14 stars who played Superman

Bud Collyer (1940–1949; 1966–1969)

Bud Collyer was the voice of Superman for years, lending his vocals to the character in 1940s radio programs like The Adventures of Superman, The Magnetic Telescope, and The Bulleteers. He returned to the role in the '60s, voicing Superman in The New Adventures of Superman, The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Aquaman, and The Batman/Superman Hour.

Kirk Alyn (1948–1950)

Kirk Alyn made his debut as the superhero in 1948, playing Clark Kent/Superman in Columbia Pictures' Superman. He donned the cape once more for 1950's 15-part serial Atom Man vs. Superman.

George Reeves (1951–1958)

George Reeves started playing Superman in 1951 with the debut of Superman and the Mole-Men. He returned to the hero soon after, appearing as Superman on the six-season series Adventures of Superman, for a guest spot on I Love Lucy, and in the short film Stamp Day for Superman.

Danny Dark (1973–1986)

Danny Dark spent much of his career voicing Superman. He earned credits for Super Friends, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Superfriends, and The World's Greatest SuperFriends in the '70s, as well as Super Friends, SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians in the '80s.

Christopher Reeve (1978–1987)

Perhaps the most famous Superman, Christopher Reeve first appeared as Clark Kent and his alter ego in 1978's Superman. He went on to star in Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).

John Haymes Newton (1988–1989; 2011–2012)

John Haymes Newton made his onscreen debut as the title character on the late-'80s TV show Superboy. He also voiced Superman in two animated fan films, Superman Classic (2011) and Bizarro Classic (2012).

Gerard Christopher (1989–1992)

Gerard Christopher took over the reins from Newton, playing Clark Kent/Superboy on Superboy from 1989 to 1992.

Tim Daly (1996–2012)

Tim Daly has had a prolific career voicing the Man of Steel, including in the TV movies Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996) and The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest (1997), on Superman: The Animated Series from 1996 to 2000, in the video games Superman (1999) and Superman: Shadow of Apokolips (2002), and in the direct-to-video films Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006), Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009), Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010), and Justice League: Doom (2012).

George Newbern (2001–present)

George Newbern voiced Superman for five years in the early-2000s on the Justice League series, earning additional credits on Justice League Unlimited and The Batman a few years later. He continues to voice the Man of Steel in Superman videos and games, including 2022's MultiVersus.

Tom Welling (2001–2011; 2019)

A small-screen Superman, Tom Welling played the famed character for 10 years. He appeared as Clark Kent and Superman on Smallville, returning in 2019 in an episode of Batwoman for the Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Brandon Routh (2006; 2019)

Brandon Routh became Superman for 2006's Superman Returns. He also lent his voice to the movie's video game tie-in and donned the red cape once more in 2019 for "Crisis on Infinite Earths" via an episode of The Flash.

Tyler Hoechlin (2016–present)

Tyler Hoechlin joined The CW's Arrowverse in 2016 as Supergirl's Man of Steel. In addition to guest starring on the show, Hoechlin has also worn the cape in episodes of Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow as part of the "Elseworlds" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths" sagas. Hoechlin stars as the iconic character on his own series, Superman & Lois, which premiered in 2021.