Brandon James Routh (pronounced like "south") was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in nearby Norwalk. He is the son of Catherine LaVonne (Lear), a teacher, and Ronald Wayne Routh, a carpenter. Routh has English, Scottish, and German ancestry. He attended the University of Iowa and starred in many productions at the Norwalk Theater of...
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Brandon James Routh (pronounced like "south") was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in nearby Norwalk. He is the son of Catherine LaVonne (Lear), a teacher, and Ronald Wayne Routh, a carpenter. Routh has English, Scottish, and German ancestry. He attended the University of Iowa and starred in many productions at the Norwalk Theater of Performing Arts. His first professional acting role was in the ABC television series Odd Man Out (1999), and he went on to guest star in the series Gilmore Girls (2000) and Undressed (1999). In his spare time, Routh enjoys playing soccer and basketball, swimming, biking and reading. Show less «
[Talking about wearing the Superman costume]: "Very confining. But once you get past that - which is...Show more »
[Talking about wearing the Superman costume]: "Very confining. But once you get past that - which is sometimes hard - it's also very empowering. First time I put it on, I felt... stronger. Like a different level of who I am. It makes playing the character much easier." Show less «
[on making the Superman character darker]: I don't know how much darker you want to make it necessar...Show more »
[on making the Superman character darker]: I don't know how much darker you want to make it necessarily. You make the stakes higher, you make the villain darker, I think that's a way to do it. But I don't think Superman himself needs to be darker. He definitely has to struggle, but I don't think Superman should ever be dark and brooding, that's not his nature. And that's not what people want to see. Show less «
[on being asked if he ever thought playing Superman would be bad for his career]: "No. I mean, I was...Show more »
[on being asked if he ever thought playing Superman would be bad for his career]: "No. I mean, I was wary of what being Superman meant to my life, the possibilities of what it might mean, but then I think of all the positives and that kind of takes it all away. There are a lot of negatives to not do it, too." Show less «
[on being replaced by Henry Cavill as Superman] I would have liked to have done another movie. I lov...Show more »
[on being replaced by Henry Cavill as Superman] I would have liked to have done another movie. I love the character, and the fans are great. It has been an amazing family to be a part of. I feel like I still had more to do, and to grow as the character. But Henry [Cavill] is a great actor and has done a nice job. I'm happy for Superman fans that they get another film. Show less «
I'm happy to have anyone as a fan, no matter race, religion, political party, sexual orientation, or...Show more »
I'm happy to have anyone as a fan, no matter race, religion, political party, sexual orientation, or sports team affiliation. [Interview, June 24, 2010] Show less «
People will like me, I think, because I do a good job in the film, but I also realize that the appea...Show more »
People will like me, I think, because I do a good job in the film, but I also realize that the appeal isn't just me. It's the character. It's the film. It's what Superman stands for and brings to the table. Not just me. Show less «
[Talking about his work with a movement coach to capture Superman's physical presence]: "We worked o...Show more »
[Talking about his work with a movement coach to capture Superman's physical presence]: "We worked on posture. Spine straight, hips forward, neck in line - just a clean motion moving through the world. [on the bright side] I slouch less." Show less «
[When asked if he's ready for the changes that will follow in his life upon being cast as Superman]:...Show more »
[When asked if he's ready for the changes that will follow in his life upon being cast as Superman]: "I have no idea. But I am prepared to be prepared." Show less «
I'm kind of slowly becoming a star. I've kept my sanity. I've learned along the way, all these month...Show more »
I'm kind of slowly becoming a star. I've kept my sanity. I've learned along the way, all these months that I've been here and slowly doing interviews and the suit picture getting released on the Internet-all this has come very gradual, which has really helped me to get it straight in my head and not go over the top. I know that that's a minuscule amount of exposure that's going to happen. It's going to be all over the place and it's going to become ridiculous at some point. The other thing that I realize is that it's not me so much as the character and the icon of Superman. Show less «