There’s no shortage of “almost Supermans” in Hollywood. There are plenty of actors who came close to wearing the cape but never quite took flight. One of them is Devious Maids and Chuck actor Ryan McPartlin, who recently took a stroll down memory lane on Instagram, reminding everyone that in the early 2000s, Us Weekly claimed he was the “front-runner” to replace Christopher Reeve. But as fate would have it: he wasn’t.
“Every time a new Superman movie hits theaters,” McPartlin wrote, “I’m transported back to the early 2000s when Us Weekly boldly declared that I was the front-runner to be the next Man of Steel. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t.”
McPartlin, now 50, went on to praise Brandon Routh, the actor who eventually nabbed the role in Superman Returns (2006), saying, “@brandonjrouth was clearly born to wear the cape. And my family learned a valuable lesson that day: don’t believe everything you read at the grocery store checkout.”
He’s not bitter. In fact, he sounds like a man who dodged a bullet and landed comfortably in the leather jacket of Chuck’s Captain Awesome instead. “The good news? My destiny was Captain Awesome—and Brandon and I still got to save the day (sort of) together on Chuck.”
McPartlin and Routh eventually shared screen time, just not as rival Kryptonians. And now, with Superman once again back in cinemas thanks to James Gunn’s new reboot, actors everywhere are crawling out of the woodwork to remind us that they too once flirted with the role.
McPartlin’s Instagram post came complete with a visual—a clearly Photoshopped image of Christopher Reeve’s Superman with his own face pasted over. It’s goofy, sure, but he does look the part. Tall. Square-jawed. A smile so blinding it probably counts as a superpower. And if you’ve heard his voice, it’s uncannily similar to Brandon Routh’s. Deep. Smooth. Very “truth, justice, and the American way.”
So why didn’t he get the gig? Hollywood is a game of timing, and in 2006, that clock belonged to Routh. Still, McPartlin’s TV career has been nothing short of solid. He’s popped up in CSI, Mad Men, Fuller House, Ghosted, and L.A.’s Finest. So, basically, if there’s a show, he’s probably been in it.
Will James Gunn call him up for a DCU cameo? Probably not as Superman, but maybe as a dad, a cop, or some charming alien diplomat. He’s got the look. And clearly, he’s got the sense of humour to match.
As he cheekily concluded: “So if you’re an actor who almost played Superman… hang in there. Your super-suit might just have a different name on the chest.”
A lesson for aspiring superheroes everywhere: if you miss out on Superman, there’s always Captain Awesome. Or maybe even the DCU’s Booster Gold. He’s certainly got that cheesy smile.
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