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Brandon Routh

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Actors, models and
celebrities

   Brandon Routh
   Image:Brouth1.jpg
   Birth name    Brandon James Routh
   Born          October 9, 1979 (age 27)
                 Des Moines, Iowa
   Height        6' 2.5" (189 cm)
   Notable roles Superman in Superman Returns

   Brandon James Routh (born October 9, 1979) is an American actor and
   former fashion model. He grew up in Iowa before moving to Los Angeles
   to pursue an acting career, and subsequently appeared on several
   television series throughout the early 2000s. In 2004, he was cast in
   the lead role in the 2006 film Superman Returns. Brandon Routh is
   currently dating Shannon Smith.

Biography

Early life

   Routh, the third of four children, was born in Des Moines, Iowa to
   Katie, a teacher, and Ron Routh, a carpenter; both of his parents play
   music in their spare time and his sister, Sara Routh, is a singer.
   Routh's family, which is Methodist, has German, French, English and
   Native American ancestry. Routh grew up in Norwalk, Iowa, which was
   located approximately 100 miles south of Woolstock, the hometown of
   George Reeves, the second actor to play Superman. During his childhood,
   Routh thought that a full-time acting career was unrealistic, citing
   his small-town background. In his spare time, he played the trumpet and
   the piano. Routh attended Norwalk High School, where he played sports
   and participated in music and theatre. He describes himself as a
   "momma's boy" and not "the most popular kid" during his school years.
   Routh has also noted that during his younger years, he was fond of the
   Superman films and comic books.

   Routh attended the University of Iowa for a year, aspiring to be a
   writer. During this time, he starred in several productions at the
   Norwalk Theatre of Performing Arts, and modelled and acted in order to
   earn his tuition fee. Routh has said that he was always told that he
   bore a physical resemblance to Christopher Reeve, who had previously
   portrayed Superman. His former manager signed him on because of the
   resemblance, telling him that he thought Routh would be cast as
   Superman if there was another film in the series.

Early career

   In 1999, Routh left the University and moved to New York City and then
   Los Angeles, where he pursued a full-time acting career, first
   appearing as an extra in Christina Aguilera's music video for " What a
   Girl Wants". He was cast in his first major role in 1999, in an episode
   of the short-lived ABC television series, Odd Man Out. In 2000, he had
   a four-episode role on the third season of MTV's nighttime soap opera,
   Undressed. Routh subsequently appeared on the WB's Gilmore Girls (in a
   February 2001 episode, "Concert Interupptus", playing an attendee of a
   Bangles concert), and earned steady work on the soap opera One Life to
   Live, playing Seth Anderson from May 23, 2001 until April 17, 2002.

   Routh's later primetime credits include guest roles on CBS's Cold Case,
   NBC's Will & Grace and Fox's short-lived series, Oliver Beene. During
   this time, he worked as a bartender at a popular bowling alley in
   Hollywood, Lucky Strike Lanes, and shared an apartment with his sister.

Superman role

   Prior to Routh's casting as Superman, Warner Bros. had spent over a
   decade developing a plan to relaunch the franchise, with possible stars
   including name actors Nicolas Cage (who had at one point signed on to
   the role), Josh Hartnett, Brendan Fraser, Paul Walker, James Marsden,
   Ashton Kutcher and planned directors including Tim Burton, Kevin Smith,
   Wolfgang Petersen, McG, Brett Ratner and Shekhar Kapur. When director
   Bryan Singer came aboard the project, however, he insisted that an
   unknown actor be cast in the part, in the tradition of the casting of
   the best-known film Superman, Christopher Reeve.

   Routh, then 25, had previously already auditioned for director McG and
   was spotted by Singer after he viewed Routh's videotaped audition.
   Singer, who since noted Routh as being the embodiment of "our
   collective memory of Superman", was impressed by his resemblance to the
   comic book icon and found the actor's humble Mid-western roots perfect
   for the role, as well as his "combination of vulnerability and
   confidence" that Singer said reminded him of Christopher Reeve. Singer
   decided to cast Routh after the two met on August 13, 2004, but did not
   tell Routh until two months later, when Routh's casting was announced
   in October 2004, making him an "instant celebrity". Before filming
   began, Routh bulked-up for the role, gaining 22 pounds to reach
   approximately 215 pounds. Filming for Superman Returns began in Sydney
   in February 2005. The film was released in the U.S. on June 28, 2006.
   Routh has already signed on to appear in two potential sequels to the
   film.

   Routh has commented that he feared his performance would too closely
   resemble that of Christopher Reeve. Routh has said that he hopes to
   "remind people of Christopher while at the same time making them feel
   like they're seeing a totally new Superman". Reviews of Routh's
   performance are generally positive, with Newsweek noting that he
   "effortlessly lays claim to the iconic role". On the other hand, film
   critic Roger Ebert noted that he thinks "Routh lacks charisma as
   Superman, and I suppose as Clark Kent, he isn't supposed to have any".

   A video interview with Routh talking about the Superman role with
   Scottish TV can be found here.

Personal life

   Routh has been dating Los Angeles-born actress Courtney Ford since
   2004. The two met at Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley during Routh's
   period of employment there. Routh and Ford, who live in Los Angeles
   together as of 2006, both appeared in Denial, a short film that played
   at a Las Vegas film festival. In August of 2006, Routh's spokeswoman,
   Kacey Spies, confirmed that Routh and Ford were engaged. They plan to
   marry next autumn.

   Routh has known actor Kal Penn, a co-star in Superman Returns, for
   several years during the time he lived in Los Angeles. Routh and Penn
   were both also featured in the The Lonely Island's Awesometown MTV
   pilot music video.

   Routh's sister, Sara, has a musical track entitled "You're Never Gone"
   on Sound of Superman, the companion soundtrack of the film.

   Routh is a fan and player of the video game World of Warcraft.

Salary

     * Superman Returns ( 2006) - $1,000,000

Filmography

     * Superman Returns: The Video Game (2006)... Clark Kent/Superman
     * Superman Returns (2006)... Clark Kent/Superman
     * Denial (2006) [Updated Nov. 2006 - Purchase at iTunes]
     * Karla (2006)...Tim Peters

Television

     * The Batman ( 2006)...The Everywhere Man
     * Oliver Beene ( 2004)...Brian
     * Will & Grace (2004)...Sebastian
     * Cold Case ( 2003)...Young Henry Phillips
     * One Life To Live ( 2001- 2002)...Seth Anderson
     * Gilmore Girls ( 2001)..."Hot" College Student
     * Undressed ( 1999)...Wade
     * Odd Man Out (1999)...Connor Williams

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Routh"
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