Paul Walker Was the ‘Frontrunner’ to Play Superman — Here’s Why He Turned Down the $10 Million Deal

Paul Walker could have been the Man of Steel.

In the 2018 documentary I’m Paul Walkerwhich aired Saturday on The CW, late Fast and furious the actor’s manager Matt Luber said that Walker was “testing a film for Superman” at some point before his death. (Walker died in a car accident at the age of 40 on November 30, 2013.)

“I think it was a $10 million deal, and he was first in the race,” Luber added.

“I knew he was up for it,” Walker’s stunt double and childhood friend, Oakley Lehman, said in the documentary. “I knew he was thinking about it and I knew he didn’t want to do three or four Superman [films] and be Superman for the rest of my life.”

Luber recalled a phone call he received from Walker in which the actor told him, “‘I’ve got an ‘S’ on me, I’ve got a cape, boots, leggings … this isn’t me. I’m Get the fuck out of here. I gotta go. Fuck you .’ And he left.”

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Brandon Routh (left) and Henry Cavill as Superman.

Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett; Clay Enos/Warner Bros.

All the actors who played Superman on screen

Among those who played Superman on the big screen during Walker’s lifetime was Christopher Reeve in 1978. Superman and its sequels, as well as 2006’s Brandon Routh Superman returns.

Henry Cavill later wore the glasses and cape combination hero under the alias Clark Kent, starting in 2013. Man of Steel and, most recently, for a cameo in last year’s Flash.

In February 2023, Brendan Fraser revealed during a guest appearance on The Howard Stern Show that both he and Walker were ready for leadership in 2006 Superman returnsand that “everyone in town read for” the part around 2002 or 2003.

The Oscar winner, 55, recalled Walker auditioning for Superman “before me” amid a group of “the usual suspects” at the time, before admitting he was also hesitant to fully commit to the iconic superhero role.

“Of course it’s an amazing, life-changing opportunity, but I had to come to terms with, ‘Okay, say you get the Man of Steel job. That’s going to be engraved on your tombstone. Are you okay with that?’ You will forever be known as the Man of Steel,’ Fraser told Stern.

Paul Walker in Sao Paulo, Brazil on March 21, 2013.

Mauricio Santana/Getty

Remembering Paul Walker’s career in photographs

Walker himself commented on giving up the role of Superman back in 2003, speaking for Chicago Sun-Times that he “could have made a gazillion dollars on that franchise,” but he didn’t need it.

“My favorite brand of running shoes is $23. I rarely pay more than $40 for my jeans,” he said at the time. “I throw in a T-shirt and it’ll cost me $20 or $10 if I buy it at the beach. I don’t need a gazillion dollars to live that lifestyle.”

I’m Paul Walker, which first aired on the Paramount Network in August 2018, “explores Paul’s private side in tandem with the highlights of his highly successful film career,” according to a statement.

Directed by Adrian Buitenhuis, the documentary includes “interviews with those who knew Paul best, along with an extensive personal archive of never-before-seen candid videos and photographs provided by the late actor’s family and friends,” according to the release.

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Source: HIS Education