He played a superhero on the screen but was a real-life hero after he hung up the cape.

Christopher Reeve is largely remembered for his flights across the screen while wearing a red cape and sporting a giant S across his chest. But it’s for his later off-screen work, while hoping to walk again, that solidified him as a hero.

His sensitive portrayal of Superman helped make the 1978 movie a blockbuster that set the stage for a wave of superhero movies.