Jude Law on why he turned down the role of Superman

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Behind many of Hollywood's most famous roles are a line of actors who didn't get it, either because someone better came along or because the actor passed on the project themselves. When Bryan Singer was developing what would become SUPERMAN RETURNS, he was faced with finding an actor who could not only embody the man of steel, but follow in the footsteps of the late Christopher Reeve. Before Brandon Routh ended up with the role, it had been offered to Jude Law.

While making an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Law revealed that he was approached for the role but, at the time, he found that it didn't float his boat.

First of all, I'm an Englishman and I felt like, I don't know, it just didn't seem to fit, and I was always worried about the outfit and I just didn't fancy it. This director was very keen to meet and impress it upon me and I was actually out in California and he said "look, you just have to try the suit on. The suit's amazing, and we've revamped the suit", and I was like "okay, send the suit over."

Shortly thereafter there was a knock on Law's hotel room door and he opened it to find a lady from wardrobe accompanied by a "big guard" carrying the iconic suit.

So I take the suit into the bathroom and I'm putting it on and then I look round, I'm in the mirror and suddenly…I'm Superman, right. And the music kinda comes in like da, da, dada duh duh, right, I stood there and then I had this picture of me in that costume on posters all over the world and I was like…"no way" and I unzipped it. But I was Superman for two minutes, that's enough.

Who knows what Jude Law would have done differently with the role, but I doubt that it would have been enough to save the franchise from taking a unexpected hiatus until 2013's MAN OF STEEL. As for Law, he's got several high profile projects on the horizon; KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE: KING ARTHUR, in which he'll play the lead villain Vortigern, the man who murdered Arthur's parents and stole his crown, and there's also a very good chance that he'll reunite with Robert Downey Jr. for a third SHERLOCK HOLMES flick.

Would Jude Law have made a good Superman?