The Actors Who Played Superman

Buy at AllPosters.com

In 1948 a brand new TV series appeared on the screen called Superman. Running 15 episodes in total and starring actor Kirk Alyn as comic book superhero, Superman/Clark Kent. Alyn started out as a chorus boy on Broadway and vaudeville but after his 1950 appearance in the second Superman TV series called Atom Man versus Superman, he basically only did little bit roles in various shows for a few year and then retired. His co-stars included Noel Neil as Lois Lane, Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen and Pierre Watkin as Perry White.

Vintage Comic T-Shirt
Buy at AllPosters.com

George Reeves was one of the most popular actors to play Superman and it just might be because of his mysteries death rather then his acting abilities. One of the facts about George that a lot of people get wrong is they think he's his Superman successor Christopher Reeve's father or at least a brother but truth be told they didn't even know eachother. George was born George Keefer Brewer. George's parents separated 5 months after he was born and his mother ended up married to Frank Bessolo who adopted George. Before turning to acting, George was a boxer as a heavyweight in amatuer matches but because it bothered his mother, he stopped.

George's first real break came as playing one of the Tarleton twins in Gone With The Wind in 1939 and got a few minor roles for the next few years but in 1943 he was drafted into the army. When he got out and returned to Hollywood there really wasn't much work there at the time. In 1940 George married Ellanora Needles which lasted until 1949 after they were divorced in 1950, Reeves decided to go to New York City. When Reeves was offered the role of Superman in 1951 his first instinct was to say no thanks because he didn't think he'd get enough exposure on television and he didn't want to be stereotyped into a specific role. However, in 104 roles as Superman, Reeves was well

Buy at AllPosters.com

liked by his fellow cast members because he was a true gentleman. He liked to play practical jokes on the set by standing a little off camera and making faces at them to see if he could get them to crack up while filming and he also demanded equal billing for his first Lois Lane, Phylis Coates and when Noel Neil (Kirk Alyn's Lois Lane) came along and took over the role she was nervous on her first day, Reeves was there to defend because he thought the director was too harsh on her. He also stood by Robert Shayne (who played Police Inspector William "Bill" Henderson) when Shayne was subpoenaed by FBI agents on the set of Superman. (Shayne's political activism in the Screen Actors Guild in the 1940s was used by his embittered ex-wife as an excuse to label him a Communist, although Shayne had never been a Communist Party member.)

Reeves did get bit parts here and there but he really did get stereotyped as Superman. Altho he did take his role as "role model" very seriously, he was careful not to smoke in public where the kids could see him, eventually quitting and he also kept his private life private but he did have an affair with Toni Mannix wife of MGM manger Eddie Mannix. Reeves did work with Toni Mannix to raise money to fight myasthenia gravis. He served as national chairman for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation in 1955.

Buy at AllPosters.com

From 1978 to 1987, 4 new Superman movies came to light starring Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent. The man who made everyone believe that the comic book superhero, Superman really did exist. Reeve was given the part of Superman not because of his resemblance to Superman but to Clark Kent. At 6'4" and only 190 lbs, Reeve started a hard workout schedule and double his food intake to bulk up another 30 lbs because he didn't want to wear the padding under his suit. Playing along side names such as Marlon Brando (Jor-El), Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Glen Ford (Jonathan Kent) and Ned Beatty (Otis).

Prior to being Superman, Christopher dropped out of Julliard to play Ben Harper, an antagonistic character with a polygamist lifestyle and history of criminal behavior in the 1974 soap opera Love of Life and a year later starred on Broadway with Katharine Hepburn in A Matter of Gravity for a short time. Reeve went from playing Superman/Clark Kent in the 1978 Superman Movie to playing Richard Collier in the 1980 romantic fantasy Somewhere In Time with Jane Seymour. After playing Superman again in Superman II in 1980 and on broadway in The Fifth of July at the same time, he went to play a psychopath with Michael Cain in Deathtrap. Reeve also went onto do 2 more Superman movies in 1983 and 1987 as well as Switching Channels with Burt

Buy at AllPosters.com

Reynolds and Kathleen Turner, The Bostonians with Vanessa Redgrave, Anna Karenina where he learned how to ride horses, Speechless with Michael Keaton (who played another comic superhero Batman) and Village of the Damned. In 1979 Reeve and then girlfriend, Gae Exton, had their first child, Matthew and then in 1983 their second child Alexandra. After the union between Reeve and Exton split, Reeve met and married Dana Moronini in 1992 and in 1992 had son William.

May 27, 1995 was the day of Reeve's accident. His horse had a refusal and Christopher went head first over his horse. The impact of his 215 lb body caused him to be paralyzed from the neck down and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. During the next 9 years "Reeve was elected Chairman of the American Paralysis Association and Vice Chairman of the National Organization on Disability. He co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, which is now one of the leading spinal cord research centers in the world. He created the Christopher Reeve Foundation to speed up research through funding, and to use grants to improve the quality of the lives of people with disabilities." . As well as making his directorial debut in HBO's In The Gloaming with Glen Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Bridget Fonda and David Strathairn. Along with his activism, directing and biographies he also made small appearances in tv shows like Smallville, the story about Clark Kent growing up.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Prior to wanting to be an actor, Dean's first love was football, however due to an early knee injury, a football career was not possible so instead he turned to acting. Doing a few commercials and bits in shows like Grapevine and A Different World. Then in 1992 got the role of Rick in Beverly Hills 90210. In 1993 Cain auditioned, and won, the role of Superman in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, beating out Kevin Sorbo (later to play Hercules) for the role of Clark Kent/Superman. After his run in Lois and Clark, which ended in 1997, Cain acted in several movies including The Broken Hearts Clubs where he played a gay man and Out of Time as an abusive husband who is an ex-football player. In 1998 he started the production company, The Angry Dragon which produced the show Ripley's Believe It Or Not for the TBS Superstation. Then in 2004, he played the husband Scott Peterson in the real life movie of Scott and Laci Peterson called The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story. And then, while in the seventh season, he played the role of Dr. Curtis Knox in Smallville (the teen years of Superman/Clark Kent). Lois Lane was played by Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives), Lane Smith as Perry White and during the first season Michael Landes played Jimmy Olsen during the next 3 seasons it was Justin Whalin.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Buy at AllPosters.com

Before Superman, there was just Clark Kent. Teenage boy from Smallville, Kansas. Tom Welling was the actor who played that teenage boy from Smallville Kansas named Clark Kent but before that he worked in construction and was discovered by a catalogue camera scout in 1998. After having modeled for names like Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch and Calvin Klein and appearing in some music videos and commercials Welling got a his first major acting role in Judging Amy. In 2001 he became Clark Kent from Smallville. In 2003, Tom starred in Cheaper By The Dozen with Steve Martin and then again in the sequel in 2005. Welling also landed the role of Nick Castle in the 2005 remake of The Fog. He also made his directing debut in a few episodes of Smallville during the last couple of seasons. We'll just have to keep our eyes peeled to see what this young hot stars gets up to next.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Buy at AllPosters.com

Routh worked first as a model and did a little acting in order to put himself thru University. After leaving University in 1999 and going first to New York then to LA and making his first official appearance in Christina Aguilera's video for What A Girl Wants. From 2001 to 2004, Routh made bit appearances in different TV series such as Gilmore Girls, Cold Case and Will and Grace, while also playing in One Life to Live from 2001-2002. In 2006, just prior to his becoming the newest Superman, Routh also played in the movie Karla, the real life story of Karl Homolka and Paul Bernado. A couple that was charged with murdering local girls in the Niagara area in Ontario

Having already auditioned for the role of Superman because his manager thought if they ever made another one he'd be perfect for the role because of his resemblence to Christopher Reeve. When Warner Bros went looking for the new Superman, they wanted someone who was more of a no-body rather then a big name star just like it was for the most popular Superman Christopher Reeve and once they met Routh, it was agreed, not only did he resemble Reeve but his personality reminded them of Reeve too. Routh has already signed on for 2 more Superman movies but do keep your eyes peeled for more him in future movies outside the realm of the Justice League as well.