Christopher Reeve

Actor

Christopher Reeve's leading role in Superman (1978) made him a star, but it was his recuperation after a 1995 horse riding accident that made him a symbol of persistence and courage. Reeve was a little known stage actor from New York when he was chosen out of 200 candidates to star in a big-budget movie version of the comic book hero Superman. He appeared in three sequels, Superman II (1980, with Gene Hackman), Superman III (1983, with Richard Pryor) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), and starred in several other films, stage plays and TV movies. In May of 1995 Reeve was thrown from his horse in a jumping competition and sustained a near-fatal injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Confined to a wheelchair, he went on to make public appearances and eventually resumed his career, doing mostly voice work and some directing. He also wrote about his recovery in the book Still Me (1999).

Extra credit: Christopher Reeve was not related to actor George Reeves, who played Superman in the 1950s television series The Adventures of Superman.