Christopher Reeve Biography

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).