Christopher D'Olier Reeve
17 min read
Reading time
3,255
Words
Published
81
Film credits
5
Books
8
Awards
Christopher Reeve played Superman in the 1978 film, becoming at age 24 the youngest actor to play the character. After a 1995 horse riding accident left him quadriplegic, he became a disability activist and founded the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. He died of heart failure in 2004, but the foundation continues his advocacy.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Christopher Reeve — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Christopher Reeve by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Christopher Reeve — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
At age four, Christopher Reeve’s parents divorced, and he moved with his mother and brother to Princeton, New Jersey. Born in New York City on September 25, 1952, to journalist Barbara Pitney Lamb and writer F.D. Reeve, he attended Princeton Day School and later Cornell University, where he began acting. In his final year, he was one of two students selected to study at Juilliard alongside Robin Williams.
Reeve’s breakthrough came when he was cast as Clark Kent/Superman in Richard Donner’s 1978 film Superman, at age 24. He wore nearly 25 different costumes and worked with weight trainer David Prowse. He chose Somewhere in Time as his first post-Superman film against his agent’s advice. He also starred in Street Smart and The Remains of the Day.
After being paralyzed in a 1995 accident, he continued acting and directing, appearing in Above Suspicion and Smallville as Dr. Virgil Swann.
Reeve married Dana Reeve on April 11, 1992. They had three children: Matthew, Alexandra, and Will. His close friend Robin Williams helped pay his medical bills and dedicated his Cecil B. DeMille award to Reeve in 2004. Reeve’s wife Dana’s support kept him from choosing death after his paralysis.
Reeve’s portrayal of Superman in 1978 set the standard for superhero performances. After his accident, he advocated for spinal cord research and established the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The 2006 film Superman Returns included a tribute to him and his wife. He received a two-minute standing ovation at the 1996 Academy Awards. The Smallville episode Devoted was dedicated to his memory with the caption He made us believe a man could fly.
The complete filmography of Christopher Reeve — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Christopher Reeve — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Christopher Reeve's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Christopher Reeve — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Either You Decide to Stay in the Shallow End of the Pool or You Go Out in the Ocean.
What Makes Superman a Hero Is Not That He Has Power, but That He Has the Wisdom and the Maturity to Use the Power Wisely. from an Acting Point of View, That’s How I Approached the Part.
A Hero Is an Ordinary Individual Who Finds the Strength to Persevere and Endure in Spite of Overwhelming Obstacles.
I Have Seen First-hand How Superman Actually Transforms People’s Lives. I Have Seen Children Dying of Brain Tumors Who Wanted as Their Last Request to Be Able to Talk to Me, and Have Gone to Their Graves with a Peace Brought on by Knowing That Their Belief in This Kind of Character Is Intact. I Have Seen That Superman Really Matters. They’re Connecting with Something Very Basic: the Ability to Overcome Obstacles, the Ability to Persevere, the Ability to Understand Difficulty and to Turn Your Back on It.
I Asked Sean Connery How to Avoid Being Typecast and He Said, First You Have to Be Good Enough That They Ask You to Play It Again and Again..
Your Body Is Not Who You Are. the Mind and Spirit Transcend the Body.
Hollywood Needs to Do More. Let’s Continue to Take Risks. Let’s Tackle the Issues. in Many Ways Our Film Community Can Do It Better Than Anyone Else.
The Key to Success Is Letting the Relationships in Your Life Grow to the Highest Levels They Possibly Can… Not Putting Yourself First in Life and Remembering That the More You Give Away, the More You Have.
So Many of Our Dreams at First Seem Impossible, Then They Seem Improbable, and Then When We Summon the Will, They Soon Become Inevitable.
I Often Refer to Abraham Lincoln, Who Said, When I Do Good I Feel Good. When I Do Bad I Feel Bad. and That Is My Religion. I Think We All Have a Little Voice Inside Us That Will Guide Us. It May Be God, I Don’t Know. but I Think That If We Shut Out All the Noise and Clutter from Our Lives and Listen to That Voice, It Will Tell Us the Right Thing to Do.
A Hero Is Someone Who in Spite of Weakness, Doubt or Not Always Knowing the Answers Goes Ahead and Overcomes Anyway.
I Refuse to Allow a Disability to Determine How I Live My Life. I Don’t Mean to Be Reckless, but Setting a Goal That Seems a Bit Daunting Actually Is Very Helpful Toward Recovery
Little-known facts about Christopher Reeve — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
At the time of his death, Reeve had regained partial movement in his fingers and toes and could feel a pin prick and differentiate hot and cold temperatures.
While filming Somewhere in Time, the local theater showed Superman and the sound went out. Reeve stood up in the audience and delivered all the lines.
He was roommates with Robin Williams at Juilliard; they remained close friends. Williams helped pay his medical bills and dedicated his Cecil B. DeMille award to Reeve in 2004.
After his death, many memorial cartoons depicted Reeve as Superman flying away from his wheelchair or arriving in heaven dressed as Superman.
The last character he played before his riding accident was a paralyzed individual in Above Suspicion, released six days before the accident.
He was a licensed hang glider pilot, which helped him create distinctive movement for Superman during flight scenes.
At the height of his popularity, children threw a Frisbee over a fence and asked him to fly after it; he politely declined, saying his cape was in the washer.
He was only 24 when cast in Superman, making him the youngest actor to play the character.
After his paralysis, he said his wife’s support kept him from choosing death.
His close friend Jane Seymour called him Superfoot due to his tendency to step on her toes while dancing in Somewhere in Time.
At the time of his paralysis, he had been working on a film about horseback-riding safety.
Before his accident, Reeve was a qualified pilot, pianist, sailor, scuba diver, skier, and horse rider.
He took criticism for portraying Clark Kent as a weak bumbling nerd, but he felt it was necessary to differentiate him from Superman.
The Smallville episode Devoted was dedicated to his memory with the caption He made us believe a man could fly.
Jane Seymour named her son after him.
He made his Broadway debut opposite Katharine Hepburn in A Matter of Gravity in 1976; Hepburn became fond of him.
He received a two-minute standing ovation at the 68th Academy Awards in 1996 while introducing a film montage.
The ending credits of Superman Returns feature a tribute: To Christopher and Dana Reeve, a pair of real-life superheroes.
His weight trainer for Superman was British champion David Prowse, who played Darth Vader.
He was a huge fan of Law & Order and said it helped him through physical therapy.
He wore nearly 25 different Superman costumes, some for walking, some for flying, and some turquoise for blue screen shots.
He called into Dr. Frasier Crane’s radio show on the second episode of Frasier.
After meeting him at the 1979 Academy Awards, John Wayne told Cary Grant, ‘This is our new man. He’s taking over.
He was not given first billing in Superman films until Superman III.
He wrote an autobiography Still Me, which became a bestseller.
On May 27, 1995, he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
He was offered Richard Gere’s role in Pretty Woman but declined after a poor reading experience.
In 1987, he went to Chile to support artists threatened by the Pinochet regime.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 15, 1997.
He died at Northern Westchester Hospital from heart failure caused by a pressure wound infection.
He attended the Supergirl premiere with Helen Slater.
In 2002, he and Dana opened the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center in New Jersey.
He attended drama school with William Hirsch, Robin Williams, and Treat Williams.
He appeared in a Super Bowl XXXIV commercial for Nuveen showing him walking via special effects; it generated many calls asking how he was cured.
He turned down lead roles in American Gigolo, The Bounty, Body Heat, Hannibal, Man from Atlantis, and Romancing the Stone.
He gained 30 pounds for the role of Superman.
He had planned 1995 as his comeback year with films like Village of the Damned and Above Suspicion, cut short by his accident.
He was the first actor to play Superman who was born after the character’s creation in 1938.
He reluctantly agreed to do Superman IV after producers promised to finance Street Smart.
He was offered the role of Mason Verger in Hannibal but withdrew after realizing the character was a quadriplegic child rapist.
He was the tallest actor to play Superman in movies and television.
Casting directors were not initially impressed with his early auditions, including for Superman.
He attended Cornell University and lived in Risley Hall before leaving for Juilliard after his junior year.
He suffered from alopecia areata since age sixteen and often combed over bald spots before shaving his head in his final years.
The character he played on Smallville, Dr. Swann, was named after longtime Superman artist Curt Swan.
After Superman, he turned down action scripts like one about Eric the Red, choosing instead Somewhere in Time.
He acted on stage with Celeste Holm and Katharine Hepburn, who picked him from 500 actors for a six-month tour.
He loved Scotland and often visited with his family.
Before 2011, he held the record for playing the same comic book character in the most films, later overtaken by Hugh Jackman.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Christopher Reeve.
Celebrities similar to Christopher Reeve — same craft, ranked by reach.
🌍 Hong Kong
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇫🇷 France
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
