DC's Man of Steel, Superman has had a live-action career spanning decades, and every Superman actor has brought his own take on the iconic hero. The wholesome DC Comics flag-bearer infamously inspired Batman's existence and has a combined global box office take of almost $3.5bn, including The Flash's take. After decades of TV shows and movie appearances, David Corenswet plays the 11th live-action iteration of Superman in 2025's Superman: Legacy.

Whenever a new casting cycle comes around, Superman is a highly coveted role, on a similar level to cinema icons such as James Bond, Batman and Dracula. It should come as no surprise: the Man of Steel is, after all, the most recognizable superhero in history, with a cinematic legacy spanning over seven decades. When casting Superman, Hollywood looks for certain assets, with the right look topping the bill, but strong acting skills inevitably following, and the rigorous demands have meant that a huge number of incredibly famous actors have missed out on playing Superman. Here's everyone who made the cut:

• Kirk Alyn - Superman (1948) & Atom Man vs. Superman (1950)
• George Reeves - Adventures of Superman (1952-1958)
• Christopher Reeve
  • Superman: The Movie (1978)
  • Superman II (1980)
  • Superman III (1983)
  • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

• John Haymes Newton - Superboy (1988-1989)
• Gerard Christopher - Superboy (1989-1992)
• Dean Cain - Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997)
• Tom Welling - Smallville (2001-2011)
• Brandon Routh - Superman Returns (2006) & The Arrowverse
• Henry Cavill
  • Man of Steel (2013)
  • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
  • Justice League (2017)
  • Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
  • Black Adam (2022)
  • The Flash (2023)

• Tyler Hoechlin - Supergirl, Superman & Lois & The Arrowverse (2016- )
• Nicolas Cage - The Flash (2023)
• David Corenswet - Superman Legacy (2025)

11 Kirk Alyn

• Appears in: Superman & Atom Man vs. Superman

Though perhaps not as well-known as those who followed, every Superman actor, including whoever takes the role in Superman: Legacy, owes something to Kirk Alyn for paving the way. Alyn holds the distinction of being the first of many actors to play Superman in live-action. After the popularity of the Superman comics, Alyn first played the Man of Steel in the 1948 theatrical serial simply titled Superman, then returned for a 1950 follow-up serial called Atom Man vs. Superman. Alyn later got a minor tribute in Richard Donner's 1978 Superman movie, making an uncredited cameo. Alyn ed away in 1999 at the age of 88.

10 George Reeves

• Appears in: Adventures of Superman

George Reeves' time as a Superman actor began with the theatrical film Superman and the Mole Men, released in 1951. The film functioned as the promotional pilot for a Superman-focused TV series starring Reeves, titled Adventures of Superman, which premiered in 1952 and ran until 1958, producing six seasons and 104 episodes total. Reeves sadly died in 1959 at the age of 45. Reeves' story was chronicled in the movie Hollywoodland, where he was played by future Batman actor Ben Affleck.

9 Christopher Reeve

• Appears in: Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Many count Christopher Reeve as their favorite iteration of the Man of Steel. The actor played Superman in Richard Donner's iconic 1978 movie and reprised the role in 1980's Superman 2, 1983's Superman 3, and 1987's Superman 4: The Quest for Peace. Even after all these years, Superman: Legacy will have difficulty suring the nostalgic love of Reeves' Superman movies. Superman made Reeve a star, but his life was irreparably altered in 1995 when a horse-riding accident left him a quadriplegic. Reeve rarely acted after that but courageously became an activist for research into spinal cord injuries up until his 2004 ing at age 52.

8 John Haymes Newton & Gerard Christopher

• Appear in: Superboy

Now faded into obscurity, Superboy was a series that ran in syndication for four seasons, from 1988 to 1992. The series was kind of a dry run for Smallville, focusing as it does on a younger version of Superman. John Haymes Newton played the lead during season 1 but was recast with Gerard Christopher for seasons 2 to 4, as producers weren't happy with Newton's performance. Neither of the actors who played Superman went on to do much of note, with Superboy failing to propel them to greater heights of fame. The decision to end Superboy was influenced in part by the decision to create Lois & Clark on ABC.

7 Dean Cain

• Appears in: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Running for four seasons, Cain's time as Superman on the popular ABC TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (no correlation to the recent Superman & Lois series) has remained memorable. Opposite Teri Hatcher's Lois Lane, Cain starred as Clark Kent up until the show was canceled in 1997, annoyingly ending on an unresolved plot thread.

6 Tom Welling

• Appears In: Smallville & Crisis On Infinite Earths

Smallville's Tom Welling offers the youngest take out of every Superman actor. Smallville told the tale of a teenage Clark Kent and his eventual destiny as Metropolis' resident superhero. Welling played Clark for ten seasons, 217 episodes, maintaining a strong fan following after all these years. Welling even returned to play Superman again during the Arrowverse's mammoth Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.

5 Brandon Routh

• Appears in: Superman Returns

Brandon Routh is the actor who played Superman in director Bryan Singer's 2006 attempted blockbuster Superman Returns, which flopped financially thanks to a gigantic production budget, despite good reviews from critics. While the badly scripted Superman Returns, which serves as a sequel to the Reeve films, isn't most fans' favorite Superman movie, Routh's portrayal did earn him a following. Just as the Superman: Legacy actor will have big shoes to fill, Routh was the first live-action Superman on the big-screen after Christopher Reeves. Even so, he made the role his own, and while he never got a sequel, he did return to the role for Crisis on Infinite Earths.

4 Henry Cavill

• Appears in: Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Zack Snyder's Justice League, Black Adam, & The Flash

Henry Cavill was Zack Snyder's choice for the role to kick off the original plans for DCU. Cavill debuted in 2013's Man of Steel, returned for 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and then came back again for 2017's Justice League. While there was a ionate following among fans of the "Snyderverse" for Cavill's take on the hero, Cavill's Superman movies didn't connect with a large audience. After a promising cameo in Black Adam, it was confirmed that Cavill was out as Superman in James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe, and that the role would be recast in the Superman: Legacy.

3 Tyler Hoechlin

• Appears in: Supergirl, Superman & Lois, & The Arrowverse

Tyler Hoechlin first debuted as Superman on the Arrowverse's Supergirl series, then later brought the character to both The Flash and Arrow as part of the Elseworlds and Crisis on Infinite Earth crossover events. He also appeared on Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman as part of the latter crossover. The Superman actor now leads The CW's Superman & Lois series alongside Elizabeth Tulloch's Lois Lane. While The CW's Arrowverse series' were met with cancelations, Superman & Lois is still going strong after two seasons, though the series now takes place on a different Earth that the Arrowverse.

2 Nicolas Cage

• Appears in: The Flash (2023)

The most surprising Superman casting of all came when Nicolas Cage appeared as Superman in The Flash's multiverse sequence. Cage had been cast for Tim Burton's ill-fated Superman Lives, which spent $30m dollars in pre-production before heading to Warner Bros' canceled DC movies pile. Previously, the closest Cage had got to actually appearing as Superman was the costume test photos that made their way online and then appeared in documentary The Death of Superman Lives, but The Flash finally gave him his dream to play the Man of Steel. He appears briefly fighting a giant spider, as had once been planned for an earlier version of Superman Lives.