Former Superman actor Brandon Routh recently shared some advice about embodying the iconic DC superhero to the current Man of Steel performer, David Corenswet.
Routh offered the advice during a spotlight panel at ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024. “I think the biggest thing for me about Superman is always recognizing the non-physical superpowers that he has,” he said (per Nerdtropolis).
“It can be cheesy to relate it to the ‘teach a man to fish’ story, but quite literally that is how I see it, and it’s very apropos to being the thing. If you save people all the time, everywhere, maybe they never learn how to save themselves. That doesn’t mean that you don’t save them, but it just means that the teaching, the personality, the aspect, the human communication, the understanding Superman can give us of inclusion.”
The actor continued, “To me Superman is pure love, he doesn’t judge. He has to make some hard choices and stop people from doing bad things, but my goal for Superman is that he’s the guy that everyone can be in their person…maybe without all the flying and all the other stuff. But he’s an example, the best of humanity, and he could teach us to do it, not just by his actions, but by calling out the truth.”
When did Brandon Routh play Superman?
Routh first portrayed Clark Kent/Superman in the 2006 movie Superman Returns, serving as an alternative sequel to the Christopher Reeve-led movies Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). Routh was initially contracted to return as the Man of Steel for a Superman Returns sequel, but the project was scrapped following the movie’s poor box office and fan reception.
Beginning in 2014, Routh began appearing in the Arrowverse as a different DC superhero, Ray Palmer/Atom, appearing in Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Vixen, Supergirl, and Batwoman. However, for the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, Routh returned as an alternate version of the Superman he portrayed in Superman Returns. The crossover marked the first time that Routh had portrayed the Big Blue Boy Scout in 13 years.
After the Superman Returns sequel was shelved, Warner Bros. and DC rebooted the franchise with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013), starring Henry Cavill as the title character. The movie served as the first installment in the DC Extended Universe. Cavill returned as Superman for several further DCEU installments, such as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017 and 2021 cuts), and Black Adam (2022).
Corenswet will succeed Cavill as the next theatrical Man of Steel and will make his debut as the superhero in James Gunn‘s Superman, which will be the first installment in the DC Universe. The hotly-anticipated movie is scheduled to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.
