Christopher Reeve
The unknown who became Superman. Christopher Reeve was a 24-year-old stage actor when he was cast as Superman in 1978. Here is how he won the role and what came after.
Reeve and Margot Kidder at the 1978 premiere: Larry Armstrong, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0
A long search for a hero
When the producers of the 1978 film Superman started casting, they looked at big names and even non-actors before settling on a tall, slim stage actor who had done little more than a soap opera and some theater. Christopher Reeve was 24 and far from the muscular figure the role demanded.
What won him the part was the audition. Reeve played Clark Kent as a genuinely different person from Superman, with a different voice, posture and energy, and the filmmakers saw that the two halves of the character finally made sense.
Building the body
Reeve added around 30 pounds of muscle for the part under the guidance of David Prowse, the British bodybuilder who wore the Darth Vader suit in Star Wars. He also learned to fly on wires with a grace that had never been managed before, which is one reason the film's famous tagline promised that audiences would believe a man can fly.
The film opened in December 1978 to big crowds and strong reviews. Reeve went on to play the role in three sequels, finishing with Superman IV in 1987, while also building a career in theater and in very different films.
A second kind of courage
In May 1995 Reeve was thrown from his horse during a riding competition in Virginia and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He said later that for a moment he did not want to live, and that his family talked him through it.
He spent the rest of his life pushing for spinal cord research, speaking, directing and acting from his wheelchair. The foundation he built with his wife Dana still funds research and supports people living with paralysis.
The lasting standard
Reeve died in 2004 at 52. Every actor cast as Superman since has been measured against him, partly for the look and partly for the warmth he gave the role. Many fans and critics still consider his performance the definitive one.
He also set a standard for what a star can do with fame: use it to make a hard situation better for other people. That is the kind of next level this brand is about.
- Reeve and Margot Kidder at the 1978 premiere: Larry Armstrong, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0
- Christopher Reeve: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- His star on the Walk of Fame: Neil Willsey, CC BY-SA 2.0
Text written by Next Level Superheroes.
