It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane — No, It’s Every Actor Who Has Played Superman Over the Years

Ray Middleton (1940)

OK, you’re probably sitting there saying, “Ray who?”, but historically speaking he is the first man to don the Superman costume. It wasn’t for a film or TV show, but, instead, the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Actually, it began in 1939, but ran until the next year, and during that time there was a Superman Day, some of which was captured on silent film. The footage is silent and jumpy. The camera cuts to a group of kids in the stands, each of whom are adorned in white shirts with the Golden Age version of the Superman logo. From there, a group of other kids race across a field, all dressed the same way. There are girls, too, running races, jumping rope, participating in sack races, and all of them wear the “S” as well. And then comes the main event: the arrival of Superman, red cape flapping in the wind, hundreds of people gathering around him. It’s the moment where the Man of Steel goes in the non-comic book history books.

Bud Collyer (1940 to 1951)

And here’s another name that might have most people undoubtedly asking, “Who’s that?” For starters, next to Tom Welling on Smallville, he played the character longer than anyone. His name is actually Clayton Collyer, with the nickname of Bud, and he lived from 1908-1969. He provided the voice for Clark Kent and Superman initially for the radio drama The Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1940 to 1951. So successful was he at the job that he did the same for a series of animated theatrical shorts initially produced by Max Fleisher and then by Paramount Studios between 1941 and 1943. As if that wasn’t enough, he returned to the roles from 1966-70 for the Saturday morning animated series The New Adventures of Superman.

Ironically, he was initially reluctant to take on the role, explaining several decades ago, “I thought the character would be nothing but an embarrassment, both personally and professionally. Of course, it grew into a magnificent career-within-a-career. It was great fun and a great way to get out all your inhibitions real fast.”

Kirk Alyn (1948; 1950)

Back in the 1940s, one of the big draws for kids was to go to movie theaters on Saturday mornings and, before the main feature, watch animated shorts, newsreels, and the new chapter of the latest serial. Movie Serials were usually action-adventures that would be presented in 15-minute installments that would invariably end on a cliffhanger. In 1948, singer/dancer turned actor Kirk Alyn (1910-99) played the first screen version of the Man of Steel in the serial Superman, which he reprised two years later in Atom Man vs Superman, which featured actor Lyle Talbot as arch-nemesis Lex Luthor.

“My strong dancer’s legs helped me a great deal,” Kirk reflected in a radio interview. “I didn’t need a trampoline to help me get off the ground, and I did it gracefully. I had to do everything gracefully, because everything was supposed to be easy for him. If I leaped off the top of a building, I had to land gracefully. You know, there were several times when they forgot I was an actor, when, given everything they had me do, they must have thought I really was Superman.”

Leonard Teale (1949 to 1954)

The success of the Superman radio show in America led to one in Australia, which ran from 1949 to 1954 with a production of 1,040 episodes. Actor Leonard Teale provided the voice of Superman and Clark Kent. Of the show, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia says, “In this version, the character first arrives on Earth as an adult, and his Clark Kent persona is conceived by a man and a boy he has rescued from a certain death. At least 1,040 15-minute episodes were produced and broadcast between 1949 and 1954 (Monday to Thursday at 6:30 pm on 2GB) … The following news story was published in The Standard on 10 March 1949: ‘Superman, the recently-acquired AW 6 o’clocker, not only makes a better radio serial than a newspaper strip, but it is also more healthy for children than most of the serials currently broadcast. Of course, our magnetic friend, Clark Kent, still performs miracles, but then you expect that sort of thing in Superman, and it merely seems part of the fun. It is also so fantastic as to present no worry to mothers with sensitive youngsters.'”

George Reeves (1951; 1952 to 1958)

By the time he first donned the Superman uniform, George Reeves (1914-59) had appeared in films like Gone With the Wind, Torrid Zone, and The Fighting 69th. It was in 1951 when he was offered the role of Superman in the 58-minute theatrical film Superman and the Mole Men, which was designed to be the forerunner for a syndicated television series. Initially reluctant to sign on, he was shocked when he found himself an instant celebrity. The series, Adventures of Superman, ran from 1952-58, by the end of which George felt hopelessly typecast. On June 16, 1959, he sadly died from suicide. He thought he would be forgotten and known only as Superman, unable to predict the impact he would have on several generations via his portrayal (not to mention his in-character appearance on an episode of I Love Lucy).

As to why he took the role, early on he said, "My reaction was, Superman? What's that?'. Of course I'd heard of the comic strip, but that's about all I knew. I've played about every type of part you can think of. Why not Superman?"

Johnny Rockwell (1961)

Following the conclusion of production of The Adventures Of Superman, in 1961 a pilot for The Adventures Of Superboy was shot. Actor Johnny Rockwell related to author Chuck Harter how he was cast in the part: “When Superboy was casting, I was on the lot working on a pilot called Time Out for Ginger. As soon as I heard about the part being available, I went over and found out where the office was on a break. I walked in and [producer] Whitney Ellsworth was playing gin rummy with the head of the studio. I told him, ‘You don’t have to look any further. I can fly.’ I was also a very good gin player at the time, so I said I would play the winner. Whit won, so I started playing him and began winning. At that point I more or less knew I had the job. I did have to read a few lines, but I think I got the job because I was a good gin player.”

Bob Holiday (1966)

By the mid-1960s, Superman had been brought to animation, radio, television and the big screen, so why not the Broadway stage in a musical? Written by David Newman and Robert Benton, and directed by Hal Prince, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman starred Bob Holiday as Clark Kent/Superman, with Jack Cassidy as bad guy Max Mencken, and Patricia Marand as Lois Lane. Unfortunately, it only ran 129 performances, much of its failure being blamed on the Adam West Batman TV series that debuted the same year, which became an instant phenomenon and probably kept the audience away.

Bob (1932-2017), told Slice of Scifi, "I was honored to become a live-action version of Superman. I was a big fan from when I was a kid, so I felt that I'd been connected to him from childhood."

Bob Hastings (1966)

A star of radio, film and TV (fans remember him from McHale’s Navy), Bob Hastings voices the Boy Of Steel in The Adventures of Superboy segments of The New Adventures of Superman animated series from 1966-69.

Milton Berle (1966) / Ed McMahon (1972)

In the same year as It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman on Broadway and Batman on TV, it seemed that everyone was having fun with superheroes. Comedian Milton Berle was no exception. In 1966, he dressed as the Man of Steel in a sketch with funnyman Henny Youngman on an episode of The Hollywood Palace.

Then, in 1972, it was the turn of Ed McMahon, who served as sidekick to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, and was a celebrity in his own right. He dressed as Superman for an appearance at the Cypress Gardens amusement park in Florida. For those curious, Cypress Gardens was a combination theme park and botanical garden that was in operation from 1936 to 2009. In 2011, the botanical garden portion was preserved and is now a part of Legoland Florida.

Danny Dark (1973 to 1985)

Another actor with a long history voicing the Man of Steel, who was Superman for a generation of kids growing up, is Danny Dark (1938 to 2004). He vocally brought Supes to life on Super Friends (1973), The All-New Super Friends (1977), Challenge of the Super Friends (1978), The Super Friends Hour (1980), Super Friends: The Lost Episodes (1983), The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984), and Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985).

David Wilson (1975)

In 1975, the ABC network broadcast a production of the Broadway musical It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Superman. Cast in the dual role of Clark Kent and Superman was actor David Wilson. Sorry to say, it was not good. Over the years Wilson has appeared on stage, in film and on television.

Christopher Reeve (1978 to 1987)

It’s extremely difficult to think of any version of Superman and not think of Christopher Reeve, who truly embodied him more than anyone else ever has. Born in 1952, he had extensive acting training at Cornell and Julliard, and had really just come on the scene with the film Gray Lady Down when he was cast by director Richard Donner in 1978’s Superman: The Movie. That film became a massive global success and turned him into an instant star. He would ultimately reprise the role in 1980’s Superman II, 1983’s Superman III and 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, starring in other films and on stage in between and after.

Richard Donner reflects on the casting of Christopher in an exclusive interview: “We had seen just about every actor imaginable, from television to motion pictures to everything else. Nobody fit the costume. Nobody could fly. If you saw Robert Redford flying, it would be Robert Redford flying. There was no sense of reality. That was the key to it, the flying. You had to believe that a man could fly. I tested quite a few of the actors, but nothing worked. The producers even sent over their dentist, I swear to God that’s true. I met Christopher Reeve in New York. He just had this great look, and I gave him my glasses to wear and he looked so much like the part it was unbelievable. Nobody wanted to go with him, because he was an unknown, but the idea to me was that we should go with an unknown so that you could make it believable. It ended up just that. People often asked me, ‘Where did you find Christopher Reeve?’ I said, ‘I didn’t find him. God gave him to me.'”

Sadly, in 1995 Christopher was thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition and rendered a quadriplegic as a result. Paralyzed from the neck down, he was restricted to a wheelchair and had to use a portable ventilator from that point onward. He could have very easily given up, but he spent most of the rest of his life lobbying to raise awareness and money for people with spinal cord injuries and launched the Christopher Reeve Foundation along the way. His spirit was so admirable and he fought until the end, which came on Oct. 10, 2004 as a result of cardiac arrest. His memory lives on as someone who epitomized the notion that not all superheroes wear capes.

Jeff East (1978)

He was the teenaged Clark Kent in 1978’s Superman: The Movie (whose voice was dubbed by Christopher Reeve). You know, the one that encouraged his father to run after him on the farm, triggering a fatal heart attack; and the one who found a green crystal and followed it to the North Pole, abandoning his mother for a decade. Actually, he sounds like kind of a douche, but really wasn’t. Of Superman, Jeff East reflected to the Supermanhomepage, “He’s the best comic book character ever, and I was a huge fan of the TV series with George Reeves. [Comic book] research was part of Richard Donner’s homework. I also used some past experience in regards to first year into film acting, and the way my peers treated me as being different, to draw from for the role of young Superman.”

Bill Murray (1979)

Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in the Christopher Reeve Superman films, served as host of Saturday Night Live in the 15th episode of the show’s fourth season. Not surprisingly, the Not Ready For Prime Time Players decided to have some fun at Supes’ expense, with Bill Murray taking on the role of the Man of Steel, Margot playing Lois Lane, Dan Aykroyd as The Flash, Gilda Radner as Beverly, and Jane Curtin as Eve Beverage.

John Haymes Newton (1988 to 1990)

The Adventures Of Superboy TV series ran from 1988 until 1992, but John Haymes Newton was only there for season one, ultimately replaced by Gerard Christopher when contract negotiations collapsed. Haymes actually wanted to avoid the Christopher Reeve take on the character, which was enormously popular at the time. “I had my own anti-Chris Reeve thing going on,” he said, “which, looking back on it all, I feel like I overdid it. I wish I had made Clark more ‘insecure’ instead of ‘not-nerdy.’ I also realized about halfway through that one of the things that makes Superman so powerful isn’t acting powerful, as much as how everyone around him reacts to his presence.”

Beau Weaver (1988)

In 1988, Ruby-Spears produced the animated series Superman, which saw Beau Weaver cast as the voice of the title role. “This was a real dream come true for me,” he told noblemania. “I was a huge comic book fan growing up in Oklahoma. My grandfather ran a drug store in a small town; he kept three racks full of comic book in stock and I discovered every one of them. I read everything, but my absolute favorite was DC Comics superheroes. And for me, it was always about Superman.”

Stuart Milligan (1988-)

Beginning in 1988, this British actor started voicing Superman in a variety of radio productions based on different story arcs from DC Comics. It began with Superman on Trial and continued with The Adventures of Superman and Doomsday and Beyond. The latter was released on CD in the form of Superman Lives.

Gerard Christopher (1990 to 1992)

He may have been the second actor to take on the title role in the Adventures Of Superboy TV series (which ran from 1988-92), but Gerard Christopher most assuredly made the character his own, looking very much as though he’d stepped off of the comic book page. “It was a pretty awesome thing to do, to see the effect this character has on kids — on all people — all over the world,” he states. “It was a little bit scary, but a lot of fun. It turned into a great experience; one that I couldn’t have imagined when I started out.”

Jerry Seinfeld (1992)

Anyone who knows Jerry Seinfeld, knows that he is a lifelong Superman fan (just check out the magnet on the fridge in every episode of his series). In 1992, he hosted Saturday Night Live, on which he played Superman, who was being interviewed by the late Phil Hartman on the skit “The Lenny Wise Show”. In 2003 and 2004, he also starred in a series of American Express commercials as himself, with Patrick Warburton providing the voice of an animated Superman that he interacted with.

Maurice LaMarche (1992)

His voice credits are extensive, but we love him for bringing the Brain to life on both Animaniacs and the spin-off series Pinky and the Brain. He voiced the Man of Steel in the 1992 made-for-video film Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation.

Dean Cain (1993 to 1997)

At the core of the Superman character from pretty much the beginning, was the romance between he and Lois Lane, and that became the focus of this series that starred actor Dean Cain as Clark Kent/Superman and Teri Hatcher as Lois. Dean started out as a football player and signed as a free agent for the Buffalo Bills, though he was ultimately sidelined by a knee injury while at training camp. He turned to acting, getting hired for various commercials and making guest star appearances on several shows. Lois & Clark was his biggest gig up until that time, and really put him on the map as an actor.

He related to Cbr.com, “I modeled my Superman after Christopher Reeve. I thought he played that role fantastically, and as Clark Kent as well. I just didn’t particularly love Clark Kent being the mealy-mouthed kind of guy. I liked the George Reeves version where he was more of a substantial guy. I was happy that I got to sort of pair those two in my portrayal of the character.”

Tim Daly (1996 to 2000; Periodically Since)

Although Tim Daly (brother to actress Tyne Daly of Cagney & Lacey began stage acting as a kid, it was for the TV series Wings that he perhaps became the best known. In 1996, he began voicing the Man of Steel in Superman: The Animated Series, which he remained with until 2000, reprising the role in several made-for-DVD animated films as well.

While promoting the animated film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies he admitted, “The most surprising thing about voicing Superman for this film was that I realized how much I missed it. I found that I really had missed doing Superman. You know, I feel badly that when I did the series, I did not realize how important Superman was to a lot of people. I had a really good time doing it, but I didn’t take it as seriously as I perhaps should have.”

Nicolas Cage

Okay, he never actually played Superman, but he came this close in what was supposed to be a Tim Burton-directed film called Superman Lives, which was being worked on in 1996. Before the project collapsed, Nicolas Cage explained, “One of the things I like about Superman is the notion of nurture versus nature. Is he more Kryptonian, or is he more the Kents, his adopted parents? These are big issues that we’re thinking about, like genetics and scientific things of that nature. So Superman is a remarkable achievement. These two guys who created him [Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster] were considered nerds, who were from Canada, and they wore glasses, which back in the ’30s was a big deal. These two guys who were oppressed invented the alter ego concept, of being a super man. And everybody said, ‘Oh, don’t do it; it’s ridiculous.’ But they knew they had gold, and they held on to it for four years. Then, as soon as it came out, it was an overnight sensation. So there’s something there, and I saw it for me as an opportunity to reach a lot of kids around the world and say something positive.” Nicolas did get to voice Supes in the animated Teen Titans Go! to the Movies (2018).

Barton Tinapp (1999)

He’s an actor working in front of the cameras as well as behind the mic. For the former, his credits include Star Trek: Voyager, The Siege and NCIS. And for the latter he voiced Superman for The Multipath Adventures of Superman: Menace of Metallo.

Christopher McDonald (2000)

The animated series Batman Beyond (which launched in 1999) is set 50 years in the future, and while the focus is on a new, younger Batman, an older version of the Man Of Steel appears. Actor Christopher McDonald admits he was happy to voice the character: “For me,” he told futuremovies, “the tradition of superheroes started with Superman, because we all want to look up to something that will save the day. Especially when it can be so bleak out there in the real world.”

George Newbern (2000; Various Since)

Once Tim Daly became tied up in other projects, George Newbern became the voice of the Man Of Steel on television, doing so for Static Shock (2000), The Batman (2004), Justice League (2001-04) and Justice League Unlimited (2004-06); the animated short film DC Showcase: Superman/Shazam!: The Return Of Black Adam (2010) , the animated film Superman Vs The Elite (2012), the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) and Justice League vs. The Fatal Five (2019). Says Newbern, “With Superman, super powers are just ancillary. It’s that character, with all those principles and understanding… that’s who he is right there. I think I tried to portray a sense of trust and power and charisma for Superman. That’s what we believe Superman is.”

Tom Welling (2001 to 2011)

Smallville was the show governed by the rule “no flights, no tights,” and was essentially the Superman series without Superman. But somehow, Tom Welling made it work for 10 years in the role of Clark Kent on the road towards his destiny as the Man of Steel. Tom recognizes the challenge of keeping the character identifiable for the modern audience. “Superman is interesting,” he mused to birthmoviesdeath, “because if you look at where he came from, and the time period that he was created, we’re in very different times now. And I think trying to maintain that relevancy has been a challenge.” He added to Buzzfeed, “This needed to be a show about Clark Kent, not about Superman. That was always the rule.”

Yeah, well we still think the final episode when he finally did become Superman was a complete cop-out, but that’s just us.

Jeff Kramer (2002)

Having provided his voice for a number of games, Jeff Kramer had his most prominent role in 2002’s Superman: The Man Of Steel. Designed for the Xbox platform and based on the comic Y2K, Superman battles Brainiac 13, who has infected Metropolis with a technological virus.

Patrick Warburton (2003, 2004)

To part of his fanbase, Patrick Warburton is best remembered as Puddy on Seinfeld. To another, he will always be Ben Edlund’s The Tick. But for a brief time he was also an animated Superman, interacting with the real-life Jerry Seinfeld in a pair of American Express commercials that aired in 2003 and 2004.

Michael Daingerfield (2005)

Geared for a younger audience, 2005’s Krypto: The Superdog was focused firmly on the Man of Steel’s pet. As actor Michael Dangerfield explained to the Supermanhomepage, “Superman has a young boy named Kevin look after Krypto while he’s away saving the world.” As to playing the part — albeit briefly — he added, “It’s a great honor to play the role of Superman. I’ve loved the character since my childhood.”

Brendan Fraser

One of the actors who auditioned for and was pretty close to being cast as Superman was Brendan Fraser, who was going to be directed in a 2002 film version that had a script written by J.J. Abrams. That proposed movie, called Superman Flyby, would have been pretty special says the actor. “In my view, it was far superior — and I mean no disrespect — to the story that Bryan Singer told in Superman Returns. J.J. Abrams had a vision that was larger. It spanned galaxies. It was Lord of the Rings. It was that huge. It was a situation where very bad things were happening. It was like a third World War on Earth involving different planets, and universes and sibling rivalry and the collision of enormous superpowers. It wasn’t smacking you over the head with symbolic hammers if you’re paying attention. That’s how good J.J. is. I had lunch with him after everything, kind of a post-mortem. His version never got shot. A week later, he tells me he’s in Hawaii and he’s doing Lost, which opens to astronomical numbers. Things happen for a reason.”

Brandon Routh (2006)

After 10 years of being in development, the Man Of Steel was finally back on the big screen in Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh in the title role. More or less a sequel to Superman: The Movie and Superman II, Brandon plays a Superman who has been away from Earth for several years and finds that the world has changed in his absence. He says, “Superman really tries to connect with the world, with humanity, with his humanity. I mean, he’s an alien, but he’s human. He lives here. He wants to be part of this world.” Superman Returns was far from everything it could have been, but most fans were hopeful that Brandon would have been given another shot. In fact, he was, during the CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.

Crispin Freeman (2006)

A voice actor for a wide variety of video games and Anime, Freeman is Superman in the 2006 Justice League Heroes game. Of being cast he says, “It was completely surreal. They did an interview with me after we finished recording and they asked me, ‘How does it feel to play Superman?’ and I thought to myself, ‘Did you hear what you just asked me? How does it feel to play Superman? It feels amazing!’ But, of course, I probably answered with something much more pithy and intellectual.”

Yuri Lowenthal (2006)

In 2006, the actor voiced the role of Superman (who should have been Superboy, but there were legal hassles with the estate of Jerry Siegel) on the two-season animated Legion Of Superheroes. Of connecting with the character he related to viewster.com, “I identify with most of my characters in some way …  I may fancy myself the bad boy, but at heart, I’m really the boy scout.” He reprised the role for 2018’s Lego DC Super-Villains.

Adam Baldwin (2007) / Kyle MacLachlan (2008)

He has a history of kicking butt even without super powers, whether on Firefly or The Last Ship, but Adam Baldwin has twice had the chance to voice Superman, in the 2007 animated film Superman: Doomsday and the 2011 video game DC Universe Online. He describes the former as consisting of a “lot of more” in the sense of more intense, more emotion, more action, more investigation into relationships and, ultimately, the death and resurrection of Superman. “So it’s arguably the darkest of all Superman films,” Adam said, obviously having missed Man Of Steel or Batman v Superman.

Kyle, well known for his film and TV parts, took on the role of Superman in the 2008 animated film Justice League: The New Frontier. The film’s early ’60s set era influenced the actor’s portrayal. “There’s a sort of moral imperative that Superman has,” says Kyle, “and I think the language he uses is a little more proper. He’s just not a guy who uses his words casually, so maybe, unconsciously, that 1950s tone just creeps in there for me.”

Christopher Corey Smith (2008)

Although he’s acted in a number of TV roles, Smith has provided his vocal abilities to a wide variety of video games. He voiced Superman in 2008’s Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe video game.

Joseph May (2008)

While he’s spent plenty of time voicing Thomas the Tank Engine, Joseph brought the Man of Steel to life vocally in 2008’s motion comic Batman Black and White.

David Lodge (2009)

What would have happened if baby Kal-El landed in Russia rather than America? That was the question raised by writer Mark Millar in Superman: Red Son, which was adapted into a 2009 motion comic with David Lodge providing the voice of the lead role. The story would be adapted into a 2020 animated film as well.

Nolan North (2010-)

Nolan North has had plenty of time voicing Superman, his credits including Young Justice (2010, in which he voices both the Man Of Steel and Superboy), Young Justice: Legacy (video game, 2013), DC Super Heroes: Batman Be-Leaguered (2014), Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs Bizarro League (2015), Lego DC Super Heroes: Justice League — Attack Of The Legion Of Doom (2015),  Lego DC Super Heroes: Justice League — Cosmic Clash (2016), Lego DC Comics Superheroes: Justice League — Gotham City Breakout (2016), Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018) and Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman — Rage of Atlantis (2018),

David Kaye (2010)

Extremely in demand as a voice actor in animation and Anime, David Kaye played Superman in 2010’s animated film DC Super Friends and, beginning in 2013, the DC Nation animated shorts, “Tales Of Metropolis.”

Mark Harmon (2010) / James Denton (2011)

The Justice League take on their evil counterparts on a parallel Earth in the 2010 animated film Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths, and Mark Harmon takes on the part of the Man of Steel. “The things that attracted me to Superman are really the human part of the character, or at least the part that was more real,” he details. “Hopefully that’s what I brought to it. He’s a leader. He’s a quarterback. He can be tough when he needs to be. He can certainly be direct. No matter who he’s talking to, he tries to speak honestly. I understand those values.” Mark has been a staple of television (and films) for decades. His series have included Flamingo Road, St. Elsewhere, Reasonable Doubts, and, currently, NCIS.

The animated All-Star Superman chronicles the final days of Superman, with actor James Denton being brought on to voice the character. In describing his approach, he says, “The fun thing was making Clark Kent human while taking much more of the emotion out of Superman to make him more controlled. I remember [writer] Grant Morrison saying one time that there were kind of three people there. Superman and Clark Kent are the masks, and the real guy is the Clark Kent who was very secure, very strong, knew how to drive a tractor and was raised by Ma and Pa Kent. That really struck me and made it more interesting.”

For much of his career, James made guest-starring appearances on different shows, though he was a series regular as Mike Delfino on Desperate Housewives, and Good Witch.

Roger Rose (2011)

Batman v’d Superman on the “Battle Of The Superheroes” episode of the series Batman: The Brave And The Bold, and the actor voicing the Man Of Steel was Roger Rose (who did so two additional times).

Mark Silk (2011)

This British-born actor provided the voice for Superman in the 2011 video game LittleBigPlanet2 and 2012’s LittleBigPlanet P Vita.

Greg Miller (2011)

With credits including Nightwing: The Series, Lego Marvel’s Avengers and Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Greg also voiced the character of Superboy for the game DC Universe Online.

Lucas Grabeel (2011)

He’s best known for playing Ryan Evans in the High School Musical franchise, but he also played the Connor Kent version of Superboy on an episode of Smallville.

Blair Underwood/Jeff Bennett (2012)

In the DC Nation animated short “Superman of Tokyo,” Jeff Bennett voiced the young “Kenta” while Blair Underwood (whose credits include L.A. Law) took on the part of Superman himself.

Travis Willingham (2012 to 2015)

If you think of Lego Superman, you’re no doubt thinking of Travis Willingham, who has voiced the character in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (2012), Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2014) and Lego Dimensions (2015). “When they were auditioning for Superman,” he says, “I asked: ‘What kind of Superman? Is he straight on? Is he subtle? Is he heroic?’ And they said, ‘Yes, yes, and yes, but we want more of a true blue, ultimate Boy Scout Superman. And one who is completely oblivious to the fact that he’s annoying Batman at every turn.'”

Keith Ferguson (2012)

With extensive voice characters behind him, Keith took on Superman in the 2012 animated production of Super Best Friends Forever.

Matt Bomer (2013)

Brett Ratner was supposed to direct Matt Bomer in Superman Flyby from the J.J. Abrams screenplay (the same one Brendan Fraser was up for), but Superman Returns was produced instead. In the end, Matt did play the Man Of Steel – albeit vocally – in 2013’s animated film Superman: Unbound. “The film features a very mature Superman,” he details. “He’s always dealing with weighty issues, but he’s very paternal towards Supergirl, he’s very protective of Lois and he’s also having to deal with Brainiac, who is a very intense adversary. So I tried to balance the heavier, more mature version of him with a lighter, fun, more-charming sense of playfulness with Lois in our scenes.”

Sam Daly (2013)

It was a small part, but at least they kept it in the family: The 2013 animated Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox saw Tim Daly’s son, Sam, take on the role of Superman on a time-altered Earth. Says Sam, “It’s so incredible that we’re the first ever father and son in real life to be part of the Superman family in one way or another. To be able to have that bond with such an iconic character is something that they can never take away from us.” He reprised the voice for the animated short “Justice League: Battle for Metropolis 4D” (2015).

Mark Valley (2013)

The actor, whose television series include Boston Legal and Human Target, voiced Superman in 2013’s adaptation of the Frank Miller classic, The Dark Knight Returns. “It’s fun to play a hero,” Valley notes, “but I love to be able to put a little bit of irreverence into it, or a little bit of humanity as well as sarcasm or irony. It’s interesting to see who these people are with these immense abilities and huge responsibilities, but still have time to kind of have fun with it.”

Armin Shimerman (2013)

He voiced Superman in the animated film DC Super Pets, but genre fans know Armin as Pascal in the ’80s series Beauty and the Beast, Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the ferengi Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Henry Cavill (2013-2022)

Add Henry Cavill‘s name to the long list of actors who had come this close to playing Superman, but it fell through. Obviously, he went on to get the part in 2013’s Man Of Steel, 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and, most recently, Justice League. Henry believes the character genuinely represents hope and struggle in the face of adversity. “Really facing up to seemingly insurmountable odds and, hopefully, winning,” he offers. “So, yes, he is a shining light, but what makes it interesting is that he’s still susceptible to human emotions. That adds a realism to it and a way of associating and feeling a part of this character, of getting inside his head, which I think was necessary as opposed to this very separate thing. He is both a part of Earth and so very much apart from Earth. That’s what makes him fascinating.”

Peter Jessop (2014)

Lex Luthor manipulates the space-time continuum to prevent baby Kal-El’s arrival on Earth in the 2014 animated JLA Adventures: Trapped In Time. Actor Peter Jessop voices Superman in this film that is geared for a younger audience.

Alan Tudyk (2014)

Alan Tudyk late of Firefly and who co-starred on the DC-related series Powerless, voiced Superman in the first animated film inspired by DC’s New 52, 2014’s Justice League: War.

Scott Porter (2014)

While he voiced Superboy in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Scott was actually cast to play a young Superman in George Miller’s planned 2007 production of Justice League Mortal.

Channing Tatum (2014) / Benjamin Bratt (2015)

Channing Tatum is known for his comic and action (and oftentimes action-comedic) roles (and whose name has been associated with the Gambit movie), and he voiced Superman for The Lego Movie (2014), The Lego Batman Movie (2017) and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019).

Producer Bruce Timm then turned the Justice League on its head in 2015’s animated film and webseries Justice League: Gods And Monsters, which featured Benjamin Bratt voicing the Man of Steel. “We live in different times,” says Benjamin, “and what I appreciate about this film is that it’s sort of built for a more plugged-in audience. One that’s aware of world politics and social upheaval and things that seem to be on everyone’s minds these days. It’s not about lifting the car off the tracks, we’re talking about the actual saving of humanity. I would say this Superman has a lot more edge than any Superman I’ve ever encountered. He retains a sort of goodness from the original, but this Superman’s got more balls.”

Kevin Caliber (2015; 2019)

Actor Kevin Caliber has an interesting history with the Man of Steel. He portrayed the character in the opening credits of Supergirl‘s first season, though he wasn’t clearly visible (not as much as he is in the image above, on the left) and then he portrayed the character in the 2019 independent film Supermen: World War. Speaking to Closer at Superman Celebration in 2018, Kevin noted, “I’ve met so many guys dressed like Superman who are cops or work in sheriff’s departments. They wear the uniform during the week and then they get to put on the Superman uniform one weekend out of the year. And the funny thing is, when you have the ‘S’ on your chest, you do stand a little bit taller. You really do. You see the most out of shape people and they’re going to be walking around in that Superman shirt, and it’s like that little bit of confidence, because it does make a little piece of you feel like you are Superman. And I think there’s a little Superman in everybody as long as they’re not afraid to tap into it.”

Matthew Mercer (2015)

Gear a number of DC characters for a younger audience, and you have the 2015 animated shorts “DC Super Friends,” for which Matthew Mercer provided the voice of Superman. He enthusiastically tweeted on the subject, “I am honored to be Superman & Two-Face in this fun, new take on DC’s Super Friends.”

Troy Baker (2015)

The 2015 Infinite Crisis video game gave Troy Baker some time to consider voicing the Man of Steel: “On the surface, he’s flawless, and as humans we naturally search for a flaw. That’s one of the disconnections he has being an alien. Everyone else looks normal in our view and he puts on a costume. But for Superman, Clark Kent is the costume and it becomes this juxtaposition of who the hero is and what the mask looks like.”

Daniel DiMaggio (2016)

While the Superman character arrived in the second season of Supergirl in the first year he was only seen through blurred-out images, CG trickery and as a 13-year-old Kal-El in the episode “For The Girl Who Has Everything,” based on the comic story by Alan Moore. Young actor Daniel DiMaggio snagged the role before he became a series regular on American Housewife.

Tyler Hoechlin (2016)

Tyler Hoechlin debuted as Superman on the second season premiere of Supergirl, and made subsequent appearances before being spun off to his own show, Superman and Lois. As to his approach, Tyler says, “I never try to compare and contrast performances, because it’s such an iconic character already. Superman is Superman, so I’m just trying to carry on the tradition of that and play that part.”

Jerry O’Connell (2015-)

For a guy whose credits range from the film Stand By Me to the TV series Sliders, among many others, Jerry seems to have really enjoyed voicing Superman in Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis (2015) , Justice League vs Teen Titans (2016), Justice League Dark (2017), the two-part Death of Superman, Batman: Hush (2019) and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020). At the same time, he admits, “It is a little daunting. I am not kidding you. I go to the gym more when I voice Superman. That is actually not even a joke. For two reasons: one is you just want to be bigger and two is I cannot allow Jason O’Mara [who voices Batman] to be more muscular than me.”

Jason J. Lewis (2016)

Jason voices the character of Superman (and Clark Kent, of course) in the animated series Justice League: Action. Of his portrayal, he told themarysue, “Being adopted, I think I relate to that aspect of Clark Kent very much. That sense of I feel very special and unique, but I’m still an outcast. There’s a lot of conflict there, and that’s something I grew up with. I think that’s something that Clark had to work through as he was growing up and something he still works through as Superman. But he takes the attitude of I’m a servant and a friend to this planet, and that’s what I loved about it.”

Kenichi Suzumura (2017)

In DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon, the Joker heads to Japan to obtain secret weapons from the Eagle Talon Society, unaware that the Justice League is on his trail. In this Japanese production, Kenichi Suzumura voices Superman.

Cameron Cuffe (2018 to 2019)

Okay, we’re cheating a little bit here. British born Cameron actually played Superman’s grandfather Seg-El on the two-season prequel series Krypton, which is absolutely worth checking out. Showrunner Cameron Welsh previously described to Closer the challenges of the series: “The biggest challenge was probably managing people’s expectations about what the show would be,” he said. “The short answer to how you can do a Superman show without Superman is that it’s not really a Superman show. It’s bigger than that in a way. We’ve tried to make a show that embraces a lot of the Superman mythology that’s known, but we also quickly moved away from being constrained by that definition. We have a whole palette full of other characters that are really interesting. That was probably the biggest thing we set out to do: to make all of these new characters that we’ve introduced as compelling and as engaging as possible so that we weren’t always living under the shadow of Superman, a character who was never going to appear on our show.”

Joshua Orpin (2019-)

He’s a clone made up of DNA from both Superman and Lex Luthor, and that inner turmoil fuels Conner Kent/Superboy on the DC Universe streaming series Titans. As Joshua explained to the gww.com, “The thing about our Conner, is that right now he doesn’t know who he’s supposed to be or what he’s supposed to become. Imagine your parents are respectively the greatest superhero the world has ever known, and one of the most intelligent, malevolent minds on the planet. I think he’s justified in being a little confused … At the end of Season 2, Conner wears the S, but to be honest I’m not convinced he’s earned it. The only family he knows are the Titans, and I think he’s only taken his very first steps on the path to understanding what it means to be ‘Super.'”

Max Mittelman (2019)

With an extensive array of voiceover credits, Max played Superman in 2019’s DC Super Hero Girls: Super Shorts and DC Super Hero Girls.

Cameron Monaghan (2019)

Most recently Cameron chilled audiences with his take on a version of the Joker as part of the Batman prequel television series Gotham. In the world of the Man of Steel, he voiced the Superboy clone in the animated film Reign of the Supermen.

Patrick Fabian (2019)

Patrick’s live-action credits include Black Monday and Better Call Saul. In 2019’s Reign of the Supermen, he voiced Hank Henshaw who blames Superman for the death of his wife and who becomes one of the big bads of the story, Cyborg Superman. Said the actor to fansided.com, “He’s a being that likes to be in control. That feels the world slipping away from him and he’s righting that ship for himself.”

Charles Halford (2019)

Fans of superhero movies/TV shows will know Charles as Chas Chandler on Constantine. In Reign of the Supermen, he takes on the vocal part of The Eradicator, yet another version of the Man of Steel who has arisen in the aftermath of his death. He mused to geekrock.video, “There are so many iterations these days of these comic characters, that I hadn’t realized that I’m actually breaking the ice with The Eradicator in this film. And that’s f’n awesome … Playing him, the feeling was a coldness or a detachment.”

James Wolk (2019)

Anyone criticizing Superman as being the Big Blue Boy Scout will no doubt enjoy Harley’s view of the character on the DC Universe streaming series Harley Quinn. There he’s voiced by James, whose credits include Watchmen, Tell Me a Story and Lone Star. Kaley Cuoco, who voices Harley on the show, says, “Harley look at Batman as a real buzz kill and Superman as someone who tells dad jokes.”

Jason Isaacs (2020)

As we all know, when baby Kal-El was sent to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton, he was found on Earth by Kansas farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who instilled in him the ideals that he best represents. But what would have happened had he landed in Russia instead? That’s the concept explored in Superman: Red Son, and helping to do so is Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, Captain Lorca on Star Trek: Discovery).

David Corenswet (2023)

In June 2023, David Corenswet was officially tapped to play the caped hero in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy.