Jimmy Carter: One of the most difficult series of interviews for me to watch… He was such a joyful, full of life, nice person to work with… What a loss… in case you never knew him… this interview will help you get a feel for him…

Jimmy Carter: On May 27 1995, Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in an accident during the cross country portion of an Eventing competition. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Although Reeve was tall enough for the role and had the blue eyes and handsome features, his physique was slim. He refused to wear fake muscles under the suit, and instead went through an intense two-month training regimen supervised by former British weightlifting champion David Prowse, the man under the Darth Vader suit in the Star Wars films.