By now, you’ve probably seen all the posters, trailers and promo material pushing James Gunn’s new Superman reboot starring David Corenswet, which arrives in cinemas on 11 July 2025. Of course, with every new actor who puts on the red boots and red undies, fans rush in to debate who wore the cape best. But here’s a weird bit of Man of Steel trivia you probably didn’t know: One Superman actor nearly got cast as Kal-El twice, simply because the producers didn’t realise he had already played him before. That might be the most Clark Kent thing ever.
Gerard Christopher took over the role of Clark Kent in the 1998 Superboy TV series in Season 2 and actually managed to stick around for three seasons of the show. Yeah, Superboy might not be at the top of the list of best live-action Superman adaptations, and it’s not as popular as Lois & Clark or Smallville, but fans who watched it remember the actor for his strong chin and a solid knack for separating his geeky Clark Kent from his confident Superboy.
After Superboy ended, however, the Days of Our Lives actor auditioned for the lead in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which started in 1993 with Dean Cain. And apparently, the producers didn’t recognise him. In an interview with Superman Through The Ages, Christopher recalled: “I actually read for the show. It was interesting. At first the casting director didn’t like my interpretation. Then she asked me to change it. I did and she liked it. Then she brought me in to meet the producers. When I walked into the room, they had no advance knowledge that I had done Superboy.”
You’d think that would be a bonus, right? Proven Superman experience, already in spandex shape, and he knew how to dodge foam boulders on a TV budget. The producers seemed to agree… at first. “I read for the producer and his reaction was, ‘Wow! You’re great, it’s wonderful, you’re the perfect guy for this!’… Then he grabbed my résumé, looked at the work I’d done, flipped it over and said, ‘You’ve done this already!’ He threw my résumé down on the table and basically threw me out of the room. It was pretty funny.”
Christopher chalked it up to the studio wanting a clean break: “It’s similar to when a restaurant goes out of business and is taken over by new owners… People like to do things their own way and often cut ties with anything that came before.”
It’s kind of ironic, though, because another Superman actor has actually played the role twice. Brandon Routh played Superman in Superman Returns (2006) and returned again in 2019’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, this time with greying temples and the Kingdom Come S-shield.
So maybe Gerard Christopher was just ahead of his time. If the CW existed in the ’90s, he probably would have gotten his multiverse moment. Still, it’s never too late for him to get another shot somewhere down the line.
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