Christopher Reeve's Upcoming Documentary Film Reveals How Wife Dana Saved His Life With Seven Words

Christopher Reeve, the actor famous for playing Superman, faced his greatest challenge off-screen. In 1995, a horse-riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. This tragic event changed his life forever. At first, Reeve wanted to give up. He felt hopeless and thought his life was over. "I ruined my life and everybody else's," he recalled thinking. "I won't be able to ski, sail, throw a ball to Will. Won't be able to make love to Dana. Maybe we should let me go."

But then, his wife Dana Reeve said something that changed everything. Reeve revealed, "And then she said the words that saved my life: 'You're still you. And I love you.'" These seven simple words gave him the strength to keep living. Reeve's incredible journey is now the subject of a new documentary called Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. The film shows how Reeve and his family faced this enormous challenge together. The documentary includes interviews with Reeve's three children: Matthew, Alexandra, and Will. They share personal memories of their father. Matthew, now 44, remembers the last time he saw his dad before the accident. "We said goodbye, he gave this wave," he recalls. "That was the last time I saw him on his feet," as per People. 

The film also features Reeve's Hollywood friends. Stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, and Glenn Close share their memories. Close talks about Reeve's friendship with Robin Williams: "He and Robin were such good friends because they could match each other." Sarandon adds, "Robin also had struggles that he dealt with his whole life and I think they both were aware of darkness." After the accident, Reeve became a powerful advocate for people with spinal cord injuries. He and Dana started the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to help others. Reeve even returned to acting, making cameo appearances in the TV show Smallville in 2003, as per Independent.

Sadly, Reeve passed away in 2004 at the age of 52. His wife Dana died two years later from lung cancer. But their legacy lives on through their children and the foundation they created. Will Reeve, now 32, spoke about why they decided to make the documentary: "2024 is 20 years after our dad passed away. So we figured if we were ever going to do it, now would be the time." The film uses home movies and personal footage to tell Reeve's story. It shows his life before the accident, his struggle afterward, and how he found a new purpose through his activism.

"We knew ... if we were ever going to do this, it had to be the right time and the right team," Will said at the Sundance Film Festival. "And that we were going to give over our archive, our home movies, sit for some raw and vulnerable interviews, and then place all of our trust and faith in the team that had assembled around us and see what they came back with."