There is little doubt that the late Christopher Reeve's version of Clark Kent is considered the best one so far. But what was it like taking on the iconic role after the screen legend? Brandon Routh reveals how he prepared to become the Man of Steel in Superman Returns.
Routh was recently a guest on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of Youpodcast where he was asked if he tried to avoid being too similar to the previous incarnations of Superman. Interestingly, Routh revealed that he was told otherwise.
"Essentially, I was tasked with kind of having this similar energy as Christopher Reeve in Superman Returns," he admitted. "So I did do that, and partially that just was in me -- having watched the film so many times. And he [Reeve] was my Superman. So it was just innately there. I absorbed it to a degree."
Of course, Routh made sure that his portrayal of the DC superhero would still be his own.
"I played Clark differently -- in some ways, my approach to him was slightly different than Chris's. But there are similarities in there, things that are different," he said. The Legends of Tomorrow star then concluded that he wasn't sorry that he played Clark in a way that was similar to Reeve's.
"I'm not afraid to have walked in his footsteps because that's what I was tasked with doing," Routh said.
It must have been an honor to take on a role that your hero once played. Needless to say, Routh did a great job and we're still hoping that he could continue to play Superman in the future.
Routh appears as Ray Palmer in Legends of Tomorrow Season 5, which airs on The CW every Tuesday nights.
Related: Brandon Routh Admits Struggling With His Legends of Tomorrow Exit
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