“I lay on my back, frozen, unable to avoid thinking the darkest thoughts,” said Reeve. He later revealed the person who got him through this moment – his close friend, the late actor Robin Williams.

This of course was a very hard time for Reeve as the weight of the operation played on his mind. Robin Williams helped Reeve recoverĪfter his accident, Reeve was preparing to have an operation which would reattach his skull to his spine – an operation so risky that it only had a 50% chance of survival. He would no longer feel sensation in 90% of his body and he could no longer breathe on his own and would need to use a ventilator. When he recovered, doctors told him his injury had caused paralysis from the shoulders down. Reeve remained in intensive care for five weeks as he fought through several life-threatening complications. This is what some doctors refer to as a hangman’s fracture (sometimes causing death through suffocation). The impact smashed the two upper vertebrae in his spine, which meant that his skull and spine were no longer connected. His hands somehow got tangled in the reins, and he landed head first on the far side of the fence. For some reason when they got to the fence, the horse refused to jump and suddenly stopped. Riding his horse, Buck, they jumped the first two fences in the course and were riding up to the third. Reeve was an accomplished horseman and that day he was taking part in an equestrian competition. A fall from a horse would change Reeve’s life When the first Superman movie came out, Reeve was an instant megastar! Not wanting to miss out on his star power, the studios had him return to the role again three times. Because he worked out continuously throughout the filming, they even had to reshoot earlier scenes as they didn’t match the later shots. He instead started an intense two-month training program which added 14kg to his 86kg frame. Producers suggested he wear fake muscles under the suit but he refused. The director and producers of the movie had actually been searching for the right actor to play the role for three years without any luck! They eventually offered the part to Reeve only 35 days before filming was due to begin.Īt first, Reeve didn’t think he had much of a chance of landing the part – even though he was 6 ft 4’ tall (193 cm), he feared he would be too skinny! Becoming the Man of SteelĪs a young man, Christopher Reeve had played a few roles, but his big break came when he got a call to audition for the role of Superman. After a fall from a horse caused a spinal cord injury, Christopher Reeve dedicated his life to advocacy and research.įind out more about his amazing story.

Christopher reeve as clark kent