New Christopher Reeve documentary focuses on actor’s life, legacy

Twenty years after the shocking news that actor Christopher Reeve had passed away, a new documentary explores the life, career, and advocacy of the movie star forever known as Superman.

"Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" features interviews with all three of the actor’s children, who vividly recall their lives both before and after the 1995 horse-riding accident that left their father paralyzed from the neck down.

"We … wanted to have people see the whole of him and who he was; that he was more than just a guy in a cape or just a guy in a chair," says son Matthew Reeve. "He was the husband and the father and the pilot and the pianist and sailor, and all these things that defined him in various ways."

American actor Christopher Reeve, New York, New York, 1978. (Photo by Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty Images)

In the documentary, Reeve’s children discuss how their relationships with their father changed following the accident.

"Suddenly, when you're not connecting to your kids through physical activity — through giving them a hug — how do you connect with words? How do you find new ways to spend time together? And really what it meant is that we spent a lot of time just talking to him," says daughter Alexandra Reeve Givens.

There’s also a strong focus throughout the documentary on Dana Reeve, who married Christoper in 1992 and passed away from lung cancer in 2006.

"There is no Christopher Reeve story that's complete without Dana Reeve," says son Will Reeve. "My mom was a singular gift to this world. She deserves her own documentary — maybe we'll do that someday — but for now, her role in this documentary is much like the role in the role she played in our life. She was the glue."

"Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" is playing in select theaters on Wednesday — click here for more information on the film.