actor physiques tend to go public the second the call sheet does. At DNA, we are not mad about it.
Worth saying though: the story underneath the photo is heavier than the photo suggests. Tuggle was 25 when he died. The film is trying to say something about dignity in the face of failure and illness, not just cheekbones in a locker room. Both things can be true at once.
Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story opens on 25 December 2026.
