Christopher Reeve rose to fame for his role as Superman, and his son, Will, has followed in his footsteps in terms of his dashing appearance.
When most people picture an actor in the role of Superman, they imagine Christopher Reeve, the actor who famously portrayed him in the 1978 film. Reeve was in an accident when horseback riding and ended up paralyzed from his neck down, something that all fans viewed as a serious tragedy. He died nine years later in 2004.
Before Reeve passed away, he created the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, which supports research into treating and curing spinal cord injuries, a topic that was clearly close to his heart. Dana Reeve, Christopher’s wife, died in 2006 of lung cancer, and the charity became the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
Despite being the son of parents who were in the spotlight, Will Reeve has mostly kept a low profile over the years, even after the death of his parents and when he reached adulthood.
It is no surprise that Will stayed out of the spotlight right when his father died; he was only 11 years old at the time.
When his mother died two years later, Will was just 13 years old. According to a People article published online right before the youngest Reeve appeared on PEOPLE’S List, Will lived with the family of a close friend after becoming an orphan. Dana had made arrangements so he could remain in Bedford, New York, and be with those he’d already grown up and formed a relationship with.
Will’s lack of regular publicity made his recent public appearance at the annual fundraising gala for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation such a headline.
While Will has clearly regularly attended these events in the past, somehow, none of us realized just how much he has grown up to look like his father. The recent gala, called a Magical Evening, was hosted by famous actor Jerry O’Connell, with numerous other actors in attendance.
Will’s older half-brother, Matthew Reeve, who is 37, as well as their sister, Alexandra, also show a family resemblance to Christopher. These are children of Gae Exton, Reeve’s longtime partner. Will Reeve, who is now 25, is from Christopher’s later marriage.
Despite Matthew’s family resemblance, it was Will’s facial features that surprised crowds, photographers, and fans. Some will swear that if you add the signature Superman hair swirl, you would be looking at the late Christopher Reeve.
We can’t help but wonder how no one has noticed the striking resemblance Will has to his late father, given his current career.
Will briefly acted, but he now has a successful career as a sports broadcaster. As such, he is regularly on television and social media. Even so, it took Will appearing at an event directly related to his father’s life for us to realize how much Christopher Reeve’s youngest son has grown since his death.
Will’s current job is no accident. He has always loved sports, and in the interview with PEOPLE, he said of his relationship with his dad:
“We shared a very deep bond in general, but sports was definitely a major component of our family bond […] If it involved a ball or a stick or a racket or a bat or a puck, we were either watching it or playing it or talking about it together.”
Christopher always made an effort to attend every single game of Will’s that he could. In fact, he attended Will’s hockey game the day before he died. After that, PEOPLE reported that the two spent the remainder of the day watching baseball on TV.
Now that Will’s Superman-like appearance has made headlines, it unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon.
As he works in the spotlight, sports fans will keep seeing Will and likely think of his father and his iconic role as Superman.
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