ACTOR
Christopher Reeve
82 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (82)
- #001
At the time of his death, Christopher Reeve had regained partial movement in his fingers and toes and said he could feel a pinprick anywhere on his body and could distinguish between hot and cold temperatures.
- #002
While filming Somewhere in Time (1980), Reeve arranged for a local theater to screen Superman (1978), which had been a major success. Many of the Somewhere in Time cast joined the local audience for the event. Early in the screening the sound cut out, and Reeve, sitting next to his co-star Jane Seymour, stood up among the audience and performed all the lines himself.
- #003
Reeve was Robin Williams's roommate at Juilliard, and they remained close friends for the rest of his life. In his later years Williams helped pay his medical bills and dedicated his Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award to Reeve.
- #004
Reeve was a licensed hang glider pilot. This proved useful during the production of Superman (1978), because his knowledge of how flight work is done allowed him to create different movements for Superman during the flying scenes.
- #005
At the height of his popularity as Superman, a group of children who recognized him in a park deliberately threw their Frisbee over a fence and asked him to fly after it. Trying not to hurt their feelings, Reeve told them he could not fly after the Frisbee because his cape was in the washing machine, so they settled for him reaching over the fence and handing the cape back to them.
- #006
Christopher Reeve was only 24 years old when Richard Donner cast him in Superman (1978), making him the youngest actor ever to play the role of Superman.
- #007
The last character Reeve played before his horseback riding accident was a paralyzed man in Above Suspicion (1995), which was released six days before the accident.
- #008
At the time he was paralyzed, Reeve was making a film about horseback riding safety.
- #009
His close friend Jane Seymour used to call him "Super Feet" because of his tendency to step on her toes while filming the dance scenes in Somewhere in Time (1980).
- #010
His close friend Robin Williams dedicated his Cecil B. DeMille Award win to Reeve in 2004.
- #011
Before the accident, Reeve was a qualified pilot, pianist, sailor, scuba diver and skier, as well as an accomplished horseman.
- #012
The Smallville (2001) episode "Devoted" was dedicated to his memory, with the title card "He made us believe a man could fly." at the end of the credits.
- #013
Jane Seymour named her son after him.
- #014
The closing credits of Superman Returns (2006), a kind of continuation of the films Donner directed, include a tribute to Reeve and his wife Dana Reeve: "To Christopher and Dana Reeve, a real-life couple of superheroes."
- #015
His weight trainer for Superman (1978) was David Prowse, the English weightlifting champion who played Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
- #016
At the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, Reeve received a two-minute standing ovation. He was introducing a film montage showing how Hollywood had addressed social issues.
- #017
For Superman (1978), Reeve wore about 25 different Superman costumes; some were specifically for walking, others for flying, and some were turquoise for blue-screen shots (to balance the blue of the uniform).
- #018
In the second episode of the sitcom Frasier (1993), he was one of the callers to Dr. Frasier Crane's radio program.
- #019
Until Superman III (1983), Christopher Reeve never received top billing in any Superman film. As a relatively unknown actor at the time, he was billed third, after Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman, in Superman (1978) with a subsequent title credit, then billed second after Hackman in Superman II (1980), and finally received top billing in the third film.
- #020
Christopher Reeve wrote an autobiography, "Still Me". The book became a bestseller, and at the time of his death he was working on another book.
- #021
On April 15, 1997, Christopher Reeve received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- #022
In 1987, during the period of the military dictatorship, Reeve traveled to Chile to support approximately 80 Chilean artists, actors and directors, whose lives were being threatened by dictator Augusto Pinochet's death squads.
- #023
Christopher Reeve attended the premiere of Supergirl (1984) with Helen Slater.
- #024
On May 3, 2002, Reeve and his wife, Dana Reeve, opened a center in Short Hills, New Jersey, dedicated to teaching paralyzed people to live more independently. Known as the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, the facility runs a website, publishes the "Paralysis Resource Guide" and houses the largest collection of paralysis-related publications in the United States. The Reeve Family Foundation also distributed a total of 22 million dollars in grants to paralysis researchers.
- #025
Reeve attended drama school with William Hirsch, Robin Williams and Treat Williams.
- #026
Reeve appeared in a Super Bowl XXXIV (2000) commercial for the medical company Nuveen. It was set in the future and depicted Reeve being able to walk again. However, this was achieved with a special effect in which his head was digitally placed onto a stunt double's body. The effect was so convincing that the next day the company was flooded with phone calls from people asking how they had cured him.
- #027
Christopher Reeve was offered the role of Richard Gere in Pretty Woman (1990). When he went in to read, he was given the casting director to read with rather than the female lead, Julia Roberts, and he made at best a half-hearted effort. Reeve considered this highly unprofessional and chose not to do the film.
- #028
Christopher Reeve gained 30 kilos for the role of Superman.
- #029
Christopher Reeve was the first actor born after the character's creation in 1938 to play Superman.
- #030
Reeve was offered the role of the primary villain Mason Verger in Hannibal (2001). Having not read the novel, Reeve was initially excited about the opportunity. However, upon learning that Verger was a paralyzed, disfigured child rapist, Reeve withdrew from the project in disgust.
- #031
After the critical and box office failure of Superman III (1983), Reeve was reluctant to make a fourth Superman film, especially if it was going to be regarded as a farce. He eventually agreed to do it when the producers promised him story input and promised to finance Street Smart (1987), a gritty crime drama in which he played an unscrupulous reporter, a long-time pet project of his.
- #032
Among the nine actors who have played Superman in films and on television, he was the tallest; the others were Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Gerard Christopher, Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Brandon Routh, Henry Cavill and Tyler Hoechlin.
- #033
Because his acting style was radically different from that of many other popular actors of the day, casting directors were reportedly unimpressed by most of his initial auditions and screen tests, including those for Superman.
- #034
Christopher Reeve suffered from alopecia areata, a condition that causes hair loss, since he was sixteen, and in his later years he often combed over the bald patches before he began shaving his head.
- #035
The character Dr. Swann, whom Reeve played in Smallville (2001), was named after long-time Superman artist Curt Swan.
- #036
After Superman (1978), Reeve was offered a series of action film scripts; he claimed one of them was a script for a film about the Viking Erik the Red. He turned them down because he felt they required little in the way of acting. Instead, despite his agent's advice, he chose Somewhere in Time (1980) as his first post-Superman film because he liked the script and the character.
- #037
Christopher Reeve appeared on stage with Celeste Holm and Katharine Hepburn, who selected him from roughly 500 candidates for a six-month tour.
- #038
Before 2011, Christopher Reeve held the record for playing the same comic-book character more times than any other actor. Hugh Jackman, who played the Marvel comic-book hero Wolverine in five films, overtook him. Reeve nonetheless retains the distinction of having played a hero of the same name more times than anyone else.
- #039
Christopher Reeve was offered numerous roles, including The Running Man (1987) and Total Recall (1990), both of which went to Arnold Schwarzenegger. He turned them down in order to take on more challenging parts. Conversely, Arnold was rejected for the role of Superman.
- #040
In 1974 Christopher Reeve attended Cornell University, where he lived in Risley Hall, and after his third year he went to Juilliard.
- #041
Christopher Reeve was of English and, to a lesser degree, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, German and French descent. He was descended from the prominent French D'Olier family and also from Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester and 1st Earl of Pembroke, the son, brother and uncle of three famous King Henrys: the youngest (fourth) son of King Henry IV of England, the youngest brother of King Henry V of England, and the uncle of his brother's son, King Henry VI of England.
- #042
Before Timothy Dalton was cast, Christopher Reeve was considered for the role of James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987). Had he taken it, he would have been the only American to play the role in a feature film (as of 2018). Barry Nelson had played Bond on American television in Casino Royale (1954), broadcast on 21 October 1954, nearly exactly eight years before the first James Bond feature film, Dr. No (1962), was released in the United Kingdom on 10 October 1962.
- #043
January 2004: For his humanitarian work, Christopher Reeve was awarded the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins by the Chilean government at his home in New York, presented by Chile's chancellor.
- #044
Had the fourth film been successful, Christopher Reeve was set to direct a fifth Superman film starring a new actor in the lead role. Because the fourth film performed poorly at the box office, the fifth film never came to be.
- #045
18 May 2005: After his death, Christopher Reeve was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, in New Brunswick, and on 20 May 2005 he received an honorary degree (Doctor of Humane Letters) at Stony Brook University's commencement. His degree was accepted by Stony Brook graduate student Brooke Ellison, whose life and struggle against paralysis were the subject of a television film directed by the late actor shortly before his death, in 2004.
- #046
Christopher Reeve had starred alongside Michael Keaton in the romantic comedy Speechless (1994). Keaton and Reeve played DC Comics' two most iconic characters, Batman and Superman, respectively.
- #047
Christopher Reeve appeared in a film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Remains of the Day (1993).
- #048
Christopher Reeve stated that, because there were no comic books or television in his home, he was not even aware of the Superman character until he was older.
- #049
Christopher Reeve was the first and, to date, only actor to play DC Comics' flagship character (Superman) in more than three films.
- #050
Christopher Reeve was the godfather and namesake of Jane Seymour's son Christopher Keach.
- #051
1992: Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve had a son, Will Reeve.
- #052
Christopher Reeve had a great passion for flying, and especially for gliding.
- #053
Christopher Reeve was considered for the role of Westley in The Princess Bride (1987), which went to Cary Elwes.
- #054
August 2000: During training, Christopher Reeve fell from his wheelchair and broke his leg.
- #055
Christopher Reeve twice played a character who travels back in time for a woman he loves: Superman (1978) and Somewhere in Time (1980).
- #056
Christopher Reeve won a Grammy Award in the Best Spoken Word Album category for "Still Me" (1998).
- #057
Among the roles Christopher Reeve turned down were Julian Kaye in American Gigolo (1980), Richard Lestrange in The Blue Lagoon (1980), Ned Racine in Body Heat (1981), Garp in The World According to Garp (1982), Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Allen Bauer in Splash (1984), Daniel Jack T. Colton in Romancing the Stone (1984), Dan Gallagher in Fatal Attraction (1987), Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon (1987), Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman (1990) and Fletcher Christian in The Bounty (1984) (when David Lean was attached as director).
- #058
Reeve appears officially as Superman in the end credits sequence of National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985).
- #059
His great-grandfather Mahlon Pitney of New Jersey was appointed an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court by President William Howard Taft and served in that position from 1912 to 1922, a tenure that included a one-year overlap with Taft himself, who was appointed to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice of the United States in 1921.
- #060
He based his portrayal of Clark Kent on Cary Grant's character David Huxley in Bringing Up Baby (1938).
- #061
He played a playwright in both Somewhere in Time (1980) and Deathtrap (1982).
- #062
Superman's adopted Kryptonian son in the 2006 "The Last Son of Krypton" story was named Chris Kent after him. The story was written by Geoff Johns and Superman (1978) director Richard Donner.
- #063
He was inducted into the 2012 New Jersey Hall of Fame posthumously for his contributions to arts and entertainment.
- #064
His father was a teacher of Russian literature, and his mother was a journalist and novelist.
- #065
On "Private Screenings," an AFI-sponsored broadcast, Reeve chose The Graduate (1967) as his favorite film.
- #066
He attended Juilliard with actor Kevin Conroy, who would later voice Batman in the animated Bruce Timm series.
- #067
Until 2013, when it was announced that Henry Cavill would reprise the role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), he was the only actor to play Clark Kent/Superman in more than one live-action film.
- #068
He learned to ride horses for the TV film Anna Karenina (1985). Because he was allergic to horses, he injected himself with antihistamines for months to prevent side effects.
- #069
Along with Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper and Marc McClure, he was one of four actors to appear in the first four Superman films: Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
- #070
He appeared in four films with Ned Beatty: Gray Lady Down (1978), Superman (1978), Superman II (1980) and Switching Channels (1988).
- #071
He was honored with a Google Doodle on September 25, 2021.
- #072
His brother was Benjamin Reeve (born 1953). His stepbrothers were Jeff Johnson and Kevin Johnson.
- #073
In an interview about the upcoming film "Superman II," Christopher Reeve explained how he became associated with various repertory companies while in England. This was before he was cast as Superman/Clark Kent in the first film.
- #074
While living in London in the late 1970s, he was a next-door neighbor of Lorna Luft (Judy Garland's daughter). In her book Me and My Shadows: Life with Judy Garland, Luft said that during the time they were neighbors, he told her he would let her know what he thought of anyone she dated. She said that when he saw Gae Exton (the mother of Christopher's eldest children), he gave her a big thumbs-up.
- #075
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024), a documentary about his career, memory and legacy, premiered on October 11, 2024, the day after the 20th anniversary of his death.
- #076
Christopher Reeve's last on-camera appearance before his death was in a Bureau of Land Management training video produced by Piranha Film producer Bill Greene under a US Federal Government contract. Reeve's former college roommate, then a BLM director, hired him to appear in the production, which he did without pay.
- #077
Reeve's son is F. D. Reeve (F. D. stands for Franklin D'Olier).
- #078
He trained in acting with Michael Howard in New York.
- #079
He was Elizabeth Hubbard's cousin.
- #080
He shares a birthday with Will Smith, and both actors have played superheroes: Smith in Hancock (2008) and Reeve in Superman (1978).
- #081
He shares his birthday with Will Smith, who also played a superhero: Smith in Hancock (2008).
- #082
Christopher Reeve died in October 2004, three months after Marlon Brando.
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