EXCLUSIVE: Superman Christopher Reeve's tragic words after accident - and incredible gift from Robin Williams
Superman star Christopher Reeve's horrific accident halted his career. Now his children are telling the actor's story in film, 'Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story', which includes a look at his friendship with Robin Williams
When film legend Christopher Reeve died 20 years ago the world lost a real life Superman.
But his sons Matthew, Will and daughter Alexandra, remember him simply as ‘'Dad'.
Reeve’s world was rocked in 1995, when he was paralysed from the neck down by a freak horse riding accident.
Now a candid film - Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story - juxtaposes the actor's meteoric rise to global fame with his subsequent battle for survival.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror at a London hotel, Reeve's children, movie producer Matthew,
44, and Washington DC-based legislation lawyer Alexandra, 40, paint a vivid picture of the man behind the legend.
They reveal how their lives changed forever when he was thrown from his horse at an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia.
And they give a moving insight into his friendship with the late comic Robin Williams, who paid for a specially adapted van, so he could attend the 1996 Oscars.
Recalling his horrific accident on May 27, 1995 - Memorial Day weekend - Reeve's eldest son Matthew says: "It was a horror show. He flatlined twice and they gave him a 50/50 chance of surviving until the end of the day."
Step-brother Will, 32, a sports journalist for ABC News in New York, adds: "The surgery they did on Dad had not been done before. They re-attached his head to his body."
The documentary plays a recording from his 1998 audiobook Still Me: A Life, in which Reeve says:"I lay on my back and it dawned on me that I ruined my life and everybody else's. I thought ‘I wont be able to ski, sail or make love to my wife Dana. I won't be able to do a thing’. I thought ‘There has got to be a mistake’.”
Describing his injury, after landing on his head when he fell from the horse, he adds: “This break is what happens when the trap door opens and the noose snaps tight."
Just 42, Reeve was wheelchair-bound and reliant on a ventilator to breathe until his death in 2004, aged 52.
And while his four Superman films grossed over $625m at the box office, Alexandra says the annual private medical bills of $400,000 were a struggle.
She says his deep friendship with Robin Williams began when they trained together at The Julliard Performing Arts School in New York.
Recalling the strain of funding 24-hour nursing care, as the US has no NHS, she said Robin Williams’ offer to finance a special van to get Reeve from his home in New York to the 1996 Academy Awards in Los Angeles, meant everything.
Alexandra continues: "Robin bought a specially adapted van and it gave Dad an entire new lease of life. It is what helped get him to the Oscars. It cost an awful lot of money, as it had to have a pneumatic lift to get Dad in and out. It was heavily modified. Anyone who is disabled will tell you it helps them have independence."
The trip to the Oscars took military-style planning,
"It was all cloak and dagger," says Alexandra. "We kept it under wraps, so if Dad had some kind of emergency we could pull out.
"But to think of Superman in a wheelchair and him going public at the Oscars was huge. It was a huge pivotal moment for Dad to say ‘I am back out in the world.’”
Reeve’s reward was a standing ovation when he appeared on stage in his wheelchair.
"Robin showed up in so many ways for Dad," says Alexandra. "They called their friendship a brotherhood. Robin and my father stayed close all their lives and we have stayed close to Robin's children to this day. It is a wonderful relationship.”
Saying the comedian “showed up” for her dad, she adds: “Robin just showed up and said ‘I am going to be here. I am going to be a part of your life’".
Sadly, Robin tragically took his own life in 2014.
But, despite his struggles with depression, he was a massively positive presence in Reeve’s life.
Alexandra says: “We got to see the impact he had on Dad. And it was a beautiful one - he made him smile."
The documentary also includes contributions from Reeve's Hollywood friends Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels and Glenn Close, who says: "I have always felt if Chris was still around, Robin would still be alive - I believe that. Robin and Chris were such good friends because they could match each other.”
The film tells how Reeve, an unknown, beat stars like Neil Diamond, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford to play Superman in the 1978 movie.
Laughing at the idea of Neil Diamond or Robert Redford playing the superhero, Matthew laughs: "Superman with blonde hair? I have questions!"
Living in London for a decade, as he made the four movies, playing the Man of Steel made Reeve an instant sex symbol, with the actor saying: "Everybody wants to be around someone who has the juice, who has the power. It is an aphrodisiac for men and women.”
Fortunately, at home, Reeve was happy just to be ‘Dad.’
Matthew says: "To us, it was driven home that Superman was all make believe.
“Dad was one of the most famous people in the world but at home he was just 'Dad'. He put napkins on our laps, taught us the piano and how to say our please and thank yous".
Alexandra and Matthew’s mum is British modelling agent Gae Exton.
"Dad loved living in London. So much so that both Matthew and I were made (conceived) here,” says Alexandra. "Dad was an honorary Brit. He was here from 1977 until 1987. He used to tell us great stories of how in-between filming Superman he used to go out with a flying club in Surrey, with a group of World War II veterans, without the permission of the people filming Superman. The insurance clauses were ignored ,but he felt so connected to the country."
And Matthew confesses that being Superman’s son was an advantage at school.
He says: “At school I admit I did call myself Superman. I must have mis-heard it as a child.
"Dad enjoyed the fame side of it. He used to go to Studio 54 in New York and Tramp nightclub in London, but he also felt a great responsibility to use that attention for good.
“He loved London and he travelled across the country to watch plays in Liverpool, Manchester or Sheffield in his 20s. He would watch performances and hang out at stage doors afterwards and follow the actors to the pub and give them the inquisition. He wanted to learn about acting.
"He even became a dialect coach at The Old Vic theatre in London. He could do an excellent British accent, but he did not pick it up. I have to say, bedtime stories were amazing."
Today, Matt, Alexandra and step-brother Will - Reeve's son by second wife Dana, who was 44 when she died from lung cancer in 2006 - all help run The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation which pioneers research into spinal cord injuries. The foundation has called on politicians in Washington DC to do more to help families affected by paralysis.
Alexandra feels her dad would have made a good president, although he never courted political office.
She says. "He was passionate about many issues but he used to say "Run for office? And lose all my influence in Washington DC?”
"People connected with him as a hero and an icon after the accident.
“He wanted to use his platform and fame for good."
Now, with a new US President about to be elected, the family are tight-lipped about how they will vote.
Asked about ex-President Donald Trump ’s desire to wear a Superman T-shirt on leaving hospital in 2020, after beating Covid, Alexandra says, simply: "It feels as if our world needs heroes right now!
"Dad once spoke about family values at the Democratic National Convention and it means every person has value. And we are all family (in the world).
“The message of wanting to care for the most vulnerable in society is very relevant in 2024 as it was in 1996."
A new Warner Bros Superman movie is due out next year, with actor David Corenswet playing the superhero.
And Reeve’s children say they will be first in line to see it.
Alexandra says: "The story endures as it is such a classic figure.
"When I look back on Dad's performance and think what made it so strong, it was that human element that he added to it and being so relatable, being a friend and a man in love.
"You saw him as a real person, an alien struggling with his identity.
“Dad always thought of himself as a custodian of the part and I think he did a really good job."
* Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is released in UK cinemas Friday, November 1.
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