Christopher Reeve’s Superman is my all-time favorite portrayal of the character. He was just so damn charming! He had an infectious smile and a twinkle in his eye. The guy was Superman! But, when Richard Donner was brought on to direct the film, the studio had other ideas. They wanted a big star in the role and tried to get Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Burt Reynolds, and Sylvester Stallone on board!
Donner actually ended up meeting with Stallone, and when talking about that experience, he said: “I met with Sylvester Stallone because of them. I tried to be nice and say, ‘This is wrong.’ I liked Stallone; he turned out to be a nice guy. He wanted to do it. I remember meeting him in his manager’s office and I was as cordial as I could be. He was a big star and I’m some punk kid.”
The filmmaker went on to say that a lot of actors wanted this role and the studio gave him a list of all these names, and he told them: “Listen. Your flying stuff is shit, and I have to create a man who flies. Even if you saw Paul Newman or Robert Redford in that costume, no one is going to believe them.” So, he was determined to fight for an unknown actor!
Enter Christopher Reeve. Donner was initially unconvinced that Reeve, 24, was right for the role. When talking about his first meeting with him, the director said: “Anyway, one of the actors comes in and it’s this kid, Chris Reeve. He walks in; he’s got this great big sweater on, blondish hair. I said, ‘What’s under the sweater?’ And he says, ‘Well …’ He has this thick sweater on and he’s this skinny kid. I said, ‘Problem quite honestly, buster, is I got to get a guy that is bulk, that looks like a muscle zoo.’ He said, ‘Listen, I was a jock in school and when I went into acting I lost 50 pounds.’ I said, ‘I don’t believe you — you’re an actor.’ He says, ‘No, I did. I swear to you.’”
Later that night Donner went to go see Reeve in some off-Broadway show where he played two roles, as a son and a grandfather. These were Donner’s thoughts on Reeve after watching the show: "Oh boy! He had such a natural approach. I felt very comfortable watching him." He liked what he saw and went on to say that he “kind of hired him on faith.”
They then set up a screen test in costume, and Donner explained, “scenes with him as both Superman and Clark Kent. And when it was over, I told them I found my man.” When talking about the screen test he said: "He was skinny. We had his honey-brown hair painted with black shoe polish. He was sweaty, perspiration on the armpits, this black hair glued down... I look at that photo now, and it’s amazing that he was actually able to convince me that he was the right one for the role. The minute the camera rolled, he became Clark Kent, he became Superman. It was quite amazing."
You can watch those screen tests below!
Reeve promised that he would bulk up for the role, telling Donner, “If I get the part, I’ll build myself up bigger than I was years ago.” Donner said, “You realize the chance I’m taking. You promise me?” And he said, “I do." To help him in his efforts, Donner brought in bodybuilder David Prowse, fresh from filming Star Wars, to train him. On a side note, Prowse actually lobbied to play Superman himself.
When talking about Prowse, Donner said: "There was nobody better at bodybuilding in London at the time. He deserves so much credit for bringing Chris to life for me. That kid worked 24/7 to get himself into shape, and you could actually see it happening. Every day there was a little more bulk."
The rest is history! Reeve was amazing in that role. Every time I watch that original Superman movie, his performance just puts a huge smile on my face. That’s the kind of Superman that we need today! What a crazy journey that must’ve been for Reeve and Donner!
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