Man of Steel opens June 14, starring Henry Cavill as Superman. We are excited by the prospect of seeing Superman on the big screen again — and we’re also a bit apprehensive. The careers of many of the actors who played the character in film and television have usually tanked afterwards, and some even suffered personal tragedy — enough to demand the question “Is there a Superman curse?”. We take a look on the actors who have played Superman in live-action performances, the projects they appeared in, and the effect the role had on them.
Kirk Alyn
Starred in: The film serials Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950).
Ten years after his debut in comic books, Superman made his first live-action forays on the silver screen via these 15-part serials. Both are considered classics, and have retained their popularity. The crew overcame budget limitations by using (and re-using) animated figures of Superman flying over live footage.
Effect on Career: Alyn had trouble finding work before his two gigs as Superman, and the problem continued afterward. Apart from starring in some similar comic book serials such as Blackhawk (1952), he had only sparse TV and film roles — some of them uncredited — prior to his retirement. Ironically, he was offered the lead role in the Adventures of Superman TV series in 1951, but turned it down.
George Reeves
Starred in: Superman and the Mole Men (1951) and Adventures of Superman (1952-58).
Mole Men was the first feature-length Superman motion picture (though, at 58 minutes, just barely), and served as a back-door pilot for the Man of Steel’s first television series. Both were runaway successes, and the series enjoyed a healthy 104-episode run. It was also one of the first TV series filmed in color. Behind the scenes, morale was often low on the set and the quality often fluctuated. Still, it’s been a syndication mainstay for decades.
Effect on Career: Reeves had intermittent success as an actor before rocketing to national celebrity status as Superman. However, the shooting schedule was harsh and the pay was shockingly low, and Reeves was never able to escape the role. Sadly, Reeves allegedly took his own life in 1959. The details of the actor’s tragic decline are the subject of the movie Hollywoodland starring Ben Affleck, who at the time was struggling with his own career.
Christopher Reeve
Starred in: the movies Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Reeve channeled the self-deprecating, good-natured charisma of Cary Grant in Bringing up Baby for his take on Clark Kent, and brought a more modern masculine male image to the role of Superman. Unfortunately, the quality of the franchise quickly plummeted after the firing of director Richard Donner during production on Superman II. Reeve was promised story input on Superman IV and a chance to direct the fifth installment, which was scuttled after the box office failure of of Quest for Peace.
Effect on Career: To this day, Reeve is considered by many to be the definitive screen incarnation of the Man of Steel. Tragically, he was rendered quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse in 1995. Though he never achieved his vow to walk again, he proved to be a real-life hero by working as an activist on behalf of people with spinal-cord injuries and for human embryonic stem cell research. He succumbed to complications from his condition in 2004.
John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher
Starred in: Superboy/Adventures of Superboy (1988-92)
The first weekly TV series produced by then-new Disney/MGM Studios, brought to the small screen by Superman I-III and Supergirl producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind featuring many scripts by prominent comic book writers. The series got off to a slow start, but is ratings stayed strong,even though low production values and constant changes to characters and setting made for an inconsistent series.
Effect on Their Careers: The series took a sharp turn for Season 2, when Haymes Newton was replaced by Christopher when the former — whom the producers had already been unimpressed with — demanded a 20% percent before getting slapped with a DUI charge. Christopher earned writing and producing credits on the series, and successfully auditioned for the lead in Lois & Clark, but producers opted for Dean Cain instead (see below). He had a few TV roles in the ’90s, but has only appeared in one short film since then.
Dean Cain
Starred in: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-97)
An interesting post-modern take on the character, Lois & Clark followed the lead of the late-’80s comics reboot of Superman in treating Clark Kent as the real personality and Superman as the alter ego. As the title suggests, it also focused on the relationship between Clark and Lois Lane, resulting in an adventure-rom-com with broad appeal. Cain and co-star Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) provided a fresh take on their characters and had excellent chemistry as the star-crossed super-couple.
Effect on Career: Cain started the Angry Dragon Entertainment production company in 1998, and has appeared in a number of small roles over the past 15 years, including that of a villain during Season 7 of Smallville (see below). Lois & Clark remains his biggest role to date.
Tom Welling
Appeared in: Smallville (2001-2011)
Pitched as the chronicles of the young man who would grow to become Superman, with a strict “no tights, no flights” rule, Smallville broke Clark Kent down to the bare essentials and then built him back up again. Well-received by fans and newbies alike, the series had an astounding ten-season, 218-episode run and earned a number of accolades.
Effect on Career: Though he’s been largely under the radar lately, Welling’s career has been robust. He rose to executive producer over the course of the series, made his directing debut in Season 5, and went on to direct six more episodes of the series. He recently scored a key role in Ivan Reitman’s upcoming football drama Draft Day.
Brandon Routh
Appeared in: Superman Returns (2006)
Director Bryan Singer stepped away from the X-Men film franchise to helm this attempted reboot of the Superman film series — the first movie to feature the character in almost 20 years. In the tradition of the original, he cast a young unknown actor, and in Routh found someone with the proper blend of vulnerability and strength, as well as an uncanny resemblance to Christopher Reeve. Unfortunately, Singer’s take was a bit too beholden to the previous films, and the lackluster plot failed to grasp viewers.
Effect on Career: Routh was well-received as Superman, and had been contracted to appear in at least two sequels; however, the film’s disappointing performance at the box office resulted in cancellation of those plans. Like other actors who have played the Last Son of Krypton, Routh has been relegated to small film and TV roles for the time being.
