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.
10. John Haymes Newton
Appeared in: Superboy (season 1)
These days, DC Comics fans associate the term Superboy with Kon-El (a.k.a. Conner Kent), but once upon a time, it was the name that a young Clark Kent took on when fighting crime as the Man – well, Boy – of Steel. These adventures took place on television, and John Haymes Newton was tasked with playing the title character.
The young actor never really got a chance to show us what he was capable of on the show. That might sound like a bit of a strange thing to say given that he was the lead, but Superboy had no idea what it wanted to be in its first season, so everything was a bit all over the place. Newton unfortunately got lost in the crowd, doing what he could with some very limited material. He looked amazing in the suit, and his Clark showed potential, but he was replaced after the first season when the show rebranded.
Speaking of which…
9. Gerard Christopher
Appeared in: Superboy (seasons 2 – 4)
Gerard Christopher took over the title role from John Haymes Newton after the first season of Superboy when the show underwent a change in direction, and even though it wouldn’t be winning any awards, it did find something of a solid footing to build upon. Now essentially just a more direct superhero show, it began to embrace the comic book elements and that gave Christopher far more to work with than his predecessor.
His performance as Clark Kent showed real promise, too. He also looked the part, but he was given more of an opportunity to build out the character and put his own stamp on it. While the show cared more about his adventures as Superman, Christopher did good with Clark’s storylines too.
He had grown into the role so well that he was actually cast to play Clark Kent again on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman until the producers realized he had already played the character before.
8. Kirk Alyn
Appeared in: Superman, Atom-Man vs. Superman
Kirk Alyn holds the honor of being the very first actor to ever portray Superman on the silver screen. Heck, he holds the honor of being the first actor to play the role on any screen, headlining the movie serial Superman in 1948 before returning two years later for the 1950 sequel serial Atom Man vs. Superman.
While many of the super elements of the serials haven’t aged well (which is understandable given the limitations of productions at the time), Alyn really nailed the triumph of the character, and he looked like he had just leaped off the pages of a comic book. His greatest performance, however, might just have been his approach to Clark Kent.
Being the first actor to bring him to theaters, there was a lot of pressure on Alyn to succeed, particularly because of how popular the comic books were, but he pulled it off. He successfully captured the intricacies of the clumsy Clark Kent persona, making him a lot more timid and less confident than the man with the cape. It worked well on screen and kickstarted a legacy that every other actor would have to live up to.
A great start for the Man of Steel and the Daily Planet reporter.
7. Henry Cavill
Appeared in: Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Black Adam
The handling of Superman in the DC Extended Universe will always be one of that shared universe’s (many) missed opportunities. That’s not to say that Henry Cavill wasn’t great in the role because he was – it’s just that the legendary Man of Steel could have been so much more than what he was.
His first appearance in Man of Steel was a strong foundation, but succeeding chapters of the DCEU would build upon some of the wrong threads, making for a lackluster character portrayal. Man of Steel attempted to add more depth to the Clark Kent character by blurring the lines between his Daily Planet persona and Superman so that they were more similar, but it wasn’t as successful as it wanted to be. Sure, Superman felt a bit more well-rounded and modern, but the result left Clark Kent himself feeling, well, a lot less like Clark Kent.
Whether he was wearing glasses or not, the Superman of the DCEU was almost always broody – which is something that neither he nor Clark should be all of the time. Henry Cavill did a great job at portraying that, and it worked well for the first movie, but not even he could elevate the lackluster material that came next to where it needed to be.
Henry was better than the material he was given, and only in Man of Steel and Zack Snyder’s Justice League did he show the promise of what his Superman was capable of. Nevertheless, his Clark Kent never truly felt like the character he was supposed to be.
If you’re looking for an example of a more balanced, serious, and nuanced Clark Kent that never loses sight of who the character is, watch Superman and Lois.
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.
5. Dean Cain
Appeared in: Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
After Christopher Reeve’s game-changing performance in the Superman movies, it was time for the Man of Steel to return to the small screen that he found so much success on. That return came in the form of 1993’s Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Dean Cain was tasked with playing Superman and his more human alter-ego. It was even more important that he nail both aspects of the character as Lois and Clark was more about the relationship between the titular Daily Planet reporters, meaning that there had to be a more human quality to his performance. Thankfully, there was, as Clark Kent was very much the main character of this show – not Superman. This is a trend that would continue on TV beyond this show.
Cain was one of the first performers to highlight the real nuances of the character, taking much of what Reeve did on the silver screen and adapting it into a more long-form story. Clark may have been an alien from another planet, but he was also just like every other young man trying to find his way in the world. And for Clark, that meant finding his way in the big city after spending his youth in a small town. It also meant navigating his relationship with Lois Lane, and balancing that with his duties as Superman.
Cain played Clark with charisma. Yes, he was nerdy most of the time, but he also secretly ahead of the curve, always in the know, and incredibly charming when he wanted to be. That balance would inform other performers who played the role after him, and it’s easy to see why; Clark is at his most interesting when he’s more than just one thing. And Cain’s Clark was a lot of things, most important of all being a thoroughly enjoyable protagonist.
4, Brandon Routh
Appeared in: Superman Returns, Crisis On Infinite Earths
If we had to pick the most underrated Superman of them all, we’d have to give it to Brandon Routh. He played the character in 2006’s Superman Returns, and although it was moderately successful both critically and financially, it never really made the splash that the studio wanted it to. As a result, Routh’s performance is often overlooked, and it really shouldn’t be.
He had the tall task of having to follow Christopher Reeve’s iconic performance as the character, and that was made that much more difficult by the fact that he was meant to be playing the same version of the Man of Steel (Superman Returns was positioned as a legacy sequel). Nevertheless, he did a great job as the hero, producing a convincing performance under the pressure. His greatest strength, however, lay in his performance as Clark Kent, of which he had only scratched the surface with in Returns. And that’s why it was a shame that we never saw a direct sequel to the movie.
Seeing Routh reprise the role in the Arrowverse’s Crisis On Infinite Earths was easily one the crossover’s most fulfilling moments. He was once again brilliant as Clark Kent, channelling the character’s delightful dorkiness while also managing to infuse it with a grounded element of sadness due to the loss that this version of the character had suffered – something that set the stage for his Kingdom Come-esque version of the Man of Steel to achieve his long-awaited redemption.
Routh had so much offer in such a short amount of time and we wish we got to see more of his Clark Kent in action. He is a natural in the role.
3. Christopher Reeve
Appeared in: Superman: The Movie, Superman II, The Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
When you think of Superman, there’s a pretty big chance that you’re also going to think of Christopher Reeve. The man redefined the role for a whole generation, inspiring audiences around the world with his performance in the character’s first big-budget feature movies and changing the game for the superhero movie genre in the process.
He also redefined the role of Clark Kent. Reeve is the first actor to perfect the differences between the two personas, playing Clark in a completely different way to how he played Superman. This wasn’t a confident and determined reporter enjoying the competition with Lois Lane for stories at the Daily Planet like many of his predecessors, it was an unsure, awkward and downright nerdy young man trying to balance heroism with everyday life.
Reeve did a wonderful job with the role, effortlessly switching between Clark and Superman whenever he was required to, and yet marrying the two aspects of the character together beautifully so that we could see that Clark Kent and Superman were very much one and the same (even if everybody around him couldn’t).
Christopher Reeve is the yardstick for all aspects of the Man of Steel and that applies to his game-changing performance as Clark Kent, too. We owe the modern day version of the character to that performance, and we’ll always be grateful to him.
2. Tom Welling
Appeared in: Smallville, Crisis On Infinite Earths (cameo)
If an actor spends a long amount of time in a role, there’s a pretty high chance they’ll get to know their character better than anyone else. That’s certainly the case with Tom Welling, because no actor spent more time with Clark Kent than he did.
Welling portrayed the role across all ten seasons of Smallville, showcasing how he evolved from a young teenager with inexplicable durability and superpowers to a respected hero who inspired people with hope. The latter is Superman in a nutshell, but the thing that differentiates Welling from every other actor to play the role is that he wasn’t primarily playing Superman; he was playing Clark Kent.
Smallville is all about Clark’s journey. That’s why it starts with him as a teenager at Smallville High, which is an aspect of the character that Welling excelled at right from the beginning. From his natural ability to highlight Clark’s endearing nerdiness to the way in which he became a mumbling mess around Lana Lang, he brought about those renowned Clark Kent qualities pretty quickly but in a completely different environment. It went a long way in showing that the Clark Kent persona wasn’t really a persona, but an extension of who he really was. And who he really was happened to be a thoughtful young man full of good.
By the time the show ended, Welling was a master at playing the traditional Clark Kent. It was the perfect ending to the story, but it was even more fulfilling watching how he got there in the first place and his growth along the way. What a journey.
1. Tyler Hoechlin
Appeared in: Supergirl, Superman and Lois
From the moment that Supergirl‘s Clark Kent first stumbled over his words on a phone call with Perry White, it was clear that Tyler Hoechlin was born to play this role. He was timid – almost apologetic – in his approach, absolutely nailing the qualities that Clark is known for right out of the gate. We often talk about how his first triumphant scene as Superman highlighted how perfect he was for the part (and it’s true), but we shouldn’t overlook how he produced a ridiculously comic-accurate Clark Kent in just a few short seconds. From there, the sky was the limit.
The only criticism of the Supergirl iteration of the character was that he didn’t appear enough, because Hoechlin lit up the screen every time he was on it. He leaned into his dorkiness, embracing Clark’s awkward nature without ever allowing him to become a caricature. It really worked, especially in a show like Supergirl that owned its light-hearted tone.
That was the more traditional Clark, but Hoechlin is also a master of a more layered version of the character too. The version that he plays on Superman and Lois is more nuanced, thanks in no small part to the show’s more mature and cinematic approach. This Clark is a hero, yes, but he’s also a husband, a father, and a son; responsibilities which he takes very seriously, as the Kents move back to Smallville to start a new life in the town that created the Clark Kent identity.
The performance that Hoechlin delivers on Superman and Lois is nothing short of stunning. He’s a leading man through and through, but he’s also added more depth to a character that many often write off, showcasing the universe that exists behind those glasses, highlighting that Clark Kent isn’t just a persona, he’s who Superman really is. He captures the essence of the character beautifully, offering up something new and modern without ever losing what makes Clark, well, Clark.
Tyler Hoechlin is one of the best actors to ever play Superman, but he is without question the very best at playing Clark Kent.
Which version of Clark Kent is your favorite? Do you have a favorite Superman adaptation?