History Creator / ChristopherReeve

After the success of the first two Superman films it appeared that Reeve was poised to become one of Hollywood's next great leading men (JohnWayne himself reportedly proclaimed him as such), but his career unfortunately proved turbulent with his artistic standards and desire for roles that would help offset any potential Superman typecasting leading him to turn down roles in ''AmericanGigolo'', ''TheWorldAccordingToGarp'', ''Film/{{Splash}}'', ''Film/FatalAttraction'', ''Film/PrettyWoman'', ''RomancingTheStone'', ''LethalWeapon'' and ''BodyHeat''. Instead he starred in a mixed bag of films like ''SomewhereInTime'', ''StreetSmart'', ''Film/TheRemainsOfTheDay'' and the remake of ''VillageOfTheDamned'', while the ''Superman'' series was gradually misused by the producers who dismissed Donner and replaced him with RichardLester who had a fatal contempt for the comics which drove the franchise into the ground.

After the success of the first two Superman films it appeared that Reeve was poised to become one of Hollywood's next great leading man (JohnWayne himself reportedly proclaimed him as such), but his career unfortunately proved turbulent with his artistic standards and desire for roles that would help offset any potential Superman typecasting leading him to turn down roles in ''AmericanGigolo'', ''TheWorldAccordingToGarp'', ''Film/{{Splash}}'', ''Film/FatalAttraction'', ''Film/PrettyWoman'', ''RomancingTheStone'', ''LethalWeapon'' and ''BodyHeat''. Instead he starred in a mixed bag of films like ''SomewhereInTime'', ''StreetSmart'', ''Film/TheRemainsOfTheDay'' and the remake of ''VillageOfTheDamned'', while the ''Superman'' series was gradually misused by the producers who dismissed Donner and replaced him with RichardLester who had a fatal contempt for the comics which drove the franchise into the ground.

After that, his career proved turbulent with his artistic standards leading him to turn down roles in ''AmericanGigolo'', ''TheWorldAccordingToGarp'', ''Film/{{Splash}}'', ''Film/FatalAttraction'', ''Film/PrettyWoman'', ''RomancingTheStone'', ''LethalWeapon'' and ''BodyHeat''. Instead he starred in a mixed bag of films like ''SomewhereInTime'', ''StreetSmart'', ''Film/TheRemainsOfTheDay'' and the remake of ''VillageOfTheDamned'', while the ''Superman'' series was gradually misused by the producers who dismissed Donner and replaced him with RichardLester who had a fatal contempt for the comics which drove the franchise into the ground.

His most famous role came after the producers had a frustrating hunt for the SuperHero and Reeve himself as rejected three times before director RichardDonner and producer IlyaSalkind finally had a face to face meeting with this unknown actor. At that, he was signed on with an exercise regime supervised by David Prowse (better known to the world as the guy wearing the [[StarWars Darth Vader costume]]. In the film, Reeve proved a more valuable asset than anyone could have guessed with such skill making the world feel that they could believe a man could fly considering he piloted a glider for a hobby and thus knew how to make his flying scenes seem real. Even more amazingly, Reeve showed that ClarkKenting can really seem to work if you are a good enough actor. At that, Reeve instantly eclipsed his top billed co-stars, Creator/MarlonBrando and GeneHackman, as the true star of ''Film/{{Superman}}'' and a leading light of the rise of the modern fantasy film.

His most famous role came after the producers had a frustrating hunt for the SuperHero and Reeve himself as rejected three times before director RichardDonner and producer IlyaSalkind finally had a face to face meeting with this unknown actor. At that, he was signed on with an exercise regime supervised by David Prowse. In the film, Reeve proved a more valuable asset than anyone could have guessed with such skill making the world feel that they could believe a man could fly considering he piloted a glider for a hobby and thus knew how to make his flying scenes seem real. Even more amazingly, Reeve showed that ClarkKenting can really seem to work if you are a good enough actor. At that, Reeve instantly eclipsed his top billed co-stars, Creator/MarlonBrando and GeneHackman, as the true star of ''Film/{{Superman}}'' and a leading light of the rise of the modern fantasy film.

In 1995, Reeve had a serious riding accident that led to a catastrophic spinal cord injury, rendering him quadriplegic. However, with the help of his wife, Reeve refused to surrender to his despair and became a universally hailed advocate for spinal cord research and the disabled. He even continued in his artistic career under the circumstances as a director and even starred in a remake of Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''RearWindow'' on TV and guest appearances on ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.

Christopher Reeve was an American actor whose most famous role is {{Franchise/Superman}} and who showed that brilliant acting has a valuable place even in special effect heavy fantasy films like the SuperHero genre, but ended up being much more than that.

Even his real life had heroic moments such as when he went to Chile, that was under the murderous tyranny of Augusto Pinochet, to help a group of artists that were under arrest. Later, he appeared in commercials for the 1988 referendum for the "No" side to urge the people to vote to strip the dictator of his power, which can be seen in the AcademyAward nominated Chilean film, ''{{No}}''.

In 1995, Reeve had a serious riding accident that lead to a catastrophic spinal cord injury, rendering him quadriplegic. However, with the help of his wife, Reeve refused to surrender to his despair and became a universally hailed advocate for spinal cord research and the disabled. He even continued in his artistic career under the circumstances as a director and even starred in a remake of Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''RearWindow'' on TV and guest appearances on ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.

-->''"He wasn't just here to be an actor. He was {{Superman}}."
-->-- Richard Donner

After that, his career proved turbulent with his artistic standards leading him to turn down roles in ''AmericanGigolo'', ''TheWorldAccordingToGarp'', ''{{Splash}}'', ''FatalAttraction'', ''PrettyWoman'', ''RomancingTheStone'', ''LethalWeapon'' and ''BodyHeat''. Instead he starred in a mixed bag of films like ''SomewhereInTime'', ''StreetSmart'', ''Film/TheRemainsOfTheDay'' and the remake of ''VillageOfTheDamned'', while the ''Superman'' series was gradually misused by the producers who dismissed Donner and replaced him with RichardLester who had a fatal contempt for the comics which drove the franchise into the ground.

* CreatorWorship[=/=]DeadArtistsAreBetter: To this day Reeve is the gold standard of any actor playing Superman on film, and sheer acting skill in a SuperHero role in general. His paralysis and later, his death only amplified the above in public and pop culture opinion.

* HarsherInHindsight: In the film ''Above Suspicion'', he plays a paralyzed police officer. This was ''before'' his accident, but the end result is now the movie seems like a violation of his privacy.
* TearJerker: Pretty much every appearance he made after his accident. Special mention goes to his Oscar speech and the standing ovation he received.

* HarsherInHindsight: In the film ''AboveSuspicion'', he plays a paralyzed police officer. This was ''before'' his accident, but the end result is now the movie seems like a violation of his privacy.

* Badass: Both onscreen and off.

He initially studied at Juillard's theatrical arts program with his roommate Creator/RobinWilliams, but eventually graduated from Cornell. His major professional gigs were simultaneously in the SoapOpera, ''LoveOfLife'' and in the Broadway play, ''A Matter of Gravity''. In the latter, he became a close enough friend to the play's star, KathrynHepburn, to get the gossip columns fluttering. Eventually, he left and eventually appeared in his first Hollywood film, ''GreyLadyDown''.

!!Tropes Invoked By This Actor

* CreatorWorship / DeadArtistsAreBetter: To this day Reeve is the gold standard of any actor playing Superman on film, and sheer acting skill in a SuperHero role in general. His paralysis and later, his death only amplified the above in public and pop culture opinion.

* CreatorWorship: To this day Reeve is the gold standard of any actor playing Superman on film, and sheer acting skill in a SuperHero role in general.
* DeadArtistsAreBetter: His paralysis and later, his death only amplified the above in public and pop culture opinion.

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: After his paralysis and his death, Reeve became the Gold Standard of any actor playing Superman on film, and sheer acting skill in a SuperHero role in general.

After that, his career proved turbulent with his artistic standards leading him to turn down roles in ''AmericanGigolo'', ''TheWorldAccordingToGarp'', ''{{Splash}}'', ''FatalAttraction'', ''PrettyWoman'', ''RomancingTheStone'', ''LethalWeapon'' and ''BodyHeat''. Instead he starred in a mixed bag of films like ''SomewhereInTime'', ''StreetSmart'', ''TheRemainsOfTheDay'' and the remake of ''VillageOfTheDamned'', while the ''Superman'' series was gradually misused by the producers who dismissed Donner and replaced him with RichardLester who had a fatal contempt for the comics which drove the franchise into the ground.

Sadly, he died in 2004 in a typical lifespan for a person suffering his kind of injuries. At the end, he was hailed as a hero who never needed a cape after all.

In 1995, Reeve had a serious riding accident that lead to a catastrophic spinal cord injury, rendering him quadriplegic. However, with the help of his wife, Reeve refused to surrender to his despair and became a universally hailed advocate for spinal cord research and the disabled. He even continued in his artistic career under the circumstances as a director and even starred in a remake of AlfredHitchcock's ''RearWindow'' on TV and guest appearances on ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.