Cinema in 1978 was in a state of flux. The 1970s saw the rise of talented, maverick auteurs like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich working with a new breed of actor (think Robert De Niro and Al Pacino) to create films that had more grit and innovation than Hollywood had seen in decades. But then the one-two punch of "Jaws
So when Richard Donner's "Superman: The Movie
Christopher Reeve may have had third billing in "Superman" (behind Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman), but he was the star. The then-unknown 24-year-old was chosen from hundreds of actors for a role that was not exactly coveted.
The producers had considered giving the part to Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone — and even to Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson. Those big-name stars who were offered the part all turned it down cold. In the late '70s, no serious actor would be caught dead in red, yellow and blue tights. Prior to "Superman," every costumed hero brought to life was played with one note, whether it was the square-jawed seriousness of TV's Superman, George Reeves, or the slightly more round-jawed campiness of Adam West's Batman. And nobody had ever made a big-budget superhero movie for the big screen. It just didn't seem like a movie anyone could take seriously.
Luckily, Richard Donner could. When the director (then best known for "The Omen
Christopher Reeve was a struggling young actor with a slight résumé and an even slighter build. But Donner and casting director Lynn Stalmaster saw something in him that rang true. He was able to say lines like "I'm here to fight for truth, justice and the American way" without eliciting (too many) snickers. Once the suits at Warner Bros. were convinced that he could fit the red boots, Reeve underwent an intensive physical regimen with bodybuilder David Prowse (who played Darth Vader in "Star Wars") to achieve the look of the part.
But it wasn't Reeve's 6'4", 225 lb. physique that made him so convincing as Superman and Clark Kent. He brought a true duality to the role, making you believe not only that he could bend steel with his bare hands, but that Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen didn't recognize that Clark and Superman were one and the same. Reeve claimed to base his Clark on Cary Grant's bumbling Dr. David Huxley from the 1938 screwball comedy "Bringing Up Baby

Christopher Reeve proved that wearing colored spandex doesn't have to be at odds with giving a nuanced performance as an actor. His sensitive portrayal of the last son of Krypton earned acclaim even from critics who didn't like the film. Pauline Kael panned "Superman" in The New Yorker but praised its star, writing, "Reeve plays innocent but not dumb, and the combination of his Pop jaw line and physique with his unassuming manner makes him immediately likable."
Without Reeve's Superman, we wouldn't have had Michael Keaton's Batman, Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man or even Tom Welling's version of a young Clark Kent in "Smallville
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ORIGINALLY POSTED on MTV.COM, October 2004
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