Somebody I worked with was involved with the film and they said, “You look a lot like Christopher Reeve, a lot like Superman. I can’t stop staring at you.” And I said “Well, thank you!” She went on to say she worked for the writer and so on. It was when I worked at a bar and we were having a Hallowe’en contest. I had a suit and a Superman shirt already so I bought a pair of glasses for my costume. And I won. I made a hundred bucks and there are pictures of that everywhere now!
And are they paying you more than a hundred bucks for this?
Yes — double!
How were your first moments in your Superman outfit?
The first moment was a little unsure and a bit embarrassing for me but, past all those feelings, it was very powerful. When a suit is that tight you’re more aware of your physicality. It’s as if I’ve just had a workout and the blood is pumped through my body and I feel invigorated because all that energy is moving through. I feel bigger and more enhanced in it.
Did you have any input into the suit design?
Not really, but it looks fabulous in my opinion. It’s not all that comfortable but I got used to that. I just stuck pads or plasters in places that I knew caused rashes or were uncomfortable. I think it’s perfect. The colours are great. I was very happy in it. There were actually about 80 suits in total. Sometimes they had holes in them, so they’re not all good and they used them for stunt doubles or as flying suits.
There are so many movies taken from comic book superheroes. Is there one of those movies you love best?
As a kid I loved Superman and I made myself sick the first time I was going to see it on TV. I had the Superman cape and pyjamas. My mom still has the cape. I was running round the apartment, probably aged five or six, jumping on the couch. I got so excited I gave myself a migraine headache and could only watch the second half! That was my first experience of Superman and it stayed with me. I love that genre and I’m an avid movie-goer, I just want to be entertained.
What was the hardest thing to do on the film set?
Flying. It’s taxing on the body, no matter how I do it, whether it’s standing on a box or in wires, lying on my stomach or going vertical. I got used to it, which was good for me and everybody else because it put me in better spirits when I spent 12 hours a day flying. Also, I’d never worked so much in my life as I did on Superman Returns. I’ve worked consistently all my life, day jobs, not just acting, but never 12 or 16 hours a day, day after day, with training in there as well. Now I’ve done it all from flying to rolling out of a window! They did a lot of the exciting stuff with special effects but I’m there for most of it.
Which is more difficult to play, Superman or Clark?
Well, I played a lot more Clark but I guess the answer is probably Superman because I’m more in tune with Clark as a person. There are not many people who are Superman walking round the world in their daily life. He’s the pinnacle of humanity. If we could be like that it would be amazing. He was more of a challenge to play.
Christopher Reeve was somewhat iconic as Superman. Has that been really hard to go up against?
In the beginning it was. It was a big enough deal without him passing at the time of the unveiling. I am meeting his family soon. I have discovered, from reading fans’ online message boards that everybody is, thankfully, very open to me. Chris knew, as everybody who played Superman knew, and as I know, that we are custodians of the character and the character evolves with society. I mean, 25 years later, things are different in the world. Views are different, the world is more open and Superman is more open.
What is different between your Superman and the one that we know?
I think you’ll immediately see from the late ’70s to now just how much we’ve changed as far as style of clothing, the way we speak, the style of how films are shot. Films are now taken much more seriously. My family and I were watching Superman last night. There’s a little bit of a cheese factor to that film. That was the ’70s and that was how it was. Our film is still comic, but very real. But I think it’s still funny.
Did the director mention why he chose you for the part?
After my screen test we sat down and talked for another two hours and he said one of the things that was very important to him was having somebody that embodied the character. I’m from a small town so I had that mentality that Clark coming out of Smallville had — just a nice guy with an athletic build. I was genuine, trustworthy, all those things, he didn’t have to do anything. I think if I was a brash guy who wasn’t very nice, but I looked the part, he wouldn’t have cast me. Even if I had the talent and could play the character the same way I do, but I was a big partier and trashed hotel rooms and stuff like that, I seriously think he wouldn’t have cast me. I’m so thankful for that. Clark especially is me when I was growing up. I was involved in lots of activities like music and acting and sports, but I wasn’t a popular guy. I was a lot like Clark may have been, a little awkward.
Are you ready to be a big star?
No! (laughs) I have no idea of what that’s going to be like. There’s been none of that so far, still nobody knows who I am. I’m a homebody as well, I like to spend time at home so I’ll be OK with that, but I think I’ll do my best to go out and maintain as normal a life as possible.
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