Superman - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Superman"
Superman (1978)
Timing: 2:24 (144 min)
Superman - TMDB rating
7.16/10
4226
Superman - Kinopoisk rating
7.052/10
16370
Superman - IMDB rating
7.4/10
184316

Actors and characters

Photo Christopher Reeve #54431Photo Christopher Reeve #54432Photo Christopher Reeve #54433Photo Christopher Reeve #54434

Christopher Reeve

Christopher Reeve
Character Clark Kent / Superman
Photo Margot Kidder #54449Photo Margot Kidder #54450Photo Margot Kidder #54451Photo Margot Kidder #54452

Margot Kidder

Margot Kidder
Character Lois Lane
Photo Gene Hackman #37299Photo Gene Hackman #37300Photo Gene Hackman #37301Photo Gene Hackman #37302

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman
Character Lex Luthor
Photo Marlon Brando #11684Photo Marlon Brando #11685Photo Marlon Brando #11686Photo Marlon Brando #11687

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando
Character Jor-El
Photo Ned Beatty #34330Photo Ned Beatty #34331Photo Ned Beatty #34332Photo Ned Beatty #34333

Ned Beatty

Ned Beatty
Character Otis
Photo Jackie Cooper #54436Photo Jackie Cooper #54437Photo Jackie Cooper #54438Photo Jackie Cooper #54439

Jackie Cooper

Jackie Cooper
Character Perry White
Photo Glenn Ford #54441Photo Glenn Ford #54442Photo Glenn Ford #54443Photo Glenn Ford #54444

Glenn Ford

Glenn Ford
Character Pa Kent
Photo Trevor Howard #54445Photo Trevor Howard #54446Photo Trevor Howard #54447Photo Trevor Howard #54448

Trevor Howard

Trevor Howard
Character 1st Elder
Photo Jack OPhoto Jack O
Jack O'Halloran
Character Non
Photo Valerie Perrine #54457

Valerie Perrine

Valerie Perrine
Character Eve Teschmacher
Photo Maria Schell #54458Photo Maria Schell #54459Photo Maria Schell #54460Photo Maria Schell #54461

Maria Schell

Maria Schell
Character Vond-Ah
Photo Terence Stamp #40633Photo Terence Stamp #40634Photo Terence Stamp #40635Photo Terence Stamp #40636

Terence Stamp

Terence Stamp
Character General Zod
Photo Jeff East #54481

Jeff East

Jeff East
Character Young Clark Kent
Photo Marc McClure #18167

Marc McClure

Marc McClure
Character Jimmy Olsen
Photo Harry Andrews #54477Photo Harry Andrews #54478Photo Harry Andrews #54479Photo Harry Andrews #54480

Harry Andrews

Harry Andrews
Character 2nd Elder
Photo Diane Sherry Case #54482
Diane Sherry Case
Character Lana Lang
Photo Vass Anderson #54483

Vass Anderson

Vass Anderson
Character 3rd Elder
Photo John Hollis #53332

John Hollis

John Hollis
Character 4th Elder
Photo James Garbutt #54484

James Garbutt

James Garbutt
Character 5th Elder

Michael Gover

Michael Gover
Character 6th Elder
Photo David Neal #54485

David Neal

David Neal
Character 7th Elder
Photo William Russell #54486Photo William Russell #54487Photo William Russell #54488Photo William Russell #54489

William Russell

William Russell
Character 8th Elder
Penelope Lee
Character 9th Elder
Photo John Stuart #54490
John Stuart
Character 10th Elder
Alan Cullen
Character 11th Elder
Photo Aaron Smolinski #49948
Aaron Smolinski
Character Baby Clark Kent
Photo Robert Henderson #54492
Robert Henderson
Character 2nd Editor
Photo Larry Lamb #54493

Larry Lamb

Larry Lamb
Character 1st Reporter
John Cassady
Character 3rd Reporter
Photo John F. Parker #54494
John F. Parker
Character 4th Reporter
Harry Scott
Character 5th Reporter
Ray Evans
Character 6th Reporter
Photo Miquel Brown #30304
Miquel Brown
Character 8th Reporter
Photo Vincent Marzello #54495

Vincent Marzello

Vincent Marzello
Character 1st Copy Boy
Benjamin Feitelson
Character 2nd Copy Boy
Photo Lise Hilboldt #54496
Lise Hilboldt
Character 1st Secretary
Leueen Willoughby
Character 2nd Secretary
Photo Rex Reed #54497

Rex Reed

Rex Reed
Character Rex Reed
Photo Weston Gavin #53315

Weston Gavin

Weston Gavin
Character Mugger
Photo Steve Kahan #53821Photo Steve Kahan #53822

Steve Kahan

Steve Kahan
Character Officer 1
Photo Ray Hassett #53347

Ray Hassett

Ray Hassett
Character Officer 2
Photo Randy Jurgensen #11787
Randy Jurgensen
Character Officer 3
Matt Russo
Character News Vendor
Photo Colin Skeaping #69685
Colin Skeaping
Character Pilot
Bo Rucker
Character Pimp
Paul Avery
Character TV Cameraman
Photo David Baxt #45893
David Baxt
Character Burglar
George Harris II
Character Patrolman Mooney
John Cording
Character 2nd Hood
Photo Oz Clarke #54498

Oz Clarke

Oz Clarke
Character 4th Hood
Photo Rex Everhart #18705Photo Rex Everhart #18706

Rex Everhart

Rex Everhart
Character Desk Sergeant
Jayne Tottman
Character Little Girl
Frank Lazarus
Character Air Force One Pilot
Photo Brian Protheroe #54499
Brian Protheroe
Character Co Pilot
Lawrence Trimble
Character 1st Crewman
Robert Whelan
Character 2nd Crewman
Photo David Calder #49591Photo David Calder #49592

David Calder

David Calder
Character 3rd Crewman
Photo Norwich Duff #53346

Norwich Duff

Norwich Duff
Character Newscaster

Keith Alexander

Keith Alexander
Character Newscaster
Photo Michael Ensign #12276Photo Michael Ensign #12277

Michael Ensign

Michael Ensign
Character Newscaster
Photo Larry Hagman #54501Photo Larry Hagman #54502Photo Larry Hagman #54503Photo Larry Hagman #54504

Larry Hagman

Larry Hagman
Character Major
Photo Paul Tuerpe #53806

Paul Tuerpe

Paul Tuerpe
Character Sgt. Hayley

Graham McPherson

Graham McPherson
Character Lieutenant
David Yorston
Character Petty Officer
Robert O'Neill
Character Admiral
Photo Robert MacLeod #54505
Robert MacLeod
Character General
Photo John Ratzenberger #1968Photo John Ratzenberger #1969Photo John Ratzenberger #1970Photo John Ratzenberger #1971

John Ratzenberger

John Ratzenberger
Character 1st Controller
Photo Alan Tilvern #54506

Alan Tilvern

Alan Tilvern
Character 2nd Controller
Photo Phil Brown #1809Photo Phil Brown #1810Photo Phil Brown #1811Photo Phil Brown #1812

Phil Brown

Phil Brown
Character State Senator

Bill Bailey

Bill Bailey
Character 2nd Senator
Chief Tug Smith
Character Indian Chief
Norman Warwick
Character Superchief Driver
Chuck Julian
Character Assistant
Mark Wynter
Character Mate
Roy Stevens
Character Warden
Photo Noel Neill #24816Photo Noel Neill #24817Photo Noel Neill #24818
Noel Neill
Character Ella Lane (uncredited)
Photo Kirk Alyn #54507

Kirk Alyn

Kirk Alyn
Character Sam Lane (uncredited)
Photo Tony Selby #54508

Tony Selby

Tony Selby
Character Hood (uncredited)
Photo Bruce Boa #53341

Bruce Boa

Bruce Boa
Character General (extended version) (uncredited)
Photo David de Keyser #79669

David de Keyser

David de Keyser
Character Warden (voice) (uncredited)
Photo Richard Donner #73700Photo Richard Donner #73701Photo Richard Donner #73702

Richard Donner

Richard Donner
Character Man in Street (extended version) (uncredited)
Photo Harry Fielder #1848

Harry Fielder

Harry Fielder
Character Policeman (uncredited)
Photo Alan Harris #1853
Alan Harris
Character Man on Daily Planet Rooftop (uncredited)
Photo Shane Rimmer #1866

Shane Rimmer

Shane Rimmer
Character Naval Transport Commander (uncredited)
Photo Marco St. John #59755

Marco St. John

Marco St. John
Character Mugger's Arm in Alley (uncredited)
Brad Flock
Character Brad

Lee Quigley

Lee Quigley
Character Baby Kal-El

What's left behind the scenes

  • Steven Spielberg could have headed the project, but the producers couldn't agree on the director's fee. The film's production team then decided to wait and return to negotiations after the release of Steven's "fish movie" (Jaws). As we remember, the film became a huge hit, and Steven preferred to work on other projects.
  • Guy Hamilton could have directed the film (the filmmaker signed a corresponding contract). However, when it turned out that part of the filming would take place in England, Guy had to leave the project. As a tax exile, Guy was allowed to stay in England for no more than 30 days a year.
  • Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Charles Bronson, Patrick Wayne, Warren Beatty, Burt Reynolds, and even Clint Eastwood could have played the main role in the film. Ultimately, the decision was made to cast relatively unknown actor Christopher Reeve. Before the start of filming, the actor had only one film and a television series credit to his name. Interestingly, a similar approach was used in 2005, when newcomer Brandon Routh was approved for the role of Superman.
  • Considering that Christopher Reeve was unknown to moviegoers, the list of lead actors in the film's trailers began with Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman, and only after these big names did Reeve's surname appear on the screen.
  • Anne Archer, Leslie Ann Warren, Deborah Raffin, Susan Blakely, and Stockard Channing could have played the role of Lois Lane.
  • Before filming began, Christopher Reeve underwent a special muscle-building course under the guidance of David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. The actor's progress in this area was so noticeable that Richard Donner had to reshoot some scenes that had been worked on at the very beginning of the production process – Christopher had changed too much during that time.
  • Marlon Brando appears on screen for only 10 minutes. Nevertheless, the actor received the largest fee of all the project participants – $4 million.
  • The cost of creating the opening credits exceeded the budgets of many films being made at the time. In turn, the length of the credits at the end of the film was over 7 minutes, thereby setting a new record for their duration.
  • Clark Kent's and Superman's hair are combed in different directions.
  • Christopher Reeve had to voice all of Jeff East's lines, who played the role of young Clark Kent.
  • Much of the material for the 'Superman' sequel was filmed simultaneously with the original film. Shortly before the filming of the sequel was completed, director Richard Donner was fired, and Richard Lester replaced him, who deemed it necessary to reshoot much of the material.
  • Richard Donner invited Jerry Goldsmith as the film's composer, and the composer accepted the invitation. However, during the film's production, Jerry was forced to leave the project and was replaced by John Williams. Six years later, Goldsmith finally had the opportunity to work on the soundtrack for one of the franchise's films – "Supergirl."
  • 18 cinematographers were involved in the making of the film.
  • In one scene, young Clark Kent kicks a football and sends it into Earth orbit. To film this scene, a special air cannon was placed underground, and the football was launched from it.
  • July 13, 1977, went down in US history as one of the most frightening nights. On that night, New York City experienced a massive power outage, causing the city $300 million in damages. That terrible night, the city plunged into complete chaos – mass brawls, arson, looters ransacked stores, and police shot at passersby were all recorded on the streets. The "Superman" film crew was also working on the streets of New York on that crazy night.
  • The idea of putting the "S" symbol (like Superman's) on Joe-El's clothing belonged to Marlon Brando.
  • In a documentary dedicated to the filming of "Superman", Richard Donner recalls: "Upon receiving the first information about the future project, I immediately tried to put it down on paper. All I had on hand was a stack of business cards, and I wrote this information on the back of one of them." The documentary also shows this business card, which has become a historical artifact. A close examination of these notes reveals the name Nick Nolte as one of the potential participants in the project.
  • Released in 1978, the film achieved the status of the highest-grossing film for Warner Bros. (300 million dollars worldwide).
  • Initially, Marlon Brando proposed not appearing on screen, offering only his voice to portray a certain image in the form of a levitating green donut. It is unknown whether Brando was joking, but the producers immediately rejected this proposal.
  • In the first version of the script, Lex Luthor had two assistants – Otis and Albert. The character of Albert was later removed.
  • The scene of Superman and Lois's flight was originally intended to depict the couple flying around the Earth, but it was later decided to keep the main characters within the city limits.
  • Gene Hackman was extremely reluctant to part with his mustache for the role of Lex Luthor. Interestingly, on the very first posters for the film, his mustache is still in place. Richard Donner had long telephone conversations with Hackman (without seeing each other) and eventually persuaded the actor to shave his mustache on the condition that he himself would undergo the same procedure. Later, Gene learned that Richard Donner did not wear a mustache.
  • The restored version from 2000 has a runtime of 151 minutes.
  • Richard Donner managed to shoot a number of scenes that did not make it into the final version of the sequel, including the most famous one – a dialogue between Jor-El (Marlon Brando) and Kal-El (in which Jor-El talks about his desire to commit suicide to save his son). In addition, a scene was filmed in which Lois Lane tries to verify whether Clark Kent is Superman by shooting at him with blanks.
  • The scene in which Jor-El explains to Superman why he must keep his true identity a secret was removed from the theatrical release of the film, but was included in the director's cut.
  • In all four films dedicated to Superman, the endings use shots of Superman flying into space, filmed during the production of the first film.
Did you like the film?

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