Superman: All 10 Clark Kent actors ranked from worst to best

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Noel Neill, Lois Lane, Superman, Clark Kent, George Reeves

American actor George Reeves (1914 – 1959), as Clark Kent, sits on desk beside Noel Neill, as Lois Lane, in a still from the television series, ‘Adventures of Superman,’ c. 1955. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty Images) /

6. George Reeves

Appeared in: Adventures of Superman

George Reeves is the man who brought Superman to mainstream audiences by bringing his adventures into their homes on the small screen. We’re about to talk about the Man of Steel’s TV adventures a lot and that legacy all started with him.

He played the character for all six seasons of Adventures of Superman, portraying the hero as the smooth, calm, and approachable man that we all know him to be today. His Clark Kent was also very comic-accurate at the time, as he served as a fitting alias for the Man of Steel in disguise.

The bonus of being able to tell Superman’s story across a television series was the fact that it allowed us to spend more time with Clark, and Reeves thrived in the role. His version of Clark wasn’t as flawed or – for lack of a better term, human – as some of the more recent incarnations, but the star still did a great job switching between personas. It was more subtle with Reeves, much like how Adam West effortlessly switched between Batman and Bruce Wayne, but it was there.

George Reeves had that 1950s movie star charisma and that came across in both his outings as Superman and Clark Kent. It’s easy to see why his performance is still held in such high regard.

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