Christopher Reeve’s Son Lost Both Parents by 13. Today Will Reeve Is 33 — and He Looks Exactly Like Superman

For most Superman fans, there’s one definite live-action actor who still embodies the character more than everyone who has come after him: Christopher Reeve. His charm, his smile, and his performance made millions around the world believe he was the Man of Steel. For many, he wasn’t just playing the character on screen but off, too. Now, when fans look at his youngest son, Will Reeve, they see their hero again.

Will Reeve resembles his father in more ways than just looks. Yes, he has the jawline and the bright smile, and he’s got the tall frame too. But he’s also got the warm heart his father had. In fact, even though he has never played the character on screen, Will looks almost identical to the character from the comic books, too. 

But Will’s story isn’t about Superman. It’s actually about living through all the challenges that would make him one.

Will Reeve was born in 1992 to actor Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve. He was their only child together, though Christopher had two older children, Matthew and Alexandra, with his former partner Gae Exton. By the time Will was three-years-old, his young life changed forever.

In May 1995, after Christopher Reeve was thrown from a horse during an equestrian event in Culpeper, Virginia, he damaged his first and second cervical vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. That meant that young Will would probably never remember his father without a ventilator to breathe. It also meant that they would never get to do the physical things a father and son would get to do.

While the terrible news shocked everyone around the world, for Will, it was much more personal.

Years later, however, he explained how they continued to remain close, despite all the challenges. They watched sports together, and Christopher even managed to attend one of Will’s hockey games the day before he died in October 2004. Will Reeve was just 11 when his father passed away.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Will remembered how his dad often pushed past his limitations to be there for him. He remembered Christopher teaching him to ride a bike and trying to still be part of each one of his milestones.

But tragedy became a part of Will’s life. Just 17 months after he lost his dad, he lost his mother, Dana Reeve, too. She died of lung cancer in March 2006 at age 44. Will was now 13-years-old.

But Dana had prepared Will for the worst. She arranged for him to live in Bedford, New York, with family friends Ralph and Ann Pucci. She wanted him to be close to his school and community. And Will has nothing but admiration for the family that took him in. “The Puccis are…lifesavers. They are the very best people. […] They are the reason that I was able to emerge from the darkest period of my life – relatively unscathed,” he said. “They took me in, and they loved me, not even like a son, they loved me, and do love me, as a son.”

When Will grew up, everyone thought he would follow his father into acting. I mean, he had the looks and the charm to do it, right? But even though he appeared as a child in the 1997 television film In the Gloaming, directed by Christopher Reeve, Will chose a different path for his own life. After graduating from Middlebury College in 2014 with a degree in English and American Literature, he stepped into journalism. ESPN hired him as a contributor later that year, and he even hosted The MSG Hockey Show before leaving the network in 2018.

Today, Will’s career looks a lot more like Clark Kent’s than Superman’s. He works as a correspondent for ABC News and appears regularly on Good Morning America. 

He also keeps his parents’ mission alive through the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. After his accident, Christopher Reeve pushed for spinal cord injury research and support for people living with paralysis. The organization merged with the American Paralysis Association in 1999 and continues to fund research today.

For Christopher Reeve’s son, the work isn’t about preserving his celebrity name but rather about honoring his two parents, who believed deeply in helping others. “Their passion for everything is what made them so special. They deeply cared about making a difference in the world in any context,” he told Today.

Of course, fans still see him as Superman’s son today. In fact, when Henry Cavill’s future with the DCEU was up in the air, many suggested Will for the role. But Will laughed off the idea. In an interview with Jeff Pearlman, he admitted, “I’m not a huge Superman fan or fan of superhero movies in general.”

A few years ago, Samukarts, popular for creating concept art for beloved franchises using Photoshop, designed a Superman poster featuring William Reeve as Superman. The image, which went viral, sees him opening his shirt to reveal the Superman suit underneath (just like Superman: The Movie did all those years before). Many fans loved the idea and were genuinely excited to see Will Reeve as Superman. Many believed that watching a film with him in the starring role would probably be an emotional time for anyone who had watched Christopher Reeve bring the Man of Steel to life. But that never happened.

Still, he did cameo in the DCU. Will played a TV reporter in James Gunn’s Superman (2025).

He also appeared in the documentary Super/Man, directed by Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui, which explores his dad’s life and career. And for Will, it meant something special too. The majority of my memories of my dad involve him after the accident because I was not yet three years old when he was injured,” he told Variety. “So to see his entire life leading up until that time laid out so poetically and cinematically and authentically by our wonderful directors has been a real gift for me.”

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”

His son, Will Reeve, didn’t need to put on the suit to be a hero. He became Superman without even playing the role.