Movie: Superman Returns
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth
Studio: Warner Bros.

Brandon Routh won the lottery when he was cast as the new Superman. With a Christopher Reeve jaw and abs to fill out the suit, casting this unknown seems like a no-brainer. Even in a gray T-shirt and jeans, he looked pretty super.

The Wave: Had people pointed out a resemblance to Christopher Reeve before this movie?
Brandon Routh: Yeah, my first manager actually talked about my resemblance. Since then people have commented every now and then. I was a big fan of Chris – Chris was my Superman – so when I read the script, he was in my head all the time. My Clark [Kent] really comes from him, with all the excitement when he first sees Lois again, when he meets Jason and Richard. It’s all about him being so excited, and that’s where the goofiness and clumsiness comes in. There’s a certain amount that’s always going to seem like Chris and all the other people who have come before, because that’s kind of what we see as a collective audience. We don’t want to vary too much from that.

TW: Did you ever freak out about the pressure of playing Superman?
BR: Well, I decided very early on that there was no way that I could continue and portray this character if I were to be worried or have too much apprehension. So I kind of took strength in the character of Superman. I lived in that as much as I could in my own personal life so that I could not worry about things. Worry doesn’t really get you anywhere except maybe a frown.

TW: Have you been recognized by people on the street yet?
BR: There have been some, yeah. In Monaco, there was a guy who had on a Superman shirt that I signed for him. He said he was a big fan. You know, some people are quite nervous when they meet me, which is interesting because they haven’t seen the film. It shows the power that Superman has, that the character has all around the world.

TW: What private hobby are you going to miss doing in anonymity?
BR: You know, I wouldn’t call it a hobby, but I actually kind of like walking around stores. Like the grocery store in the evening, for some reason. It’s soothing. I go with my girlfriend to places like Whole Foods, where you can read about the products and all that stuff. I don’t know why. It’s just interesting.

TW: You just need to put on a pair of glasses and nobody would recognize you.
BR: I’ve tried that. It doesn’t work.

TW: Did you have to maintain a certain size for the suit?
BR: Yeah, I had to, and there were a couple of times where we got overzealous in our workout and I started to get too big. I had to back down because you have to maintain the limit.

TW: What did your girlfriend think of you in the tights?
BR: She’s great. She was a fan before, so it was pretty cool for her to see me like that.

TW: What was the best part of making this film?
BR: There are so many best parts, I don’t know. The best part for me now is people seeing it now that we’re finally finished. And that it’s everything that I wanted it to be and intended for it to be. I’m so proud of the film and Bryan [Singer] and Kate [Bosworth] and Kevin [Spacey] and everybody. It’s a pretty amazing thing, and I’m so excited to be part of it. The worst thing [was] probably the physical aspect of being in the harness and flight. Some days it was great. Some days it wasn’t fun, depending on how early in the morning I was up and in the harness, and if I had to work out at 4am in the morning. All those things.

TW: Were you a comic fanboy?
BR: I did not read the Superman comics. I was a big fan as a kid. I think I’ve told this story many times, about the first time I saw the movie wearing the Superman costume or pajamas with a little cape my mom still has. I was so excited to see the film at age five or six that I gave myself a migraine. I had the little silver bowl next to the couch in case I had an upset stomach through half the movie. I was always throwing things up in the air and seeing how they would fly, making parachutes out of things, and seeing how things would fly. My parents were like, “This kid is crazy.” I didn’t read the comics, but I was a big fan of the films.