11 Amazing Bodies from Superman Films

Superman is perhaps the most iconic hero of all time. And with news he's coming back—in Superman: Legacy, part of James Gunn's brand new DC Universe—the Man of Steel is top of mind. So we looked back at the various feature films he's appeared in, and collected the fitness and wellness tips from the stars. Brandon Routh lifted weights and ate egg whites. Henry Cavill learned the importance of a protein shake. And Amy Adams uses a calming cleanser to glow as Lois Lane. Read on for more.

1. Henry Cavill

Henry Cavill is the most recent actor to play Superman, taking on the role in 2013. In an interview with GQ, he talked about deciding to ask questions to his trainer after not drinking a protein shake before bed. “I started asking these questions because he then informed me that the problem with that logic is that, yes, you do have fewer calories going into your body, but you also go into a catabolic state with how hard you're training and how hard you're working. So actually what you're doing is you're losing muscularity while you sleep. So your body won't be looking as good.”

2. Amy Adams

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Amy Adams plays Lois Lane in the DC film series. She shared some skincare secrets with Marie Claire. "When I'm working and wearing a lot of makeup, I use Dermalogica Ultracalming Cleanser because I have very reactive skin. But at home, I just use water. For moisturizer, I use La Mer. At first I was like, I can't use this! It's so expensive and fancy, and J.Lo uses it! But it has saved my face."

3. Ben Affleck

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Ben Affleck played Batman in Batman Vs. Superman. His trainer, Walter Norton Jr., told Men’s Journal how he got in shape for the role. “We wanted him to look like a thick MMA heavyweight puncher,” explains Norton. “This is a Bruce Wayne who’s been lifting for 20 years, hitting that heavyweight bag, and working out every day in the manor. I’ll just say that if you lined up all the Batmans before Ben and stood them next to each other, they’re not 6’4”, and they don’t weigh 225 pounds. He’s in a whole other class.”

4. Brandon Routh

Brandon Routh played Superman in Superman Returns and in the Arrowverse special, Crisis On Infinite Earths. He shared his training routine with Men’s Journal. “My body responded very well to lifting heavy weights and lots of egg whites and chicken. I’m not sure I would put on mass the same way now knowing the things I know now about nutrition, I follow more of a Paleo bulletproof style. It would be a much more gentle approach now, and my body would appreciate it.”

5. Diane Lane

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Diane Lane played Martha Kent in Man Of Steel and Batman Vs. Superman. She revealed some of her wellness tips with the Las Vegas Review Journal. Lane says that she turns off her electronics each day. “We live in an age where you can be up to date with everything that’s going on all of the time,” she says. “We can’t escape the news. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I think it’s part of our stress. Being able to create a tech-free zone or tech-free hours are important ways for me to relax and improve the quality of my life and even my sleep.”

6. Michael Shannon

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Michael Shannon played General Zod in Man Of Steel. He shared how he got in shape for the role with GQ. "It's all about the squats, man. These frickin' squats. They've got these things, goblet squats, where you hold the kettle ball under your chin and you squat back down and back up. If it was up to ['300' trainer Mark Twight], you would do those things all the time, that's all you would do. He would line them up from the lightest to the heaviest and you would start with the light one and work your way up to the heaviest one."

7. Kate Bosworth

Kate Bosworth played Lois Lane in Man Of Steel. She shared one of her favorite healthy recipes with InStyle. “I’ll just sauté and warm up some chickpeas in olive oil and salt and pepper,” she said. “You can add anything. You can add garlic, chili flakes, anything you want to pack it up. Then, I’ll usually chop up an avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, sometimes I pickle beets, pepitas, a little bit of goat cheese. Then, I make my own vinaigrette. It’ll be like olive oil, Dijon, and a little bit of rice wine vinegar. You can add anything. You can throw in some cilantro, some fresh herbs, but that’s super, super quick and the chickpeas have such great complex carbs, high protein, and avocado is good fats.”

8. Kal Penn

Kal Penn played Stanford in Man Of Steel. In an interview with Today, he talked about wanting to provide representation for the Indian community. “I had not seen people who looked like me on screen growing up,” Penn said. “It’s tough to explain to folks who’ve seen people who look like (them) on TV, what it feels like. When it’s absent, it feels like maybe your possibilities in our amazing country are limited somehow. And that shouldn’t be true.”

9. Christopher Meloni

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Christopher Meloni played Col. Nathan Hardy in Man Of Steel. He revealed to Men’s Health that he has started incorporating squats into his workouts. "I'm ashamed to say, they're kind of new to me," Meloni says. "I've been working out many years, and I always shied away. I either did the sled—everything but squats. And the reason why is because they're very tough."

10. Jesse Eisenberg

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Jesse Eisenberg played Lex Luthor in Batman Vs. Superman. He talked about his diet in an interview with Men’s Health. “My relationship to food is a relatively healthy one now. When I'm working I'm very careful about what I eat, but only because I don't want to change my energy level during the day. You shoot for 12 or 14 hours a day, you want to maintain that consistent level of energy. So I don't eat sugar, and I have a very limited amount of caffeine that I proportion out throughout the day.”

11. Gal Gadot

Gal Gadot first appeared as Wonder Woman in Batman Vs Superman. Naturally, she’s got to stay in shape to play this role. She revealed to Good Housekeeping that she picked up a new workout. “I incorporated pilates into my workout routine, because I feel like there's something so holistic about pilates, and opening your rib cage and actually focusing on breathing."