Edi Gathegi is a talented actor with roots in Kenya and America. He plays the character Michael Holt, also known as Mister Terrific, in the 2025 Superman movie.
In an interview with Variety, Gathegi talked about how he got the role.
After James Gunn, who is one of the leaders at DC Studios, shared a picture of Mister Terrific, many fans began guessing who would play him. Gathegi’s name quickly became a popular choice.
Interested in the character, Gathegi researched him and felt a strong connection.
“Fourteen PhDs, speaks many languages, very skilled, good at many things, an Olympic athlete, he has all these traits,” he said.
He described Mister Terrific as a mix of “a brave fighter and a smart detective.”
But it wasn’t just the character’s intelligence that attracted him; there was also a deep emotional story.
“He has a big wound,” Gathegi said. “He lost his wife, almost took his own life, and then he meets The Spectre, who teaches him about the former Mister Terrific, Terry Sloane. He decides to take on the role himself. I thought, this character is like D’Artagnan and Sherlock Holmes combined.”
Although other actors like John Boyega, Daniel Kaluuya, and Michael B. Jordan were also considered by fans, Gathegi did not think he would get the part.
This wasn’t his first superhero role, as he had previously played Darwin in X-Men: First Class, although that character didn’t last long in the movie.
Gathegi was very excited when James Gunn personally chose him to play Mister Terrific, who is an important character in the Superman 2025 story.
“The character is just behind Superman in importance,” he noted, highlighting how significant the role is.
Interestingly, he found out at the movie’s premiere that Mister Terrific would appear with Superman in the last scene.
He also praised the costume designers for creating a special T-shaped mask that stayed true to the comics but also allowed him to show his emotions.
“It took about an hour to an hour and a half to put it on,” he said.
Superman 2025 has received great reviews from fans, and both David Corenswet as Superman and Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific have been praised.
