Superman and Clark Kent may be one and the same, but they require different personality traits. Which actors brought Clark to life the best?
The Man of Steel has been a presence on our screens for almost as long as superheroes have existed. He’s one of the very first mainstream superheroes, and the first to put DC Comics on the map with his arrival in 1938 (before his dear Dark Knight companion took it to a whole new level the year after that).
One of the things that makes Superman such a successful hero is the duality of the character. On one hand, he’s a larger-than-life alien protector from Krypton determined to keep planet Earth safe from threats. On the other, he’s mild-mannered Clark Kent, a dorky and somewhat unfortunate Daily Planet reporter who hides his true identity behind the world’s most unconvincing disguise. And yet, he manages to convince everyone that he and the Man of Steel are two completely different people.
The Clark Kent persona is an important part of Superman’s personality. Yes, it’s still very much him – kind, gentle, loving, friendly – but it’s also exaggerated in a way that would make people overlook his charms, strength, and all around superness. In many ways, Clark Kent is a completely separate character from Superman.
Taking that into account, that means that the actors who played him on-screen have had to pull double duty. With that in mind, as David Corenswet prepares to add his name to that legendary list in the DC Universe’s Superman: Legacy, let’s take a look at all of the actors to bring the role to life on the screens and see how they did.