New Christopher Reeve Doc Reveals How Actor Dealt With Life After Disability

Actor Christopher Reeve speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to a hearing on "The Dangers of Cloning and The Promise of Regenerative Medicine" before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on March 5, 2002. Alex Wong/Getty Images

A new documentary has revealed never-before-known details about actor Christopher Reeve’s life before and after the tragic accident that paralyzed him 29 years ago.

Entitled “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” the film contains behind-the-scenes footage and focuses on Mr. Reeve’s relationship with his three children: Matthew Reeve, Alexandra Reeve Givens, and Will Reeve. It also features the critical roles that his dearest friends and wife, Dana Reeve, played in his life post-accident.

Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, the film premiered on Jan. 21 at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Its filmmakers are seeking distribution.

“Everything came together in a way that we knew as a family we could be open and honest and vulnerable and hand everything over to them and see what they came back with,” Mr. Reeve’s youngest son, Mr. Will Reeve, told entertainment outlet Deadline. “And that trust has been rewarded in a way that we’re just so thrilled about and can’t wait for the world to experience as well.”

“With 2024 being the 20-year anniversary of our father’s death, that felt like the right time to introduce him and his heroic story to the world,” he added.

The Accident

It was in 1995 that Mr. Reeve fell from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia, which resulted in him being paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Nine years later, at the age of 52, he died of heart failure following an infection.

“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” features a plethora of archival footage, to which Mr. Reeve’s daughter attributes the film’s special quality. The footage includes outtakes from the original audition for “Superman” and interviews with Mr. Reeve from the 1970s and ‘80s when his children were still young.

“Seeing him at the height of fame and even old home movies we hadn’t spent much time with—suddenly we’re uncovering these moments and seeing them on the big screen,” Ms. Givens told The Wrap. “All of that woven together has been really beautiful and powerful.”

The film’s most unexpected disclosure concerns how Mr. Reeve’s relationship with his children changed after his accident. The star had his first two children, Mr. Matthew Reeve and Ms. Givens, with previous partner Gae Exton, and his youngest child, Mr. Will Reeve, with his wife. In the film, they recall how their dad treated parenthood, often by engaging in activities rather than having heart-to-heart conversations.

Mr. Matthew Reeve noted how before the accident, his father showed love through competition, citing a time when the elder Reeve raced ahead of his children while skiing, and Ms. Givens shared a similar view.

“Our love language was activity before,” Ms. Givens told Variety. “Suddenly, you’re spending time just hanging out in dad’s office looking each other in the eye and talking for two hours.”

The film explores Mr. Reeve’s relationship with his own father, Franklin D’Olier Reeve, a writer, poet, academic, and translator of Russian literature.

“It was difficult to breathe easy when he was around,” Mr. Christopher Reeve said of his father.

Role of Fellow Actors

There were also many stories with Mr. Reeve’s fellow actor friends prior to and after his accident. One tale involved actor Jeff Daniels, whom Mr. Reeve worked with on stage, recalling how fellow co-star William Hurt advised Mr. Reeve against taking the superhero role.

Mr. Hurt reportedly told Mr. Reeve he’d be “selling out” if he took the superhero role.

The Guardian reported that the film also touches on Mr. Reeve’s experience working with Marlon Brando on the film and how the legendary actor “took the $2 million and ran” and was described as “phoning it in” in terms of his performance.

Other stories involve Mr. Reeve’s celebrity friends, who offered their support and love. Besides having the strong foundation of his wife to help with his recovery, Mr. Reeve went through rehabilitation with the help of such stars as Katherine Hepburn, Paul McCartney, and Robert De Niro.

Glenn Close is interviewed in the film and recalls that “he was so terrified that he could die at any moment.”

The actress also noted the close friendship between Mr. Reeve and Robin Williams, which is featured prominently in the movie. The two roomed together at the Juilliard School as young men and remained close throughout their lives.

“I’ve always thought if Chris was still around, then Robin would still be alive,” said Ms. Close in the documentary.

The Role of Dana Reeve

The role of Mr. Reeve’s wife, Dana, is also emphasized.

“What I’m just beyond touched by and so proud of is the way that the filmmakers tell my mom’s story, the way my mom, Dana, features in this documentary because she featured so heavily as you might expect in our lives,” Mr. Will Reeve told The Wrap.

“As much of an honor as it is to be the son of Christopher Reeve, I’m also the son of Dana Reeve,“ he said. ”Anytime I can tell her story and share with the world what a singular force she was makes me so proud.”

When Mr. Reeve was first hospitalized, he told his wife, “Maybe we should let me go,” and struggled to overcome dark thoughts, the documentary reveals. Every day remained a struggle, according to those close to him.

“We’d all wake up every morning and think anything could happen,” Mr. Will Reeve told Variety. “But he would wake up and then remember all over again that he couldn’t move.”

The film reveals that Mr. Reeve, while he’s best known for his role in “Superman,” is most proud of his smaller role in the Oscar-nominated “Remains of the Day,” according to Mr. Will Reeve.

“He got to show a completely different side of himself,” the younger Reeve told Variety.

According to The Guardian, Mr. Christopher Reeve wasn’t thrilled to be in the “Superman” sequels.

“I am not a hero, never have been, never will be,” he reportedly said.

Eventually, the actor would become heavily involved in disability advocacy, fundraising, and support for research for spinal cord injuries.

The Irony of a Paralyzed Superman

As Mr. Bonhôte told Variety about the star, “Things came easily to him early in his life. Then, as Christopher said, ‘The one minority anyone can become part of in an instant, is disability.' I think there was a genuine opening to the world around him on a different level. It would be facile to say, ‘Oh, this is a triumph over adversity story,’ but it is turning adversity into opportunity.”

Ms. Givens reflected on how the iconic role continued to shape the public’s view of her father.

“I think he was very conscious of that irony and the legacy of ‘Superman’ when people viewed his story and thought about him after the accident,” she told Variety. “He talked about redefining what it is to be a hero. … It’s an everyday person who survives despite overwhelming obstacles.”