Hello all. My Hall of Fame choice for this month is, now DC stalwart, Brandon Routh. I understand he may not be a choice that comes straight to mind when thinking of this, but he does have plenty of experience within the DC Universe, movies and TV.
Brandon Routh, born 1979 had appeared in various TV shows during his younger years before making his mark and bursting on to the big screen, still as a relative unknown.
It was 2004 and Bryan Singer was attached to the movie, Superman Returns and he wanted to cast an unknown as the titular character, Superman. Routh had already auditioned for McG, but Singer got a look at his videotape and was convinced that Routh had the look needed for Superman. Singer thought that he had the resemblance of the comic book character. So, October 2004 and Routh was announced to the world.
In 2006 the Superman Returns movie was released and everyone got to see Routh in action as the new Superman. I remember visiting the cinema to watch this and was always aware that Routh had some big shoes to follow in Christopher Reeve and I know a lot of people thought he was on a hiding to nothing as he would always be compared to the original movie Superman. I remember him saying that he was always worried about his performance being too close to Reeve’s own.
For me, that was never a problem and I thought that Routh’s portrayal was excellent. I think embodied the Superman/Clark Kent we saw from Reeve in a wonderful way and it was a fitting tribute (the thing to remember is that this movie was a sequel to the first 2 Superman movies, so a massive change in the character wouldn’t have fit correctly – that’s my opinion anyway). The mannerisms, the look, the way he carried himself were all very much fitting.
Brandon was also still in contract to play Superman in a new reboot of the character, however, due to the time getting it off the ground, this expired and the role, instead, went to Henry Cavill. It is worth mentioning that Routh was more than willing to carry on in the role.
After Superman Returns, Brandon played parts in more movies and tv shows, including a long stint in the show, Chuck.
Then, in 2014, it was announced that Brandon would be returning to the DC Universe, as the character Ray Palmer, The Atom. Joining the show in the 3rd season, he was a recurring character in Arrow, with appearances coming in The Flash also. Here, we see him play the role in a similar vein to that of his Superman/Clark Kent portrayal, well, CK anyway, in that Ray Palmer, at times, comes across as quite awkward. Also, brilliant though like CK, but in a completely different way.
Thankfully, in 2015, CW announced a new spin-off (from the Arrowverse) series, Legends of Tomorrow, in which the character of Ray Palmer/The Atom would be a main cast member. For fans of the Arrow and The Flash sows, this was wonderful news. not only did it mean another show for DC fans to get stuck into, but it meant that the recurring characters from these shows (who had become favourites of the fans), well, we would see them each and every week. Obviously, that included Brandon as Ray/The Atom, who had become a clear favourite of mine. He really is great in the role and he is a perfect fit in this lighter CW show. He brings so much, great actor and someone who looks like they would be fun to work with. He comes across as a funny guy too and his comedy timing on the show is second to none.
I hope we see him in the DC Universe for years to come.
If, like me, you are a fan of Brandon Routh, the please help him do as well as possible in this Hall Of Fame vote. Thanks you.
Cheers, John
