Although not the first actor to play Superman in live film, and of course not the last, Christopher Reeve still holds many as a platonic ideal of the character. Reeve first showed Superman in Richard Donner's current film in 1978 "Superman", And that film struggled to present "The Man of Steel" as an epic national hero worthy of a giant budget, sacred tone and the type of Hollywood storytelling stories usually reserved for Bible epics. At the heart of all this was a Reeve, an actor who managed to communicate the humility and nobility of the character, even when it flew around the cartoon cartoon cartoon.

Reeve played Superman in three additional sequels, though he reduced yields with any progressive exit, dramatic and financially. Until the "Superman IV: The search for peace" came out, the audience no longer cared. Despite this, however, Goodwill remained high for Reeve, and director Brian Singer made more or less a donor/Reeve to appear with "Superman's return" in 2006, two years after Reeve's death. Reeve was also revived through the CGI for (quite embarrassing) parallel sequence of the universe in the film "The Flash" in 2023. Reeve's memory remains strong to this day, so be prepared for numerous articles in the near future comparing Reeve with David Corenvet, the actor who played the name of the Jameses Gun Superman's "Superman".

Reeve's casting alchemia was discussed by producer Superman Pierre Spengler in Documentary in 2024 "Super/Man: The Story of Christopher Reeve", " which is currently available for HBO Max transfer and available for renting or purchasing various digital platforms. As Spengler explained, Reeve was chosen over a panople of potential celebrities specifically because he was unknown (quality that would allow the audience to see the image of Superman clearer).

According to Spengler, Superman's casting was a long and difficult process. Several of the actors he and the casting directors for Donner's film considered were either a giant movie stars or high, a buff athletes who could fill a suit in Superman. As Spengler said:

"We were frantically looking for Superman. The casting director ordered many, many people, dozens of them. What was strange, like, Neil Diamond wanted to be Superman. Robert Redford, we made an offer, he went away, 'no'. (Caitlin) Enner (was physically) very good, but acting, not so much.

Congratulations if, only now, he also said "Truth, justice and American way" in your Schwarzenegger emphasis. And, yes, it's true: Neil Diamond Indeed, he really wanted to play Superman. Spingler didn't even mention everyone Other actors who were under serious consideration for Superman for Superman Included Nick Nolte, Jonon Wojt, Christopher Walken, Jamesiyes Brolinia and Jamesesi Khan. Meanwhile, Paul Manumman was offered but rejectedThe roles of Superman, Lex Luthor, And Yor-el

"(After that) the idea came: instead of throwing a well -known Superman, we need to go with an unknown and have stars around it," Spengler added. Donner seemed to agree because he was the fonduent of the idea of ​​Superman playing a fresh face.

Meanwhile, Reeve was bitten by the acting bug when she was just nine years old and appeared in various stage productions for many years before making his big screen debut in the 1978 movie Disaster "Gray Lady". Superman was only his second credit on the screen so far. It was a career choice for centuries.