Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist. He achieved stardom for his acting achievements, in particular his motion picture portrayal of comic book superhero Superman.
On May 27, 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. He required a wheelchair and breathing apparatus for the rest of his life. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal-cord injuries and for human embryonic stem cell research, founding the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.
Reeve married Dana Morosini in April 1992. Christopher and Dana's son, William Elliot Reeve, was born on June 7, 1992. Reeve also had two children, Matthew Exton Reeve (born 1979) and Alexandra Exton Reeve (born 1983), from his relationship with Gae Exton. In October 2004, Reeve died suddenly of cardiac arrest while co-directing Everyone's Hero.
- Honor Before Reason: He was offered many roles in films, particularly action films, yet turned down many based on his disdain for the genre or for his own perceived unsuitability for the role, despite whatever the contract terms for the role may have been. He also rejected the role of Mason Verger in the Hannibal film adaptation due to disgust for the character (once he realized what the character was about after learning about the source material).
- Old Shame: Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, due to how poorly it was received.
the less said about Superman IV the better.
- Writer on Board: Due to having partial creative control over the fourth Superman movie, he insisted on the plot having a nuclear disarmament message, not to mention used the script to inject a lot of his personal beliefs into Superman's dialogue.