6. Christopher Reeve - Superman: The Movie
To be Superman, an actor must take on two personas: the hero when he dons the cape and tights and the bumbling fool who cant talk to Lois Lane when he puts on the glasses and suit. The first Superman showed that that the superhero genre did not need to be dark and gritty in order to tell a compelling story of an above average man fighting criminals. Richard Donner perfectly blends action with comedy and charm, which the later sequels could not find thus leading to that abortion with Richard Pryor. But, in order to capture that charisma, you need the proper star to play Superman/Clark Kent. Christopher Reeve was the perfect person to capture both sides of Kal-el. As Clark Kent, he was perfectly believable as the nice guy who is quite clumsy. And as Superman, he had the body and physique as well as a winning smile to make quick quips to his foe and to nearby children. All other adaptations of the Superman mythos have struggled with that dichotomy thus far and therefore could never replicate the success of the original Superman.