With the success of James Gunn’s new Superman movie, discussion of previous iterations of the character has returned to the public conversation as well. While Christopher Reeve is still the most iconic Superman, for the generation that grew up in the ‘90s, it’s hard to forget Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which starred Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane and Dean Cain as the Man of Steel.
Cain recently spoke to Variety about his career, which launched with the five-season television series in which he played Superman. While he mostly has good memories from the experience of starring in the movie, there was at least one element of the show he didn’t love, and his co-star truly hated. Apparently the flying sequence left him in pain and Hater in tears. Cain said…
There’s no blood flow going to your legs. After hanging for hours, I would have to get a massage just to keep the blood moving from quadrant to quadrant. Teri would cry. She’d be in tears every single time we had to fly because it hurt.
While playing Superman on TV might seem like a glamorous thing, it seems there was a lot of hard work that went into looking like a man could fly. Cain, one assumes, at least got used to the difficulties of the flying harness, as he had to do it more often. For Teri Hatcher, flying with Superman was a more occasional thing, and it doesn’t sound like she ever got used to it.
It sounds awful. If the harness was so painful that it cut off blood flow and left one of the stars in tears, then I can imagine the actress tried to avoid flying scenes as much as possible. I would absolutely dread anything that I knew was going to cause me that much pain.
And it doesn’t sound like things are honestly that much better today. New Superman David Corenswet recently revealed that he ended up with multiple bumps and bruises as a result of the flying harness for the new Superman movie. He even injured a testicle. While a lot about making Superhero movies and series has certainly improved over the decades, making somebody fly on screen is still a difficult and painful process.
Something tells me this is the kind of scene Hatcher was more fond of.
Lois and Clark ended after five seasons with an unresolved cliffhanger. While a lot of fans were probably frustrated that the show didn’t continue, it’s entirely possible Teri Hatcher at least saw a silver lining if the flying sequences were that terrible for her. While both stars have talked about a Lois & Clark revival over the years, it's unclear if either of them has considered what it would mean to get back in the flying harness.
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