Brandon Routh

Early life

Routh was born in Des Moines, Iowa, United States; the third of four children born to Catherine LaVaughn (née Lear; b. November 11th, 1951), a teacher, and Ronald Ray Routh (b. March 26th, 1945), a carpenter. He was raised in nearby Norwalk. Routh was raised in a Methodist family,{{cite web |work=Adherents.com |title=The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Character Clark Kent/Kal-El Superman

Routh grew up in Norwalk, approximately 100 mi south of Woolstock, the birthplace of George Reeves, the first actor to play Superman on television. During his childhood, Routh thought a full-time acting career was unrealistic, citing his small-town background. In his spare time, he played the trumpet and the piano.

Routh attended Norwalk High School, where he played sports, and participated in music and theatre. He attended this school at the same time as Jason Momoa, who would also later become an actor in film adaptations of DC Comics. He has described himself as a "momma's boy" and not "the most popular kid" during his school years. Routh has also noted that during his younger years, he was fond of the Superman films and comic books.

Routh attended the University of Iowa for a year, aspiring to be a writer. During this time, he modelled and acted in order to earn his tuition expenses.

Routh has said he was often told that he bore a physical resemblance to Christopher Reeve, who had previously portrayed Superman in a film series. His former manager signed him on because of the resemblance, telling him that he thought Routh would be cast as Superman if there were another film in the series.

Career

Early career

In 1999, Routh left the university and moved to Manhattan and then Los Angeles, where he pursued a full-time acting career, first appearing as an extra in Christina Aguilera's 1999 music video for "What a Girl Wants". He was cast in his first acting role that same year, in an episode of the short-lived ABC television series Odd Man Out. In 2000, he had a four-episode role on season 3 of MTV's nighttime soap opera Undressed. Routh subsequently appeared on the WB's Gilmore Girls (in a February 2001 episode, "Concert Interruptus", playing a Bangles concert attendee), and earned steady work on the soap opera One Life to Live, playing Seth Anderson from May 23, 2001, until April 17, 2002.

Superman

Prior to Routh's casting as Superman in the film Superman Returns, Warner Bros. had spent over a decade developing a plan to relaunch the franchise, entitled Superman Flyby, with possible stars including actors such as Nicolas Cage, Josh Hartnett, Brendan Fraser, Tom Welling (who previously played a younger version of Clark Kent in the 2001–2011 TV series Smallville), Paul Walker, Henry Cavill (who eventually became Superman in the 2013 film Man of Steel), James Marsden (who would go on to play Lois Lane's fiancée in the film), Ashton Kutcher, Keanu Reeves, Will Smith, Johnny Depp and James Caviezel, and planned directors including Tim Burton, Wolfgang Petersen, McG, Brett Ratner, and Shekhar Kapur. When director Bryan Singer came aboard the project, however, he insisted an unknown actor be cast in the part, in the tradition of the casting of the best-known film Superman, Christopher Reeve.

Routh, then 24, had previously auditioned for director McG and was spotted by Singer after he viewed Routh's videotaped audition. Singer, who has since stated that Routh was the embodiment of "our collective memory of Superman," was impressed by Routh's resemblance to the comic book icon and found the actor's humble Midwestern roots perfect for the role, as well as his "combination of vulnerability and confidence", which Singer said reminded him of Christopher Reeve. Singer decided to cast Routh after the two met on August 13, 2004, but did not tell Routh until two months later, when Routh's casting was announced in October 2004, making him an "instant celebrity".

Before filming began, Routh bulked up for the role, gaining 22 pounds to reach a high of 218 pounds. Filming for Superman Returns began in Sydney in February 2005. The film was released in the U.S. on June 28, 2006, and earned decent reviews from most critics, but was a box office disappointment, grossing only $200 million in the US compared to its estimated budget of $270 million. Routh was signed on to appear in two potential sequels, but due to mediocre box office results those never materialised.

Reviews of Routh's performance were generally positive, with Newsweek noting he "effortlessly lays claim to the iconic role." On the other hand, film critic Roger Ebert felt that "Routh lacks charisma as Superman, and I suppose as Clark Kent, he isn't supposed to have any."

At the 2006 Spike TV Awards, Routh won the award of "Best Superhero" as Superman in Superman Returns, beating out among others, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

In August 2008, Warner Bros. officially announced they intended to reboot the Superman franchise. Routh was still set to reprise the role, according to DC Comics president Paul Levitz. In 2009, however, Routh's contract to play Superman in another film expired, but he said at the time that he would like to return if given the chance. However, British actor Henry Cavill was cast to play Superman in the reboot of the series, Man of Steel.

Subsequent projects

After the release of Superman Returns, Routh signed on to play CIA agent John Clark in Without Remorse, under the direction of John Singleton with a screenplay by Stuart Beattie. Routh would be the third actor to portray the character, after Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber. The film was intended for a late-2007/early-2008 release. However, Paramount Pictures put the film into turnaround. Routh's future participation on the project is unknown.

Routh appeared in the independent romantic drama Fling (formerly titled Lie to Me) (2008), co-starring his wife Courtney Ford, and the ensemble film Life is Hot in Cracktown (2009).

Routh was signed to star in The Informers (2009), an ensemble film based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel, with Kim Basinger, Amber Heard, and Billy Bob Thornton, but his scenes ended up scrapped with the decision to excise the "vampire" subplot from the film entirely.

At Comic Con 2008, it was revealed Routh was to have a cameo in the Kevin Smith comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno – he instead appeared as a minor character, Bobby Long – and would serve as a judge on Platinum Studios 2008 Comic Book Challenge. In addition, he has a cameo where he plays himself in the Bollywood film Kambakkht Ishq (2009).

Routh played Todd Ingram in the action comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) which was directed by Edgar Wright, based on the Scott Pilgrim series by Canadian artist Bryan Lee O'Malley. His character is an arrogant, narcissistic bass player who derives psychic powers from his vegan lifestyle, and is the third of the seven Evil Exes the title character must fight.

Routh plays Daniel Shaw in season 3 of spy series Chuck, in a recurring, supporting role. He again played this character in the show's fifth season.

He portrayed supernatural detective Dylan Dog in the 2011 film Dylan Dog – Dead of Night. The film is based on the Italian comic series created by Tiziano Sclavi. The film was a box office flop.

In 2012, Routh starred in David Kohan and Max Mutchnick's CBS half-hour, multicamera comedy series, Partners. He played Michael Urie's character's steady partner, alongside David Krumholtz and his Table for Three co-star Sophia Bush. The show was cancelled after only six episodes had aired.

In 2013, Routh appeared in the video game Call of Duty: Ghosts. Routh has since appeared in one episode of The Millers and multiple episodes of Chosen and Enlisted in 2014. That same year, he starred in the Hallmark Channel's Christmas-themed romantic comedy The Nine Lives of Christmas, which drew good reviews and high ratings.

In 2014, Routh once again played a superhero for DC Comics as Ray Palmer / The Atom on The CW's Arrow. He was a recurring character throughout season three.

In January 2015, Arrow co-creator and executive producer Greg Berlanti stated that they were in the midst of "very early" preliminary talks for an additional spin-off series centred on Ray Palmer/The Atom.

In the superhero series Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022), Routh co-starred as The Atom, along with Arthur Darvill, Wentworth Miller, Victor Garber, and Caity Lotz.

Routh reprised his roles as both Ray Palmer / The Atom and as Clark Kent / Superman in the 2019–2020 Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths", affected by events adapted from the Kingdom Come storyline. The suit he wore as Superman was based on the one worn by the storyline's version of the character. The following month, it was announced that Routh would depart Legends of Tomorrow as a series regular during the fifth season. His final episode as a series regular was "Romeo v. Juliet: Dawn of Justness".

Following this, Routh made three returns to the franchise. First, he returned to Legends for its 100th episode, and to The Flash for the first part of its season eight-opening event "Armageddon". He would then return in the season's eighteenth episode, "The Man in the Yellow Tie".

In 2021, Routh appeared in The Nine Kittens of Christmas, a sequel to The Nine Lives of Christmas. In 2023, Routh appeared in an episode of Quantum Leap portraying a naval commander: Alexander Augustine. That same year, Routh reprised his role as Todd Ingram in the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Personal life

On August 23, 2006, Brandon became engaged to his girlfriend of three years, actress Courtney Ford; the couple married on November 24, 2007, at the El Capitan Ranch in Santa Barbara. In 2012, the couple had a son. Ford filed for divorce on January 8, 2025, citing "irreconcilable differences". As of late January, it was reported that Routh and Ford had reached a divorce settlement and were submitting their paperwork to court.

Routh's sister, Sara, has a musical track entitled "You're Never Gone" on Sound of Superman, the soundtrack of Superman Returns. Routh is a fan and player of the video game World of Warcraft. During the 2008 Presidential election, Routh spoke at an Iowa rally in support of Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

Routh's mother is a distant relative of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

References

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24. Andreeva, Nellie. (July 19, 2019). "Tyler Hoechlin & Brandon Routh To Suit Up As Superman For Arrowverse Crossover On the CW". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
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36. (January 23, 2025). "Superman Returns’ Brandon Routh Settles Divorce: All The Details On Support And Custody".
37. "Superman Plays World of Warcraft? Yep.". FiringSquad.
38. "Superman swoops in to defend Obama". [[CNN]].
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41. (March 30, 2023). "'Scott Pilgrim' Netflix Anime Series Reunites Film's Cast, from Michael Cera to Chris Evans".
42. Oneto, Petey. (2019-10-25). "Brandon Routh Says Goodbye to DC's Legends of Tomorrow".