Christopher Reeves: The Real Superman

Who hasn’t watched a Superman movie while growing up? Heroic characters like Superman and Spiderman always make us wish we could also jump from rooftops or fly in the air without breaking a leg or landing up dead. However, one thing that can’t be ignored is that time and again we get to see examples of normal men who have shown heroic strength and character.

Christopher Reeves was our original Superman. Never failing to impress and entertain the audience with his character in the movie franchise Superman, Christopher Reeves also proved to be a real life superman in his real life. This highly successful actor was born into a very influential home. Since he was a child, Reeves always shone bright among his peers. He was an outstanding student, excelling in academics, sports or performing on-stage. In fact, he was on the honor roll and played various sports like tennis, soccer, baseball, hockey, to name a few.

Despite having a slim physique, Reeves was a talented all-round athlete and very handsome. All this coupled with fine acting skills helped Reeves get selected for the role of Superman. The character of Clark Kent would go on to make Reeves one of the most successful and most remembered actors ever.

However, all the name and fame were to be short-lived. Reeves was fond of horse-riding in 1985 he started indulging in it more often. Similar to his earlier trysts with various sports, he gave it his full focus and was highly competitive about it. In 1995, while riding his horse, he fell down from the horse and sustained a cervical spinal injury which would leave him paralyzed from neck down. Despite facing a horribly difficult time because of this injury, he held on and later on found the Christopher Reeves Foundation to encourage and support research caused by spinal cord injury and other nervous system disorders.

Since its inception, the organization has allocated more than $60 million to restorative, regeneration research. It also gives out grants for improving for improving the quality of life of people with various kinds of disabilities.