With James Gunn reportedly screen testing his top picks to play the lead of his upcoming DC reboot Superman: Legacy, we’re almost at the point where we can say hello to our next Superman. That begs the question, then, who was our first Superman? Which actor has the honor of being the inaugural person to bring the Last Son of Krypton, the world’s original superhero, to life?
As created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman first flew (or at least, leaped tall buildings with a single bound — the flying didn’t come until later) onto comic book pages in 1938. Given his instant impact on pop culture, it’s no surprise that Kal-El was already being brought to the screen in the form of animation just three years later, beginning in 1941, before finally making it to live-action in 1948, in time for his 10th anniversary. So who was the first actor to play Superman?
The first actors to play Superman on screen, live-action, and on TV
Technically speaking, the first actor to bring Superman to life was voice performer Bud Collyer, who portrayed Clark Kent and his tights-wearing alter ego in the revered animated shorts from Fleischer (and later Famous) Studios — 17 theatrically released short films were released between 1941 and 1943. Collyer reprised his role from the equally legendary The Adventures of Superman radio series (1940-51).
The first actor to portray Superman in live-action, however, is Kirk Alyn, the star of 1948’s Superman movie serial. Although structured like a TV series to modern viewers, the serial — made up of 15 15-minute episodes — was released in theaters, offering audiences the first chance to see the origins story of Supes made a reality. Alyn later returned for the 1950 sequel Atom Man vs. Superman.
His successor as Superman is the far more iconic George Reeves. After appearing as the character in the hero’s first ever feature-length motion picture, 1951’s Superman and the Mole Man, Reeves became TV’s first Man of Steel thanks to the successful The Adventures of Superman (1952-58). The next live-action portrayal after Reeves was the similarly named Christopher Reeve in 1978 and, well, the rest is cinematic history.
Whoever the next Superman actor is, they’re set to soar into theaters when Superman: Legacy releases on July 11, 2025.