Who has played Superman in live action?

Acting on Jeff's link to the "Get to know all 20 live-action SUPERMAN" [sic] video in the Batman thread, I wrote down all the actors cited there and compared them to other lists (like Wiki). And Jeff's right; a number of them are pretty iffy. I'll list what I consider valid, and throw the others in at the end for consideration.

1. Kirk Alyn

Alyn played the Man of Steel in the Superman serial (1948) and the Atom Man vs. Superman serial (1950). He looked the part and seemed to be enjoying himself. I enjoyed them both.

2. George Reeves

Reeves was appeared as the Action Ace in Superman and The Mole Men (1951), The Adventures of Superman TV show (1952-58), a PSA called Stamp Day for Superman (1954) and an episode of I Love Lucy (1957). He's definitive for a lot of people, as both Superman and a robust Clark Kent, who tended to have a lot of scenes in a show hobbled by a low budget.

3. David Wilson

I had never heard of the It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman Holiday Special (1975), but it was a TV special based on the campy Broadway play of the same name and was, by all accounts, pretty silly. But hey, it's a Superman-starring TV show, so it counts. And Gary Owens was the narrator!

4. Christopher Reeve

Reeve starred in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Reeve's Superman is pretty definitive for a lot of people, too. I think both Reeves and Reeve are definitive, because I am vast, I contain multitudes.

5. Dean Cain

Cain starred in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997). The main draw of that show for me was Teri Hatcher, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

6. Tom Welling

Welling starred as Clark Kent in 10 seasons of Smallville (2001-2011), but only donned the suit for the last scene of the last episode. Still counts, as he was Superman in all but name throughout the series.

Welling's Clark Kent also appeared in The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover (2019-2020).

7. Brandon Routh

Brandon starred in Superman Lives (2006), a strange movie with the premise that Superman had abandoned Earth for some time, Lois had gotten married to someone else (but carried Superman's illegitimate child) and a forlorn Man of Steel was reduced to spying on her with his X-ray vision. Routh looked good in the suit and had the genial charisma needed for the role, but the script hobbled him.

Routh's Clark Kent also appeared in The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (2019-2020). There were a number of references implying he was the Kingdom Come Superman.

8. Henry Cavill

Cavill starred in Man of Steel (2013), Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and both versions of Justice League (2017). He also had cameos in Shazam (2019), Peacemaker (2022). and Black Adam (2022). Word is his time with the cape is over.

9. Tyler Hoechlin

Hoechlin first appeared as the Man of Steel in various Arrowverse shows, including Supergirl (2016-2019), Arrow (2018-2020) and Flash (2020). He's currently starring in Superman & Lois (2021-present).

Here are the other actors cited in Jeff's video:

Ray Middleton

Middleton portrayed Superman in the New York World's Fair "Superman Day" parade in 1939. Since video was taken, he is technically a live-action Superman, but I don't see how that's much different than a video taken on your phone of a guy in a Superman suit on Times Square.

Johnny Rockwell 

John Haymes Newton 

Gerard Christopher

These are all Superboys.

Bob Holiday

Holiday starred in the Broadway show It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman in 1966, and a couple of revivals. He made some TV appearances -- a UniRoyal ad, an Aqua Velva ad, and guest appearances on I've Got a Secret and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson -- but I don't think those count. Nor do videos of public appearances, like the Sixth International Fashion Show held at Macy's in New York City, where video happened to be taken. Wiki lists a couple of other public appearances as well.

Chuck Woolery

The video says Woolery played Superman on the Saturday Morning Sneak Peek Special (1973), but IMDb doesn't list is in Woolery's screen credits, and doesn't list the show at all, so I'm inclined to discount it.

Peter Lupus

One of my favorite Mission: Impossible actors! He appeared in U.S. Air Force recruiting commercial, which I don't think counts.

 

Denny Miller

Another U.S. Air Force recruiting commercial.

Nicolas Cage

We've probably all heard about the proposed Superman Lives movie (1988) that was to star Nic Cage. It was never made, but evidently some pre-production video exist. 

Matt Bomer

Today's Negative Man was Superman in two Prius commercials in 2009.

D.J. Cotrona

Justice League: Mortal (2009) is another movie that didn't get off the ground, but where there are some pre-production videos extant. It's probably a good thing that it didn't happen, as it starred Armie Hammer as Batman.

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  • Acting on The Baron's link

    In fairness, that was Jeff.

  • Cap, let us not forget Henry Cavill's cameo appearance in Black Adam as well. But I'm sure you hit every other appearance!

  • Looking at Jeff's latest posting in "Who Has Played Batman in Live Action?" reminded me that Dan Ackroyd played a version of Superman in a Saturday Night Live skit many moons ago; the premise was a show doing "What If Superman Was Raised Germany?"

    Also, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson played Superman in a more recent SNL skit. The premise was that Lois, Jimmy and Perry were all laughing at Clark Kent behind his back -- and mocking him to his face -- at how lousy he was at hiding his secret identity. Even though we know eyeglasses make for an excellent disguise, even for a dog! they can't hide that physique -- those broad shoulders, that barrel chest, those legs like tree trunks, those biceps like bowling balls.

    Plus, the blue tights and red cape and boots kept peeking out from under Clark Kent's street clothes, not to mention the "S" on his chest was showing through his white dress shirt.

    Sure, it's a stretch, but we at the Legion of Superfluous Heroes strive for completeness!

  • Also, considering "Who Has Played Batman in Live Action?", if David Mazouz counts as Young Bruce Wayne, a Batman-in-training -- a "Batboy," if you will -- then I don't understand the objection to counting Johnny Rockwell, John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher as playing Superman in live action because they played Superboy. 

  • In fairness, that was Jeff.

    Fixed!

    Let us not forget Henry Cavill's cameo appearance in Black Adam.

    Fixed!

    Dan Ackroyd played a version of Superman in a Saturday Night Live skit many moons ago.

    I left off skits, commercials and impressions. On a practical side, adding every skit, impression and TV commercial would make any list too lengthy to be useful. Further, I don't know of a way to make sure such a list was comprehensive -- I'd miss something (or Wiki would). Since I have to draw a line somewhere, that's where I drew it. I see the difference in my head between Zachary Levi playing Captain Marvel Shazam in two movies and Lyle Waggonner dancing in a Captain Marvel suit in a Carol Burnett Show skit, but I'm not sure I can articulate it.

    I've never seen that Rock sketch, but it does sound funny. If we want to include such material, I'm going to need a lot more help!

    If David Mazouz counts as Young Bruce Wayne, a Batman-in-training -- a "Batboy," if you will -- then I don't understand the objection to counting Johnny Rockwell, John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher as playing Superman in live action because they played Superboy. 

    I'll tell you my reasons, and see if they convince you. If not, I'm open to changing the rules.

    1) David Mazouz, like Dave Wellington in Smallville, became his superhero persona during the course of Gotham -- Bruce would wear a mask and cape and do ninja stuff, just like Clark would zip around as "The Blur." Neither attempted to create a teen hero persona, but instead continued to train for their adult debut while doing good deeds in secret along the way. By the time their respective shows came to an end, Bruce and Clark were Batman and Superman in everything but name. Neither show established a "Batboy" or "Superboy," and both shows culminated with a shot of the adult hero. 

    2) Superboy is a distinct character, separate from Superman, beginning in 1945. Those were the adventures of Superman as a boy, with a completely different status quo, supporting characters and rogues gallery. Not to mention Superboy had his own logo! If that's not enough, today's Superboys (yes, plural) are completely different people.

    Superboy, by my lights, should have his own list. By contrast, there never was an "Adventures of Batman as a boy" series.

    Agree? Disagree? Anybody care for a mint?

  • Captain Comics said:

    I've never seen that Rock sketch, but it does sound funny.

    Here 'tis: "Clark Kent" (can't embed it).

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