The Official Superman Casting & Discussion Thread

[Project862006]

throwing an unknown actor out there he has done a few movies but mostly done Theater/Stage work

Spencer Conway(no idea of his acting tho)

 

[Project862006]

edit

 

[Astrodust]

I have seen zero evidence that Reeve had a lot of muscle Pre-SM1. If he did, then yes, it would be easier to re-gain 30 pounds than to gain it in the first place.

He went from 175 or so, to 215, under the supervision of a competitive bodybuilder at a time when AAS was not even considered bad for you.

Being taller does not make it much easier to gain muscle.

Harder to fill out in fact, because they gain it at the same rate a shorter guy does, or at best not much faster, but since they need more to fill out, it actually takes longer.

That is also the reason there are not a lot of tall bodybuilders. Over 6ft is only small%, with about 90%+ of them being 5'7" to 5'11".

Not that we need a bodybuilder to play Superman however. My point only being that for a guy nearing 40, who has not previously had a very impressive build, there are more things that go into getting into shape. Considering most men have only 50% the testosterone level at 40 they had at the age of 18, there need to be some extras in the medical department...

You know, like the natural supplements Stallone got in a fiasco with Astralian customs over.



You are STILL looking at it from the modern paradigm.

In the 1980's it was not yet considered cheating.

The paradigm then was you were a fool not to.

edit...

Even today, if an actor like Stallone has a perscription for testosterone and hGH, its not exactly like he is playing on a sports field.

Layne Norton is one of the best natural bodybuilders in the world. Ask him if he thinks a man over the age of 40, who has never been that muscular, is going to gain 30 pounds of muscle and strip 15 pounds of bodyfat in a few months.

According to wiki he was 189lbs and put on about 30lbs of muscle. It really depends on his body type whether this was achievable or not. He may of had muscle memory or been one of those guys that could put on weight easily(mesomorphs). Also the shooting for Superman lasted for 2 films which gave him even more time to put on muscle. The thing is we don't know how lean he was. His bf% could of been 15% or more. He could of put on 20-25 lbs before shooting began and another 10lbs in the first 2 months of production. All we really know is that he was determined but that doesn't mean he resorted to steroids. I bet you I could bring my weight from 137lbs to 160lbs in 2 months without steroids and I'm 5'5''.

 

[Maze]

I don't know about Spencer Conway acting, but He has the superman look down

No clip or showreel online?

 

[Project862006]

nah sorry nothing lol like routh before he was cast

for all i know he could be awful lol

 

[C. Lee]

throwing an unknown actor out there he has done a few movies but mostly done Theater/Stage work

Spencer Conway(no idea of his acting tho)

I looked him up on IMDB....not a lot of info on him, but a real interesting note...someone asked if he was related to Clint Walker because he looked like him in the episode of LEVERAGE he did. I've always said that Clint Walker was perfect for Superman back in his younger days....Spencer has a nice Superman look in the face, but if this guy has a build like Clint, then he would be someone to definately consider.

Good find Project862006.

 

[gdw]

throwing an unknown actor out there he has done a few movies but mostly done Theater/Stage work

Spencer Conway(no idea of his acting tho)

Any idea of his height?

I looked him up on IMDB....not a lot of info on him, but a real interesting note...someone asked if he was related to Clint Walker because he looked like him in the episode of LEVERAGE he did. I've always said that Clint Walker was perfect for Superman back in his younger days....Spencer has a nice Superman look in the face, but if this guy has a build like Clint, then he would be someone to definately consider.

Good find Project862006.

Was he any good on Leverage? I have the first season at home, so I may have to look him up, assuming he was on the first season.

 

[C. Lee]

He was in season 2 episode 4 THE FAIRY GODPARENTS JOB. I've never watched LEVERAGE.

I have no idea how tall he is...but was saying that if someone compared him to Clint Walker, and Clint was a big man...then that sounds good.

 

[Project862006]

more photos

(Far Left)

 

[SuperMike335!!]

According to wiki he was 189lbs and put on about 30lbs of muscle. It really depends on his body type whether this was achievable or not. He may of had muscle memory or been one of those guys that could put on weight easily(mesomorphs). Also the shooting for Superman lasted for 2 films which gave him even more time to put on muscle. The thing is we don't know how lean he was. His bf% could of been 15% or more. He could of put on 20-25 lbs before shooting began and another 10lbs in the first 2 months of production. All we really know is that he was determined but that doesn't mean he resorted to steroids. I bet you I could bring my weight from 137lbs to 160lbs in 2 months without steroids and I'm 5'5''.

Are you over 25 years old?

It is different if you are a teen, boiling over with testosterone. Teens CAN gain muscle very fast. Try it with 15% less testosterone in your mid 20's, 25% less in your 30's, and 50% less at 40.

Now imagine doing it, at a time when steroids are perfectly legal, socially acceptable, and thought to be 100% safe, and the bodybuilding coach who you have HIRED tells you to use them.

That and part of your contract for the movie depends on you gaining this 30 pounds of muscle. If you show up holding water like a blimp and with love handles, you are fired. It has to be solid gains.

If you think you can go from 137 to 160, WITHOUT gaining more than 4 pounds of fat, OR retaining extra water, in 2 months then prove it.

Because right now, I dont believe you. That means you need to gain 1 pound of lean muscle, every other day.

I have seen a lot of guys who thought they could gain 20 pounds of muscle in 8 weeks. What they gained was about 5 pounds of muscle, 5 pounds of water, and 10 pounds of fat. These guys were teens, football players trying to make the team, and needed to pack on weight.

They ate tons of protein, creatine, lots of carbs, vitamins etc... That combined with the highest natural testosterone levels anyone could hope for, and only 5 pounds of the honest gains were lean.

That means about 1 pound of muscle gained every 12 days, and THAT IMHO is a very good rate of muscle gain for a natural athlete.

If Reeve gained 10 pounds of muscle, and 20 pounds of fat and water, then I would believe he did it without steroids.

If it was a solid 30, as it looked like, then do the math.

I'm not villifying him for doing it either.

I am not saying that one could not get where he got natural either.

Only that it just is not going to happen naturally in only 60 days.

Given a full year and I would say naturally a build such as what he had when SM1 was filmed could be gone further than, and even passed without any AAS needed what so ever.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

throwing an unknown actor out there he has done a few movies but mostly done Theater/Stage work

Spencer Conway(no idea of his acting tho)

Wow, nice find!

Him being in stage theatre gets him some bonus points in my book too.

Here he is compared to Clint Walker, as C.LEE noted.

 

[Project862006]

no small man either and he even has his own fan cast face book page did not know this lol

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cast-Spencer-Conway-as-Superman/161122837240569

now granted i still want to see him act because he could be awful for all i know but for now i like him

 

[SuperMike335!!]

^^

Either he is around 6'3" or he has a very small head.

I'm inclined to think he is a taller man however.

 

[Man of Tomorrow]

I'd prefer unknowns getting a shot than lazy choices like John Hamm.

The Superman being an unknown tradition needs to be kept for the sixth Superman.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

I'd prefer unknowns getting a shot than lazy choices like John Hamm.

The Superman being an unknown tradition needs to be kept for the sixth Superman.

Agreed.

Names does not a Superman make.

Talent and the physical attributes is where they need to go.

Both can be found in unknowns.

There are so many guys with stage theatre work, and smaller film roles, who would make a great superman.



Found a little info on a blog abou Spencer Conway's acting here, at least one review http://followspot.blogspot.com/2007/01/misalliance.html

This was from back in 2007.

-I think this is about right. I also enjoyed the show, perhaps more often than did Followspot. I felt embarrassed about my own ignorance after reading the WW review--since I'm sure James Walling is absolutely right about Coleman's (perhaps unwitting) misappropriation of Shaw--but I laughed a lot. I particularly enjoyed Aled Davies as Lord Summerhays and Kenneth Albers as Tarleton. They each showed restraint amidst the histrionics going on around them. It was also nice seeing local actors stretch their legs on that big proscenium. Spencer Conway manages to be impossibly handsome, dorky, and dignified all at the same time--a neat trick, which he pulls off by straight-up actor honesty (in general, I like both Spencer's work AND his completetly upbeat attitude!) Amanda Soden l has a blast. Darius Pierce lets out full-throttle, sacrificing subtlety for vaudeville--yeah, I'll agree, and he might have been better served by another director--but he works in some marvelous beat changes, moving back and forth between sympathetic and butt-of-the-joke (perhaps too much of the later). And, it IS a handsome set.-

 

[Project862006]

this is from May of 2010

Finding that fruitful middle ground is a huge challenge, especially for a brand new company. But its also a worthy one, and Compass Repertory Theatre gets much of the way there with its debut production, which opened Friday in the converted Northeast Portland church best known as the home of Portland Playhouse.


Using a tart new adaptation by Tom Stoppard, Compass Rep plays up the opportunity for comic gesture and emphasis. The approach pays off particularly in the performances of Spencer Conway, who plays the young valet Yasha as a pretty, preening small-time arriviste, and Richard Reiten, gibbering through a cotton-candy cloud of beard as the ancient, ever-dutiful servant Firs.


There are strong performances as well in some of the more prominent but less comic roles. Allison Anderson (one of the prime beneficiaries of Russell Terwelp's richly realized costume designs, which range from the sumptuous to the tatty) gives an appropriately airy, oblivious quality to Liubov, the mistress of the estate who's unable to come grips with her rapidly diminishing circumstances. Cecily Overman as Liubov's adopted daughter Varya, and Butch Flowers as the perpetual student Trofimov, settle into their serious-minded characters with an admirable naturalness.

http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2010/05/compass_repertory_theatre_debu.html

 

[JAK®]

There is no way Reeve gained 30lbs of lean muscle in 60 days. Not without steroids. It just doesn't happen.

 

[DorkyFresh]

the fact the he hasn't done much film work makes him a shot in the dark, but i have a new favorite candidate (at least as far as looks are concerned).....Spencer Conway!!! great find Project862006!

 

[GinsterHead]

Conway certainly looks the part...but, reviews notwithstanding, it's hard to tell what his acting's like. Are there any videos of him on the interwebs at all?

 

[gdw]

"Spencer Conway manages to be impossibly handsome, dorky, and dignified all at the same time--a neat trick, which he pulls off by straight-up actor honesty"

Well if that doesn't describe the perfect acting for CK, I don't know what does.

 

[rdh007]

Conway Dammit!!!

No, seriously, Cavill aside, that's exactly what these guys need to be looking at.

 

[Draven]

Steven Strait

He is 6ft 2inches and has developed a good body that can probably be molded how they would want.

 

[Slugster]

He looks great!!! I'm sorry but that Dude looks like Superman more than anyone else we have mentioned.

 

[DorkyFresh]

Conway certainly looks the part...but, reviews notwithstanding, it's hard to tell what his acting's like. Are there any videos of him on the interwebs at all?

ask and yee shall recieve...

http://vimeo.com/14837152

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFUobHHtlE4

 

[flickchick85]

You've obviously never seen a Snyder film. He's known for getting great performances out of his actors!

If you've ever seen Watchmen, you'll know that Jackie Earle Haley played the part of Rorschach better than Heath played Joker.

I've seen all of Snyder's films (minus part of Dawn of the Dead), and Haley was the only good performance in Watchmen, imo (though I still don't think he was nearly as good as Heath's Joker). Wilson and Crudup weren't bad, but they're both very talented actors who weren't at their best in that movie, imo, and everyone else was kinda terrible, imo. And I think they're all usually very good actors (except Ackerman). And everyone was just so damn hammy in 300. Great actors, too. I know it's the "style," but that doesn't make it seem any better or less cringe-worthy to me. Gerard Butler was the only one who managed to not come off terribly in it, imo (I'm sure his booming voice and imposing physique had a lot to do with that, too). Actually, now that I think about it, "hammy" pretty much describes the acting I've seen in Snyder films in general. If I'm gonna enjoy this movie, it's gonna need someone in the lead who can make Supes natural and convincing, with or without (or in spite of) Snyder's help.

Also, WOW does Spencer Conway look like Superman. I doubt he'll end up on Snyder's radar, but if he were to snag a screentest, I certainly wouldn't complain.