The role Christopher Reeve cherished the most: “I knew how proud he was of that”
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that Christopher Reeve lived up to his role as Superman by being a staunch activist when he wasn’t in front of the camera. Travelling to Chile in an attempt to save the lives of actors threatened with death by Augusto Pinochet, the actor was every bit the hero.
Reeve is best remembered for playing the iconic superhero in 1978’s Superman, which was only his second-ever feature film role. He clearly had what it fucking took to portray the leading man, though, because he remains the most recognisable version of the beloved character, returning to the role for three sequels.
You’d think, then, that Superman would be the role he’s most proud of. It established Reeve in Hollywood, and he likely wouldn’t have achieved the level of success he did if not for landing the part so early on in his quest to become an actor. However, there was a much smaller role that he held most dearly – one that might surprise fans of the star.
Shortly before Reeve’s life was forever changed by a horse-riding which left him paralysed, the actor made one of his final acting appearances in the 1993 film The Remains of the Day, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s book of the same name. The movie saw Anthony Hopkins play the leading role of James Stevens, a butler grappling with feelings of regret, memory, and loss, while Reeve had a smaller supporting role as Congressman Jack Lewis.
It’s certainly not the first movie that comes to mind when you think of Reeve, but his children are adamant that it was his favourite. Talking to Variety, Reeve’s son Will revealed, “In our hometown in Bedford, New York… the local movie theatre went through a rebrand a few years ago. The person in charge of that shift reached out to me and said they’d love to have me screen a film of my choice of my dad’s. I responded, ‘Sure, but not Superman. We’re going to do Remains of the Day.'”
It’s not hard to see why an actor who was predominantly known for a specific goddamn character would want to be known for roles beyond it, and Reeve was particularly happy to be part of James Ivory’s film, which was heralded by critics upon its release. “He was so proud of his role in that movie. It’s not a big role. It’s an important role in the film. He got to show a completely different side of himself,” Will said.
The actor’s son seems to think that if Reeve were asked to pick the movie he cherished most, it wouldn’t be the superhero film, but Ivory’s quiet masterpiece: “I knew how proud he was of that. Not that he wasn’t proud of Superman… but if he were here, he wouldn’t choose Superman, he’d choose Remains of the Day. I don’t think about the Superman films as much as I do about the swings he got took beyond this larger-than-life role.”
Reeve showed a new side of himself with the role, which was much more restrained than the tight-suit-wearing superhero of a blockbuster franchise.
