2003 Movie News Archives

Superman

November 10, 2003: Why Paul Walker Turned Down Superman

ComingSoon.net caught up with actor Paul Walker who answered a few questions about why he turned down the role of Superman in the up-coming movie. It seems Richard Donner (Director of "Superman: The Movie" and also "Timeline" (the next project for both he and Paul Walker)) had a bit to do with Walker's decision. Here's an excerpt from the interview...

"We had conversations and by the end of it, the closing thing I said, 'Do you think I need it, should I do it?' He said, 'For what sake?' I said, 'Financially.' He said, 'No kid, you do it if you want to do it.' I said, 'Well I don't think I want to die as Superman.' And he said, 'Well there's your answer, don't do it.' And that was it."

Donner's words of wisdom seem to carry quite some weight with Walker. "He's like a father figure to me. His opinion means a lot to me. You won't find anyone who tells it straighter than Richard Donner in the industry anyhow, I'll tell you that."

But was it hard turning down Superman? "It wasn't that hard. The real pressure came from my representatives and thinking about my family. I want everyone to live sweet, my mom and dad especially they don't have a lot of money. I want one day to have the family compound maybe one day in the big island of Hawaii and having a jet to fly everyone out for Christmas is pretty sweet. I think in those terms. I feel like I don't know if I'd be letting them down or letting myself down if I didn't one day see it. That was the hardest part because that was it, potentially."

Though he liked Superman as a kid, another hero was even cooler to him. "Yeah. Putting on my underoos, I had Superman ones. Talking about pillows and mats to fall on for stuntwork. I was Superman from time to time but Aquaman was the coolest. I loved Aquaman. That guy could stay underwater, hangs out in dolphin."



2003 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2003 organized into 5 categories:

“Superman” and “Batman vs Superman” Movie News:

Christopher Reeve Movie News: George Reeves Movie News: “Supergirl” Movie News:

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