All 12 Superman actors ranked from worst to best

9. Gerard Christopher

Appeared in: Superboy (seasons 2 – 4)

After Superboy‘s first season was, well, not very well-received, the show underwent a complete overhaul that saw a change in its direction. While comic book fans certainly noticed some of those changes, they were visible to everyone simply because the Boy of Steel himself had been recast.

Gerard Christopher stepped into the role from the second season onwards, replacing John Haymes Newton as the young Clark Kent and his heroic alter-ego. He fared better in the role than his predecessor but that could be down to the fact that he had stronger material to work with. The show’s new direction meant that it had become much more comic-accurate, allowing us to meet many of Superman’s enemies from the source material. By the time the show concluded, it was essentially a Superman show, and that probably played into how it ultimately managed to run for four seasons after such a shaky start.

Christopher’s performance was a large part of that improvement though as he led the series well. Even though Superboy wasn’t cutting edge or particularly great, he was very convincing in the role as he oversaw Clark’s growth into Superman. He looked the part and acted it well, and so it’s no surprise that he then landed the same role in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (before the producers discovered he had already played the role and went with Dean Cain).