Faster than a speeding bullet: All the actors who've played Superman
The fictional character of Superman was created in 1938 and became a much-loved superhero, published in comic books by DC Comics.
Superman became the biggest-selling American superhero character in history, so it should come as no surprise that Hollywood would eventually come calling.
The first live-action adaptation of Superman came in 1948.
Since then, at least eight actors have donned the blue tights and red cape, while even more have lent their voice to the character.
Click through our gallery to see who has played Superman, and who is the latest to play the title role.
Kirk Alyn
The first live-action adaptation of Superman was a 1948 movie of the same name starring Kirk Alyn.
Alyn had worked as a singer and dancer in vaudeville productions and in the chorus of Broadway plays before relocating to Hollywood, but was having no luck breaking into movies before winning the part of Superman.
He later said that when he got the call from a producer asking him to play the role, he thought it was a joke.
"I didn't think you could ever put Superman on film. They brought the people from DC Comics over and they said, 'Hey, he looks just like Clark Kent'."
After being asked to undress to show off his physique, he was ordered to pick up a girl and run up a flight of stairs.
Alyn was 37 when he played Superman in the first film, which was targeted at children.
Of course, he also played mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent from the Daily Planet newspaper opposite Noel Neill, who starred as Lois Lane.
Alyn reprised the role two years later in the sequel, Atom Man vs. Superman.
George Reeves
By 1951, there were plans for a new adaptation of Superman, and this time George Reeves (real name George Brewer), by then a 12-year movie veteran, was brought into the role.
Reeves was chosen to star in the B-grade film, Superman and the Mole Men, but by the time it was filmed, it was decided it would be a pilot for a new TV show, Adventures of Superman.
Despite initially being reluctant to work in TV, the show made Reeves a star.
The show ran for six seasons, the first two in black and white, while the later were in colour.
The flying effects used were advanced for the time and included take-off, flight and landing sequences. At first, cables and wires were used.
Reeves, who is pictured here with actress, Phyllis Coates, who played Lois Lane, was set to star in a seventh season of the show.
However, on June 16, 1959, Reeves, then 45, died at his home in Benedict Canyon.
The death was ruled a suicide, but this has been questioned over the years and mystery still surrounds his death.
It was even the subject of a 2006 film Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck and Adrien Brody.
A CGI version of Reeves as Superman was used in the 2023 film The Flash.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts, visit rightbyyou.org.au, call Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
Christopher Reeve
By the 1970s, the time was right for a new Superman movie, but it took years to get off the ground.
Christopher Reeve, a then little-known actor who had trained at Juilliard acting school with lifelong pal Robin Williams, was cast in the title role after he was flown to London for a screen test.
The 195cm-tall Reeve was thin and went through an intensive two-month training program to gain 14kg of muscle for the role.
Unlike George Reeves, whose version he had watched on TV, he was not embarrassed to play the role, thinking the dual parts of Superman and Clark Kent were a challenge.
It cost $80 million and at the time was the most expensive film ever made.
The film, also marketed as Superman: The Movie, was released in 1978 and was a huge success.
It also made a star of Reeve, who went on to appear in sequels Superman II, Superman III and Superman IV:The Quest for Peace, from 1981 to 1987.
After stepping away from the franchise, he continued to act in a variety of roles.
On May 27, 1995, Reeve was competing in an equestrian event in the US when he was thrown from his horse and landed headfirst, fracturing his first and second cervical vertebrae and causing a spinal cord injury that left him paralysed from the shoulders down.
He was unable to breathe and relied on a ventilator for the rest of his life.
He became a vocal advocate of spinal cord injury research, and raised funds through the foundation he founded with wife Dana.
A fifth film was slated starring Reeve, but it never went ahead before his death in 2004 of complications from his quadriplegia.
A CGI version of Reeve as Superman was included in the 2023 film The Flash, attracting controversy.
Dean Cain
The 1990s saw another version of the Superman story come to life, this time in the form of a TV show, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
It starred Dean Cain in the title role and centred more on Superman's alter ego of Clark Kent and his relationship with Lois Lane, played by Teri Hatcher.
The series was initially a hit and made huge stars of both Cain and Hatcher over its four seasons, which aired from 1993 to 1997.
Cain later made his first return to the Superman franchise with a guest role in an episode of Smallville as Dr Curtis Knox.
He then took on a recurring role in the 2015 series Supergirl, as the character's foster father, Jeremiah Danvers.
A successful actor, director and producer, he is also known to embrace his Superman past, appearing at various conventions.
Brandon Routh
Superman finally returned to the big screen in the 2006 film Superman Returns.
It was seen as a sequel to the wildly popular Superman and Superman II films, while ignoring the later sequels and Supergirl movie.
Brandon Routh was 24 when cast in the title role after director Bryan Singer saw his audition tape and arranged to meet him in person.
He had wanted an unknown actor to play Superman, just as Christopher Reeves had been.
The movie was filmed largely at Sydney's Fox Studios and was released to good reviews but poor box office takings, so plans for a further two films, also set to star Routh, were shelved.
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