Christopher D'Olier Reeve[1] (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, film director, author, and activist, best known for playing the title character in the film Superman (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Reeve discovered a passion for acting and theater at the age of nine. He studied at Cornell University and the Juilliard School, making his Broadway debut in 1976. After his acclaimed performances in Superman and Superman II, Reeve declined many roles in action movies, choosing instead to work in small films and plays with more complex characters.

On May 27, 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the shoulders down after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. He used a wheelchair and ventilator for the rest of his life.

…Over the course of his career, Reeve received a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Emmy Award, and a Grammy Award.

Beginning in the 1980s, Reeve was an activist for environmental and human-rights causes and for artistic freedom of expression. After his accident, he lobbied for spinal injury research, including human embryonic stem cell research, and for better insurance coverage for people with disabilities. His advocacy work included leading the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.

“Don’t put a limit on what can be accomplished.”

“Pain is inevitable. Misery is a choice.”

“Timing is very important: words can only have a positive effect on others if and when they are ready to listen.”

“I get pretty impatient with people who are able-bodied but are somehow paralyzed for other reasons.”

“At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.”
“Once you choose hope, anything's possible.”
“If you don’t have a vision, nothing happens.”
“There is no such thing as can’t.”
“We all have many more abilities and internal resources than we know. My advice is that you don't need to break your neck to find out about them.”
“Even if your body doesn’t work the way it used to, the heart and the mind and the spirit are not diminished.”
“What I do is based on powers we all have inside us; the ability to endure; the ability to love, to carry on, to make the best of what we have – and you don’t have to be a ‘Superman’ to do it.”
“You should have a dream and absolutely go for it. Don’t let anybody say you can’t do it.”
“A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway.”
“In the face of adversity, hope often comes in the form of a friend who reaches out to us.”
“Your body is not who you are. The mind and spirit transcend the body.”
“I have never been disabled in my dreams.”
“Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Don’t sell out.”
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
“If I can laugh, I can live.”
“Either you choose to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out into the ocean.”
“I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don’t know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do.”