Why Lois Lane From James Gunn's Superman Looks So Familiar

If you're watching James Gunn's new DC Universe-rebooting "Superman" movie and find yourself asking, "Where do I recognize the actress playing Lois Lane from?" the answer is most likely "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." While Rachel Brosnahan has appeared in a number of movies, TV shows, and theater productions before playing the Daily Planet reporter, her biggest pre-DCU role is easily the housewife turned stand-up comic Miriam "Midge" Maisel in Amy Sherman-Palladino's hit dramedy for Prime Video.

Over the five-season run of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Brosnahan's acting earned many honors, including an Emmy, two Golden Globes, two Critics Choice Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. Though Brosnahan's casting as Midge was the subject of some controversy as a non-Jewish actor playing a Jewish character that arguably leaned in to some stereotypes, the show and its lead performance were generally praised by critics and beloved by viewers.

Midge is a character with high-energy wit and bold charisma — qualities that naturally translate to the character of Lois Lane. Indeed, when speaking to ET, Brosnahan has described her take on Superman's love interest with words that could also describe her previous most iconic role: "Feisty. Dare I say, marvelous? And fiercely intelligent."

Even if you haven't watched "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," there's a chance you might recognize Rachel Brosnahan from elsewhere. Before "Maisel," her first Emmy-nominated breakout role was the sex worker Rachel Posner on the first three seasons of "House of Cards." She had recurring roles as Delilah on "Black Box," Lucy Brooks/Jolene Parker on "The Blacklist," and Abby Isaacs on "Manhattan." Earlier in her career, she made many one-episode appearances in shows such as "Gossip Girl," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Orange is the New Black."

Brosnahan has been more recognized for her TV roles than her big screen appearances. Her first acting role was in the terrible 2009 horror film "The Unborn." Pre-"Superman," her most-watched movie performance was actually voice acting as police officer Wendy in the cartoon "Spies in Disguise." She was Rami Malek's dead wife in "The Amateur," one of the Boston Marathon bombing survivors in "Patriots Day," and a 19th-century witch in the YA fantasy flop "Beautiful Creatures."

Brosnahan made her Broadway debut as Dixie Evans in a 2013 production of Clifford Odets' "The Big Knife." She played Desdemona in New York Theatre Workshop's 2016 production of William Shakespeare's "Othello." For her performance as Iris Parodus Brustein in the 2023 revival of Lorraine Hansbury's "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," she earned a distinguished performance award nomination from the Drama League Awards.