Brandon Routh

Brandon Routh is an American actor best known for playing the titular superhero in 2006’s Superman Returns.

After growing up in his native Iowa, Routh left his hometown to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. He appeared on Gilmore Girls, Will and Grace, Undressed and One Life to Live before landing the role of the Man of Steel in 2006’s Superman Returns.

Routh’s acting credits also include Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Chuck and Partners. He portrayed another DC Comics hero, The Atom/Ray Palmer, on The CW’s Arrow-verse, starting with Arrow in 2012. He reprised the role on spinoffs The Flash, Supergirl and Batwoman, but The Atom appeared most often on the network’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow from 2016 to 2021.

As for his personal life, Routh married Dexter alum Courtney Ford in 2007 before they welcomed son Leo in 2013. They shared the screen on Legends of Tomorrow from 2017 to 2021. Ford filed for divorce from Routh in January 2025 after 17 years of marriage.