Superman is a difficult character to get right on screen. He embodies old-fashioned values. Despite his invulnerability, he has to somehow show a degree of vulnerability. Superman has to be likable, but believable as a force to be reckoned with. Difficult, yes, but not impossible. There are several actors who have done well with the Superman legacy on their shoulders. Tyler Hoechlin is the most recent to wear the iconic “S”, and his portrayal of the hero, alongside Elizabeth Tulloch’s Lois, has made Superman & Lois must-watch television for comic book fans. Next, David Corenswet will don the cape for James Gunn’s Superman.
Yet the quintessential portrayal was and still is Christopher Reeve in 1978’s Superman and its sequels. Reeve made us believe in both Superman and Clark Kent. Reeve made us believe that he truly cared for the people of Earth, particularly Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), which gave him that vulnerable quality. And, yes, he made us “believe a man can fly.” However, there were several other famous actors, and even non-actors, in contention for the blue tights.
Which Actors Almost Played Superman in the 1978 Movie?
Ilya Salkind, producer of Superman, revealed that DC Comics had a “wish list” of actors that they approved of that could be approached for the role of Superman. From a variety of sources, that list had almost every big-time 1970s Hollywood actor on it, including (but not limited to) Paul Newman, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Nick Nolte, James Caan, Burt Reynolds, Charles Bronson, Sylvester Stallone, and Steve McQueen. Superman was, after all, one of the publisher’s biggest names, with revenues running second only to Batman for DC properties ($494 million vs. $277 million in 2014 alone). They wanted that marquee star quality for their hero, a major name that came with a built-in fan base. What they didn’t consider, though, was if the name on the list would even make a good Superman.
One name that Ilya Salkind offered up in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter is Dustin Hoffman, stating, “One side, they were extraordinarily protective [of the character’s image] and on the other side, they weren’t so aware of reality because as much as Dustin Hoffman is a fantastic actor, I don’t think he would have been a great Superman. Perhaps he could have been.” But they did recognize that Hoffman would be perfect for another role: Lex Luthor. In that same interview, Salkind says that they met with Hoffman at Cannes over dinner and offered the role to him, but it “didn’t work out.” Other names on the list to play Superman were crossed off as being not quite right for the hero. Burt Reynolds would have kept his mustache. Charles Bronson, well into his fifties, was deemed “too earthy” for the role, as noted in the previously cited Esquire article.
Sylvester Stallone screen-tested but was “too ethnic” for Superman (although other reports allege that Marlon Brando refused to let a rising star overshadow him, which is entirely possible as Brando had veto rights on casting). Paul Newman was actually offered a choice between Superman, Jor-El, or Lex Luthor at a cool $4 million, but turned it down. Nick Nolte knew the producers were interested in him for the role, but turned the role down by saying that he would only do it if he could “play him as a schizophrenic.” Robert Redford perhaps came the closest, except money demands and the absence of a finished script shut that option down.
Which Non-Actors Were Considered for ‘Superman’?
While some of the actors on the list would have been questionable to play Superman, they did share one common element: they are all actors, a talent that one would think would be a primary reason to cast anyone in a movie. This makes the next three names considered for the role very… unconventional. According to Salkind, in an interview with Barry M. Freiman of Superman Homepage, singer Neil Diamond expressed how he wanted to play Superman, but was passed over. Following the 1976 Olympic Games, Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce Jenner) auditioned for the role. “I was asked to go to Rome and do a screen test for the original Superman [movie],” Jenner recalls, “I got the whole cape on, went back there, spent a week… I went to the ice crystal (the Fortress of Solitude), had fights with Lex Luthor, did all that stuff.” As her presence in the Village People’s 1980 comedy Can’t Stop the Music would attest, casting Jenner as Superman would have been one bullet that didn’t bounce off Supes.
Another Superman name? How about the eternal Muhammad Ali? The Hollywood Reporter cites Salkind revealing that the boxing legend was on DC’s approved list for the role. If it wasn’t before, it was clear then that DC was approving the casting list on name alone, not who would be the best fit for the role. Despite Ali’s popularity, he ultimately wasn’t chosen for the part. He did, though, make an appearance with Superman in the pages of DC Comics. The same year Superman was released, DC issued Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, an oversized, one-shot story that saw a de-powered Superman fight Ali, with the winner set to fight against an alien warrior to determine the fate of the Earth. Now THAT would be a movie!
Christopher Reeve Was a Perfect Choice for Superman
According to the Fox News article cited earlier, despite the many actors that had tried out for the role of Superman, Salkind couldn’t shake the impression that Christopher Reeve made on him, and called him back for another look. The actor was perfect, save for one aspect: he was too thin. So they turned to David Prowse to help train Reeve, and soon the actor gained 40 pounds of muscle, capturing the essence of the character in every aspect.
Similarly, the role of Lois Lane had a few actors in contention, like Leslie Ann Warren and Stockard Channing, but Salkind got the same feeling from Margot Kidder that he did for Reeve, that there was simply no one better for the role. And Salkind nailed it, bringing together two actors with an instant, complementary connection that perfectly encapsulated the iconic pair of Superman and Lois Lane. Really, who else could it have been?