British actor Jude Law has revealed that he was approached about playing the lead in 2006's Superman Returns but turned down the part because he had worries about the costume and "just didn't fancy it".
"So I was approached," he told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show on US television, "and at the time it just didn't float my boat. I just didn't really want to go there."
Law explained that because he is an Englishman, the role "just didn't seem to fit". "I was always worried about the outfit; I just didn't fancy it," he continued.
However, Law did agree to try on the Superman costume for director Bryan Singer. It was brought over to his hotel in California by "a big guard" and "a lady from the wardrobe [department]".
"I take the suit into the bathroom and I'm putting it on and then I look around and I'm in the mirror and suddenly I'm Superman. And the music kind of comes in, 'dah-dah-dah-dah-dah!'" he laughed.
"Then I have this picture of me in that costume in posters all over the world and I was like, 'No way!'. And I unzipped it. But I was Superman for two minutes; that's enough."
The lead role in Superman Returns ultimately went to Brandon Routh.
