Christopher Reeve Quotes

Christopher Reeve shares plain-spoken, uplifting thoughts on strength, resilience and meaning.

31 quotes

1. The key word for me on him is 'inspiration.' He is a leader by inspiration. He sets an example. It's quite important that people realize that I don't see him as a glad-handing show-off, a one-man vigilante force who rights every wrong. Basically, he's a pacifist, a man who comes along and says, 'What can I do to help?' He stands on the sidelines until there is real trouble. He does not want to get involved unless it's absolutely necessary because he thinks people should learn to make their own decisions.

2. So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.

3. I'm starting a new chapter in my life, and you have no idea how much that means.

4. We live in a time when the words impossible and unsolvable are no longer part of the scientific community's vocabulary. Each day we move closer to trials that will not just minimize the symptoms of disease and injury but eliminate them.

5. What I do is based on powers we all have inside us; the ability to endure; the ability to love, to carry on, to make the best of what we have - and you don't have to be a 'Superman' to do it.

6. When the first Superman movie came out, I gave dozens of interviews to promote it. The most frequent question was: What is a hero? My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences. Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. They are the real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them.

7. It gives me a moral compass. I often refer to Abe Lincoln, who said, 'When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that is my religion.' I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do. The Unitarian believes that God is good, and believes that God believes that man is good. Inherently. The Unitarian God is not a God of vengeance. And that is something I can appreciate.

8. Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't sell out.

9. I have a creative life and a political life, and they're both equally important.

10. In the morning, I need twenty minutes to cry, to wake up and make that shift, you know, and to just say, 'This really sucks'...to really allow yourself the feeling of loss, even two years later...still needs to be acknowledged.

11. The fact is that even if your body doesn't work the way it used to, the heart and the mind and the spirit are not diminished.

12. The more I do, the more I can do.

13. There will be ups and there will be downs, there will be times when things make sense, there will be times when they won't, but you'll always be on an adventure of meaning if you live for self, family, and others.

14. To be able to feel the lightest touch really is a gift.

15. You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile.

16. Christopher Reeve turned his focus away from his paralysis and began figuring out how he could live afresh. Reeve decided that a lot of people might like to hear his story. Instead of limiting the communication of his story to letters, books and videos subject to edit, Reeve chose the lecture circuit. That meant showing up in public, allowing the public to gawk at his incapacity, talking about his condition and sharing lessons learned. Thus, Christopher Reeve has become Superman for real.

17. He (Reeve) was put on this Earth for... a lot of reasons. He wasn't just here to be an actor. He was Superman.

18. The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.

19. When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences... Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.

20. I am optimistic. But I also know that, with time, I'm beginning to fight issues of aging as well as long-term paralysis.

21. My father is an intellectual and physical man, which is a rather unusual combination. He's great. As he brought up me and my brothers and sisters, he ingrained in us that your appearance is not your responsibility, other than that you should not be a slob.

22. A hero is an ordinary person doing things in an extra ordinary way.

23. Living a life with meaning means spreading the word. Even if you can't move, you can have a powerful effect with what you say.

24. All the scientists who are working on solving the problem of curing paralysis say that it won't do you any good if you don't keep your body in shape.

25. It's defeatist to harp on what might have been, and yet, it's hard to resist considering what might have been.

26. What can I do today to take a step forward?

27. Either you vegetate and look out a window, or activate and try to effect change.

28. Some people are walking around with full use of their bodies and they're more paralyzed than I am.

29. I don't think actors are to blame for poor writing. The culture changes first, and the theater follows it. In the case of the movies, it's the same thing.

30. Once we choose hope, everything is possible.

31. If you don't have a vision, nothing happens.