What was it about Brandon Routh that clinched the deal?
I watched lots of tapes Brandon had done previously, and eventually we had a meeting. Somewhere in that conversation I felt like, wow, I don’t actually have to pull the plug on this movie, I might actually have a Superman. Brandon, perhaps by virtue of his Mid-Western upbringing or his genuine nature, has a kind of calm centre and a genuinely decent moral compass. Besides, his talents as an actor and his physical qualities play into the role of Superman. Brandon has a kind of awkward vulnerability which I discovered in our first conversation in his mannerisms. When he wants to he can channel this vulnerability, but when he wants to suppress it it’s gone. That very much played into how I saw Clark. How much trepidation did you have about introducing a love triangle for Superman? I had no trepidation. I’ve learned from directing the X-Men movies that there’s always going to be fear and scepticism among fans who’ve grown up with these characters. But these characters have gone through so
