Brandon James Routh is an American actor and former fashion model. He grew up in Iowa before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, and subsequently appeared on multiple television series throughout the early 2000s. In 2006, he gained greater recognition for his r...
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Chemistry, Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Star - Male, Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Rumble
Movies
Superman Returns, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, 400 Days, Crooked Arrows, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, The Nine Lives of Christmas, Unthinkable, Missing William, Table for Three, Life Is Hot in Cracktown, Lost in the Pacific, Fling, Miss Nobody, Karla, Stuntmen, In Security, ...
TV Shows
Partners, Chuck, Odd Man Out, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow
[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.
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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]
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[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.
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[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."
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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.
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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.
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[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."
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[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."
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[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."
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Fact
1
He has played the same character (Ray Palmer / The Atom) in three different series: Arrow (2012), The Flash (2014) and Legends of Tomorrow (2016).
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He is of English, Scottish, German, and distant Dutch, ancestry. His paternal grandparents were Amor Ellis Routh and Velma Mae Junkin, and his maternal grandparents were John Junior Lear and Viola Lorraine Brown.
Cites Braveheart (1995) as his all-time favorite film.
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Attended the International Model and Talent Association (IMTA).
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Frequently says that the only good thing that came of his several years of struggling to find success in Hollywood was meeting his long-time girlfriend, Courtney Ford, in a coffee-shop after another failed audition. They became engaged in August 23, 2006, and married on November 24, 2007.
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Unlike fellow Superman actors Christopher Reeve and Tom Welling, he is a huge Superman fan. As a kid, he collected the comics, owned the films, and even wore Superman pajamas.
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Parents are Ron and Katie.
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After being cast as Superman for Superman Returns (2006), he sought out a movement coach to help him create the proper body language for the Superman character.
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Attended the University of Iowa
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His brother is a "real-life Superman" - a police officer in Des Moines
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Dressed up as Batman for Halloween 2004.
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Went as Clark Kent/Superman for a Halloween party in 2003 and won a costume contest, only to receive the movie role one year later.
$12 Million
