Acting Career: Stage & Screen

While Christopher achieved worldwide fame as Superman, his true passion remained the theater. Throughout his career, he consistently chose artistic integrity over commercial success, turning down lucrative action movie roles to pursue complex characters in independent films and stage productions.

Theater: His First Love

Christopher’s commitment to theater never wavered, even at the height of his Hollywood success. He was a regular at the Williamstown Theatre Festival for over a decade, appearing in productions including “The Front Page,” “The Cherry Orchard,” “The Greeks,” and “Death Takes A Holiday,” ” His theater work wasn’t limited to summer stock – he maintained an active Broadway career with acclaimed performances in “Fifth of July” (1980), and “The Marriage of Figaro” (1985).

Internationally, he starred in “The Aspern Papers” (1984) in London’s West End alongside Vanessa Redgrave and Dame Wendy Hiller. He also appeared in regional productions of “Summer and Smoke” in Los Angeles and toured major cities with “Love Letters.” As Christopher once said, the stage was “an actor’s greatest test,” and he approached each theatrical role with the same dedication that made his Superman performance so iconic.

Film Career: Artistic Choices

After Superman’s success, he deliberately chose smaller, character-driven films that challenged him as an actor. His notable film credits include “Somewhere in Time” (1980), “Deathtrap” (1982) with Michael Caine, “The Bostonians” (1984), “Street Smart” (1987) opposite Morgan Freeman, and the Oscar-nominated “The Remains of the Day” (1993). He preferred working with respected directors like Sidney Lumet and James Ivory, valuing artistic collaboration over box office receipts.

Christopher’s career spanned 17 feature films, a dozen TV movies, and approximately 150 stage performances. Even after his 1995 accident, he continued acting and directing, starring in a television remake of “Rear Window” (1998) and directing “In the Gloaming” (1997) and “The Brooke Ellison Story” (2004)