10 Times Recasting Iconic Characters Actually Worked

5. Superman

The Original: Christopher Reeve The Recast: Brandon Routh In almost eight decades of existence Superman has been portrayed by a multitude of actors. The most prolific of these, without a shadow of a doubt, is Christopher Reeve, who played Clark Kent and his less unassuming alter ego in Supes' first major big screen outing (Superman And The Mole Man from 1951 was little more than a TV pilot, so doesn't count). Superman: The Movie has served as the definitive look at the Last Son of Krypton that all subsequent versions either draw from or willingly avoid. Even though the series quickly decreased in quality, Reeve remained an emblem of the character and while various other takes appeared over the years, they all looked at purposely different aspects to his; Smallville was his early days and Lois And Clark was geared towards the bespectacled ordinary guy. It was as if the straight take on Kal-El was locked away; the various failed attempts to bring the character back to the big screen in the nineties all tried different approaches. That is until Bryan Singer came on board with his nostalgic Superman Returns, led by Reeve-avatar Brandon Routh. Routh's performance wasn't as groundbreaking as Reeve's, but neither was it meant to be; he was very much the same character and as such stuck close to the earlier performance.