Brandon Routh has big tights to fill.
Although he’s not exactly a Hollywood newbie, “Superman Returns” will serve as the official coming out party for Routh when the fifth installment of this popular franchise opens at 10 p.m. Tuesday at some theaters.
The 26-year-old actor, whose previous credits include a regular role on “One Life to Live” and appearances on prime-time shows, knows that taking on such an iconic character is the equivalent of leaping a tall building in a single bound.
“There’s been a great legacy before me. Many, many fantastic actors, artists and writers have come before me and created this character, and I’m very honored to be able to be a part of it,” Routh told reporters recently at an L.A. hotel.
It’s been 19 years since “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” starring Christopher Reeve, hit theaters. In the years since, several attempts have been made to revive the franchise.
Tim Burton, McG and “X-Men: The Last Stand” director Brett Ratner were among the directors who had signed on for the project over the years. At one point, actor Nicolas Cage had hoped to play the hero.
Bryan Singer, who directed the first two “X-Men” movies, turned down “Superman Returns” three years ago because he didn’t like the script. But Singer came back to the project, tossed the old script and created a new one with screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.
All Singer needed was the right actor to play Superman.
After months of testing actors, Singer found his Man of Steel in the Iowa-born, unpretentious Routh (pronounced like “south”). The 6-foot-3 actor not only bore an uncanny resemblance to the character, but he also wore Superman jammies when he was a kid–and won a Halloween contest three years ago when he dressed as Clark Kent.
“Just talking to him I got a sense of his Midwestern upbringing and all the classic ideals that come from that sort of childhood, which are the same kinds of ideals that Superman embodies,” Singer said during the L.A. interview. “Then, of course, there is his physical presence. He looks like he walked off a page in the comic book.”
In the film, Superman returns to Metropolis after five years away. He discovers that his archenemy, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), has been sprung from jail and is more diabolical than ever. Supes also learns that his sweetie, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), has a son and a fiance.
To prepare for the role, Superman fan Routh was able to draw upon his knowledge of the legendary DC Comics hero, but he also screened old Superman DVDs.
“While it was helpful to watch the films, I already knew it so much because when I was reading the script for the first time I was picturing Chris [Reeve] because he was my Superman,” Routh said. “He still is my Superman.”
Routh said the first time he felt right in the role came the first day he wore Superman’s costume.
“Well, you know, it’s all about what’s inside–how you feel about yourself when you put that on–because it’s very revealing and very imposing if worn with confidence,” Routh said with a sly grin.
He said that even though putting the suit on was “awesome,” he still was a little uncomfortable.
“I hadn’t really trained any yet, I hadn’t read the script and hadn’t worked on my character at that point,” he said. “But once I got into it, it got more comfortable.”
Routh eventually gained 22 pounds through weight-training and yoga workouts, according to news reports. He also donned contact lenses to change his brown eyes to Superman’s blue.
When shooting started in Australia in 2005, Routh had never done a lead role, not to mention a major film. Carrying a big-budget project was a lot of pressure for a guy in his position.
“I decided early on I would just not listen to [talk about the pressure] and believe there wasn’t any,” he said, according to news reports. “Because there was no way that I could continue if I was to be worried … So I took strength in the character of Superman and lived in that as much as I could in my own personal life.”
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DMIKI@AOL.COM
