It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Christopher Reeve.
In exclusive never-before-seen photos obtained by The Post, a fit Reeve is seen working out for his “Superman” role in 1977.
Reeve, who died in 2004 at age 52, was 24 when he took on the famous mantle of Clark Kent and his red-cape wearing alter-ego, in 1978’s “Superman.”
He’d go on to star in its three sequels: 1980’s “Superman II,” 1983’s “Superman III” and 1987’s “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.”
The photos were taken by photographer Eva Sereny, who died in 2021.
“I got a call from Mike Baumohl (Warner Bros.) asking if I would do an off-set session with Christopher Reeve for Superman. Of course! So, I decided to meet him for the photo session at the gym in the Grosvenor House Hotel,” she recalled to the Post in 2018. “Christopher made it very clear that the gym was the number one issue for his preparation in the role of Superman. He would go through his strict workout regime for me to photograph. This consisted of weightlifting, punch bag, skipping rope and so on.”
She added: “He seemed to enjoy being photographed and showing off how his body had taken on that triangular Superman shape.”
Unlike today’s bulky Marvel superheroes such as Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, Reeve had a tall and lean physique in these weight-lifting photos.
According to a 1998 interview with Ability Magazine, Reeve increased his weight by 30 pounds and added four inches to his chest and three inches to his biceps during his training for “Superman.” He also increased his bench press from 100 pounds to 350.
Reeve’s first trainer was David Prowse, who played the role of Darth Vader for the entirety of the original “Star Wars” trilogy.
A 1978 “behind the scenes” video feature said that at first, “Superman producers” considered him “too young, and maybe even too skinny” for the role.
Before landing on the then-unknown Reeve, producers reportedly considered bigger stars for the lead, including Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone and Caitlyn Jenner (who was then Bruce).
He can also be seen in London, promoting the seminal 1978 film.
In a 1981 interview on CNN, Reeve told an anecdote about Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane, getting him to come to her 3-year-old child’s birthday party.
“All the kids were promised that Superman was going to show up,” he said. “So I come in, wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans. You would think this would freak them out, but I told them, ‘No, it’s Saturday, and the cape is in the wash,’ and they still thought I was Superman.”
In 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the shoulders down after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition, and he spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
He told the outlet, “Who knows why an accident happens? The key is what do you do afterwards. There is a period of shock and then grieving with confusion and loss. After that, you have two choices. One is to stare out the window and gradually disintegrate. And the other is to mobilize and use all your resources, whatever they may be, to do something positive. That is the road I have taken. It comes naturally to me. I am a competitive person and right now I am competing against decay. I don’t want osteoporosis or muscle atrophy or depression to beat me.”
Following that tragedy, he became a spokesperson for people with similar disabilities and lobbied for spinal injury research, believing there could be a cure.
“There are some people who have been in [wheel] chairs for a very long time who say, ‘there is nothing wrong with me,’” he told Ability Magazine in 1998. “They don’t believe that a cure is possible and that it is a waste of time or maybe they are just in a mindset where they think research is irrelevant. So, it is very hard to represent the entire disability community. I am doing what I can, based on my own beliefs. I think that is all an individual can do. I am trying to share the effort on behalf of others. I am primarily concerned with diseases of the central nervous system and the brain.”
He said that he thought cures were possible.
“Just as possible as when Kennedy said in 1961, that by the end of the decade we’d put a man on the Moon. For me to take on the entire disability community would be impossible. No one individual can do it. But, I am certainly putting my efforts behind what I believe in and that’s the most truthful thing I can do.”
A new documentary details the “incredible” moment he appeared at the Oscars, following his accident.
Matthew Reeve said it was “absolutely incredible” watching his father, Christopher Reeve, receive a long standing ovation at the 1996 Oscars one year after his accident made him a quadriplegic.
On that dramatic night at the Academy Awards, a curtain raised to reveal Reeve onstage in a wheelchair – in his first public appearance since the tragedy.
“I remember I was in London, it was a school night and we stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning to watch it, and it was absolutely incredible,” Matthew, 44, told People magazine at the Sundance Film Festival premiere of the new documentary, “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.“
“And what sticks with me most,” he said, “was after that incredible warm welcome and that very long standing ovation that he received, his introduction — he followed it up with a wonderful speech about how cinema and movies are at their best when they not only entertain, but they inform and educate and address issues.”
Tom Hanks, Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt, John Travolta, Meryl Streep, Jim Carrey and Nicolas Cage were all among the stars in the audience that night.
The new documentary chronicles his life after the accident. “Super/Man” also includes behind-the-scenes footage, and it documents the love story between Christopher and his wife Dana – who he married in 1992 – and between the actor and his first partner, Gae Exton, who is the mother of Matthew and Alexandra.
After his death from cardiac arrest, his family established a foundation in his name, which is now called the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, dedicated to research on curing spinal cord injury.
“Super/Man” features Christopher’s three children, Matthew, Alexandra Reeve Givens and William.
When asked what he thinks of being called “courageous,” or “inspiring,” Reeve told Ability Magazine, “Well, I sometimes joke with my assistants and the nurses about getting a T-shirt that says, ‘I’m not your inspiration—get a life.’”
“But, I don’t really mean that. It’s hard sometimes, with the way people gush. They mean well, and the main thing is that if I can do positive things that are helpful to others, then I’m not concerned with what they call me.”
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