10 Things You Didn’t Know About Christopher Reeve’s Superman
8. Christopher Reeve Trained Under Darth Vader
Upon landing the role of Superman, a skinny Christopher Reeve was told that hed need to wear an artificial muscle suit to become a visual match for Supes physique. He refused, preferring to undergo a strict work out regimen and buff-up significantly for the part.
Enter David Prowse, the British actor who provided the body of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. Prowse had already had contact with the Superman production, because hed wanted to audition for the lead role (Prowses wish was refused, on the grounds that hes not American).
Prowse was also turned down for the part of Kryptonian henchman Non - which went to Jack OHalloran in the end - before being hired to help train Christopher Reeve. Prowses teachings were a success, as Reeve went from 188 to 212 pounds and didnt have to wear a muscle suit.
Reeve continued gaining weight and muscle mass whiling filming, to such a degree that some scenes had to be reshot because his body no longer matched the original footage. These events were parodied in the 2009 The Simpsons episode Homer The Whopper (in which Homer became a superhero actor and ate a lot of unhealthy food on set, resulting in none of the scenes in the finished film matching one another).