Actor Matt Bomer recently shared that he believes being outed as gay stopped him from playing Superman.
Bomer talked about this during an interview for The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. He explained that he was almost cast as Clark Kent in ‘Superman: Flyby’:
“This is a very early iteration of ‘Superman’ written by J.J. Abrams, called ‘Superman: Flyby,’ I think is what it was called, and it never came to light. It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role… I signed a three-picture deal at Warner Bros.”
This deal made it look like he would definitely play the superhero. However, the movie never got made. Bomer publicly came out as gay in 2012, and he thinks the reason he lost the role was this:
“Yeah, that’s my understanding… That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. How, and why, and who, I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.”
There Was Another Name In Question
Jude Law told The Playlist that he also almost got the part of Clark Kent in ‘Superman: Flyby.’ Law even tried on the Superman suit but didn’t feel confident enough to play the role, so he turned it down:
“They didn’t have a script, if I remember rightly. Did they have a script? I don’t remember reading one. This is a long time ago. They brought me the suit. They thought, ‘This might change your mind.’ It wasn’t the Reeve suit. It was a kind of like it was more metallic. Anyway, I tried on and I looked in the mirror and part of me initially was like, ‘Wow, this would be a [good thing],’ and then I just thought, ‘No, you can’t – you can’t do this. You can’t.’ I didn’t sell myself to myself. I stepped away and the film never happened anyway.”
‘Superman: Flyby’ project was canceled, and Brandon Routh was chosen to play Superman in 2006’s ‘Superman Returns.’ Since then, Henry Cavill played Superman in several movies in the DCEU. David Corenswet is the next actor to play Superman in James Gunn’s ‘Superman.’ This new film is set to be released on July 11 next year.
