“It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… Sylvester Stallone?!” Christopher Reeve cast such a long shadow after his incredible portrayal ofSupermanit took years to get another actor into the cape. (And lookalike actor Brandon Routh’s performance inSuperman Returnswas nothing short of homage.) But before Christopher Reeve, and in many developmental stages along the way, under the guidance of directors like Tim Burton, Brett Ratner, and McG, a handful of major movie stars came close to securing the role of DC’s Last Son of Krypton. Here, we’re looking at 15 actors who were almost Superman.
15Paul Newman
Paul Newman, the late screen legend who starred opposite Robert Redford in the cinematic classicButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, among other notable roles, turned down Superman not once, not twice, but three different times. He was offered the lead role, as well as the roles of Lex Luthor and Superman’s dad, Jor-El.
14Robert Redford
Robert Redford, A-list star and future founder of the Sundance Film Festival, was offered the Superman role, but turned it down reportedly because the script wasn’t finished. He did eventually show up in a superhero movie, 2014’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader and secret Hydra agent Alexander Pierce.
13Sylvester Stallone
Yes, riding high on the success of his breakout role inRocky, producers thought about offering Superman toSylvester Stallone, who certainly wouldn’t have needed fake muscles shoved into his suit. Rumor has it that screen legend Marlon Brando, who signed on early as Superman’s dad, Jor-El, was the guy who vetoed Sly as Clark.
12Warren Beatty
Warren Beattyhas been nominated for 14 Academy Awards, one of which, he won, so clearly there’s not much to regret about his film choices, Ishtar notwithstanding. But the list of movies he’s turned down is no less impressive than the ones he made. Beatty passed onThe Godfather,Boogie Nights,Kill Bill, and yes, 1978’sSuperman. In 2016, he told MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast that he had an assistant go out and get him some long underwear. “I take off my pants and put on the long underwear and open the full-length mirror and I went to the telephone and I said, ‘Look, just forget about Superman, it ain’t going to happen.’ And then the movie was terrific.”
11Neil Diamond
A few years beforeThe Jazz Singer, Superman producers met with singer Neil Diamond, already a major star. He’d composed the music for a 1973 adaptation ofJonathan Livingston Seagull, but he had no real acting experience. Ultimately, the folks behind Superman decided they wanted an unknown in the lead role.
10Ben Affleck
Years before he squared off against Superman as Batman,Ben Affleckwas Kevin Smith’s ideal choice to play theMan of Steelin what would have beenSuperman Lives, a ’90s attempt at rebooting the character based loosely on the Death of Superman story from the comics. Affleck was a veteran of View Askewvinerse movies likeMallratsandChasing Amy. Of course once Tim Burton came onboard and discarded Smith’s script, theClerksfilmmaker’s casting ideas went by the wayside as well.
9Nicolas Cage
That’s right, Tim Burton nearly madeSuperman Livesand in what is probably the most famous bit of “almost was” casting in superhero lore, he cast superfanNicolas Cage. As beautifully chronicled in the documentaryThe Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened?, the Nicolas Cage Superman came very close to getting made. Burton and Cage were reportedly given play-or-pay fees when Warner shut it down.
8Henry Cavill
Yes, we know Henry Cavill did in fact end up becoming Superman, but there was an “almost” in his career several years before. Cavill nearly played Superman forCharlie’s Angelsdirector McG, from a script by J.J. Abrams. Long before hisStar TrekandStar Warsreboots, Abrams was a television show runner taking a crack at rebooting Superman, in the aftermath of Burton’s false start. His script forSuperman: Flyby, which leaked out to a then-burgeoning online movie press, was full of wacky ideas, like Lex Luthor as an alien. After McG left the project, Cavill was in the running for everything fromJames BondtoTwilighttoBatman Begins.
7Josh Hartnett
In a 2014 interview with Details magazine, Josh Hartnett revealed why he walked from a three-picture deal worth a reported $100 million. “I didn’t want to be labeled as Superman for the rest of my career,” he said. In the same interview, theBlack Hawn Downstar said he’d been considered for bothSpider-ManandBatmanas well.
6Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser screen tested forRush Hourdirector Brett Ratner after McG leftSuperman: Flyby. In a 2008 interview with MTV at New York Comic Con,The Mummystar revealed he’d tried on the suit. “First they offered it to me, then they didn’t offer it to me,” he admitted with a laugh. “Everybody in town was up for this.”
