Brandon Routh

Brandon James Routh is an American actor and former fashion model born on October 9, 1979 to mother Catherine, a teacher and father Ronald Ray Routh, a carpenter. Brandon is of German, French, English, and Native American ancestry. He grew up in Norwalk, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south of Woolstock, the hometown of George Reeves, the first actor to play Superman on television. He attended Norwalk High School, where he played sports and participated in music and theatre. During his younger years, he has noted a huge Superman fan, he collected the comics, owned the films, and even wore Superman pajamas.
After High School, Routh attended the University of Iowa for a year, aspiring to be a writer. During this time, he modelled and acted in order to earn his tuition fee. In 1999, Routh left the University and moved to New York City and then Los Angeles, where he pursued a full-time acting career. His first appearance was in a music video for “What A Girl Wants” by Christina Aguilera. Consequently, he got his first major role in 1999, in an episode of the short-lived ABC television series, “Odd Man Out”. Following that year, 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.
In 2006, he earned fame for his role as the titular hero of the 2006 film “Superman Returns”. His former manager signed him on because of the resemblance of Christopher Reeve who previously portrayed Superman, telling him that he thought of Routh as the next Superman should there be another film in the series and so it happened. Following this, he has had several supporting roles in television and film. More recently, he portrays the eponymous protagonist of another comic book film, “Dylan Dog: Dead of Night”.