Christopher D'Ollier Reed is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, director, public figure. Fame came to him in the late 70s after the role of Superman, for which the actor received a BAFTA award and several nominations for the Saturn award. He became the embodiment of the American dream of a superman for whom nothing is impossible.
Christopher was destined for a wonderful acting career for many years, but the case turned his life upside down. Riding a horse, the actor fell and broke his spine. Doctors did everything possible, Christopher survived, but remained forever confined to a wheelchair. After the tragedy, he continued to work in films and, like his Superman, proved to people that nothing is impossible. He died at 52, after many years of struggle for life.
Childhood
Christopher was born in the fall of 1952 in the family of a poet and journalist. When the boy was 4 years old, his parents divorced, his mother remarried to a stock exchange employee.
All childhood Christopher and his brother spent in Princeton, where they began to attend school. The boy became interested in sports, played baseball, football, hockey and tennis and repeatedly participated in sports competitions, receiving awards. In addition, the theater became his addiction, he performed on stage, and at the age of 9 he became a member of the theater festival, playing in the play "View from the Bridge", after which he was accepted into the theater troupe.
The boy dreamed of a career as an actor, but, having promised his parents to get a higher education first, he entered a university that he never finished. During his studies, Christopher continued to play on stage in the student theater, go on tour and participate in numerous castings. As a result, he decides to go to an art school and drops out of university. So began the creative biography of Riva.
Theater and Cinema
After teaching theater art, Christopher begins performing on Broadway and wants to get an outstanding role in the movie. Lucky event turned up Christopher very soon. He gets to the casting of the movie "Superman", where he is approved for the main role of Clark Kent.
The actor begins to intensely prepare for the shoot, train. Under the guidance of mentors and athlete D. Prouse, he forms a body and gains additional muscle mass. With a height of almost two meters and a beautiful appearance, the actor became a real embodiment of a superhero.
After the release of "Superman" on the screens, Reeve becomes famous. He was enthusiastically received by the public and film critics, and for his role Christopher immediately received the Golden Mask award from the British Academy of Film and Television, which recognized him as the best young actor. Christopher's life was divided into before and after Superman. He becomes a member of numerous shows, television programs, sports events, celebrations and charity events. In addition, work immediately began on the continuation of the picture. The second film was released after 2 years, and again Reeve was at the peak of popularity.
The third part of “Superman” unexpectedly changed the genre and became a comedic action movie, which was really not liked by the audience, or film critics, or by Christopher himself. After an unsuccessful premiere, he decided to end Superman, but still made another attempt, starring in the fourth part, after which he was finally disappointed with this work and left the project.
Christopher begins a new creative search, acting in diverse films and looking for a new outstanding image. But for a long time his work did not attract attention, and only in 1990, Reeve starred in the film "The Rest of the Day", which became one of his best works, and the film was nominated for an Oscar.
The next role in the film "Beyond Suspicion" was Christopher's prophetic. He embodied on the screen the image of a paralyzed policeman, and soon, riding a horse, received an injury that made him disabled for the rest of his life.
Christopher does not interrupt his creative activity being already paralyzed. He is the director of the film "At Dusk" and plays a major role in the film "Window on the Courtyard", for which he receives the Screen Actors Guild Award.
Reeve played his last roles in television projects: Smallville, Practice, and Christopher Reeve: Man of Steel.
