Christopher Reeve Quotes & Sayings

You've got to give more than you take. — Christopher Reeve

Don't put a limit on what can be accomplished. — Christopher Reeve

America is better when all of us take care of all of us. — Christopher Reeve

On the wall of his rehabilitation room was a picture of the space shuttle blasting off, autographed by every astronaut now at NASA. On top of the picture it says, "We found nothing is impossible." That should be our motto. — Christopher Reeve

Either you vegetate and look out a window, or activate and try to effect change. — Christopher Reeve

The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts. — Christopher Reeve

I have to stop this cascade of memories, or at least take them out of their drawer only for a moment, have a brief look, and put them back. I know how to do it now: I have to take the key to acting and apply it to my life. There is no other way to survive except to be in the moment. Just as my accident and its aftermath caused me to redefine what a hero, I've had to take a hard look at what it means to live as fully as possible in the present. How do you survive in the moment when it's bleak and painful and the past seems so seductive? — Christopher Reeve

If we don't dream of the possible,
the possible never happens. — Christopher Reeve

A hero is an ordinary person doing things in an extra ordinary way. — Christopher Reeve

Success is finding satisfaction in giving a little more than you take. — Christopher Reeve

I'm not living the life I thought I would lead, but it does have meaning, purpose. There is love ... there is joy ... there is laughter. — Christopher Reeve

To be able to feel the lightest touch really is a gift. — Christopher Reeve

I never said I will stand, I said I hoped to stand. It wasn't a prediction. — Christopher Reeve

I am optimistic. But I also know that, with time, I'm beginning to fight issues of aging as well as long-term paralysis. — Christopher Reeve

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. — Christopher Reeve

What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely. From an acting point of view, that's how I approached the part. — Christopher Reeve

If I can laugh, I can live. — Christopher Reeve

What can I do today to take a step forward? — Christopher Reeve

Nothing of any consequence happens unless people get behind an idea. It begins with an individual and they share the idea with more individuals-and eventually it becomes a movement. — Christopher Reeve

Living a life with meaning means spreading the word. Even if you can't move, you can have a powerful effect with what you say. — Christopher Reeve

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. — Christopher Reeve

And if you can channel the truth of your own experience onto the stage, that's what the audience wants to see. — Christopher Reeve

Once we choose hope, everything is possible. — Christopher Reeve

My father is an intellectual and physical man, which is a rather unusual combination. He's great. As he brought up me and my brothers and sisters, he ingrained in us that your appearance is not your responsibility, other than that you should not be a slob. — Christopher Reeve

A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway. — Christopher Reeve

Some people are walking around with full use of their bodies and they're more paralyzed than I am. — Christopher Reeve

You learn the stuff of your life (sports, movies, traveling) ... that's not the essence of your existence, my relationships were always good. Now they have transcended (rise beyond). — Christopher Reeve

I have never been disabled in my dreams. — Christopher Reeve

Either you choose to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out into the ocean. — Christopher Reeve

Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't sell out. — Christopher Reeve

Every scientist should remove the word 'impossible' from their lexicon. — Christopher Reeve

Success is not about money and power. Real success is about relationships. There's no point in making $50 million a year if your teenager thinks you're a jerk and you spend no time with your wife. — Christopher Reeve

There is a relationship between the mind and the body that can both create a physical condition and enable us to recover from it — Christopher Reeve

Maybe one way I am original is that at heart I really am a classical actor. I haven't had my chance yet in the commercial world to show that. Movies aren't really made about classical people so much any more. — Christopher Reeve

I have no bones to pick and no fight with society. And I'm willing to be and interested in being in the mainstream of society. — Christopher Reeve

I've still never had a dream that I'm disabled. Never. — Christopher Reeve

You should have a dream and absolutely go for it. Don't let anybody say you can't do it. — Christopher Reeve

The character is a piece of fiction. You are yourself, however, and that makes you interesting, because you're alive and you're a human being. — Christopher Reeve

It's important to me to say what I really mean. — Christopher Reeve

We can either watch life from the sidelines, or actively participate ... Either we let self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy prevent us from realising our potential, or embrace the fact that when we turn our attention away from ourselves, our potential is limitless. — Christopher Reeve

Your body is not who you are. The mind and spirit transcend the body. — Christopher Reeve

We live in a time when the words impossible and unsolvable are no longer part of the scientific community's vocabulary. Each day we move closer to trials that will not just minimize the symptoms of disease and injury but eliminate them. — Christopher Reeve

Having that college-town atmosphere with a live repertory company available was a real gift. I found myself gravitating toward the theater from about the age of nine. I guess it was the environment that got me started. — Christopher Reeve

I get pretty impatient with people who are able-bodied but are somehow paralyzed for other reasons. — Christopher Reeve

In the face of adversity, hope often comes in the form of a friend who reaches out to us. — Christopher Reeve

You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile. — Christopher Reeve

I remember telling a neurosurgeon, "Don't give me too much information, because at the moment my ignorance is my best asset." — Christopher Reeve

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. — Christopher Reeve

Once you choose hope, anything's possible. — Christopher Reeve

You should take some responsibility for the way you present yourself. But you should not be hung up on your looks, whether you are ugly or handsome, because it isn't an achievement. — Christopher Reeve

I don't have to prove anything to anyone. As a result, I am ready to take up again the characters who are closer to what I really am. — Christopher Reeve

I don't think actors are to blame for poor writing. The culture changes first, and the theater follows it. In the case of the movies, it's the same thing. — Christopher Reeve

By reaching out, more comes back than you can possibly imagine. — Christopher Reeve

Even if your body doesn't work the way it used to, the heart and the mind and the spirit are not diminished. — Christopher Reeve

I'm starting a new chapter in my [[life], and you have no idea how much that means. — Christopher Reeve

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. — Christopher Reeve

When I first began acting, I assumed an intellectual responsibility attached to my profession, which I had accepted for a long time. My father taught me that an actor had to have a social and political conscience, and that the work that he does has to reflect from that. — Christopher Reeve

The key to success is letting the relationships in your life grow to the highest levels they possibly can ... not putting yourself first in life and remembering that the more you give away, the more you have. — Christopher Reeve

I am a very lucky guy. I can testify before Congress. I can raise funds. I can raise awareness. — Christopher Reeve

I learned years ago to come to terms with having so much done for me by others. — Christopher Reeve

People may never understand this - and perhaps I should give up caring whether they do or not - but the idea of me playing Superman is so far away from what I was brought up to aspire to. — Christopher Reeve

Pain is inevitable. Misery is a choice. — Christopher Reeve

I have more awareness of other people and, I hope, more sensitivity to their needs. I also find that I'm more direct and outspoken. — Christopher Reeve

I did my first apprenticeship when I was 15, then joined the union when I was 17. I worked every summer in high school and college. — Christopher Reeve

All the scientists who are working on solving the problem of curing paralysis say that it won't do you any good if you don't keep your body in shape. — Christopher Reeve

At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable. — Christopher Reeve

Even though I don't personally believe in the Lord, I try to behave as though He was watching. — Christopher Reeve

Misfortune can force you into doing things you should be doing anyway. Lessons come from adversity. Anything can happen to anyone ... You can find a new lease on life - more meaning than you thought possible in simple things ... Let go. Live in the moment. Go forward. — Christopher Reeve

It never occurred to me that I was a leading man until I was 19 years old. I had been acting since I was 10, so that's nine years and 30 or 40 plays, in school and summer stock, professional theater, too. — Christopher Reeve

Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean. — Christopher Reeve

In the second half of the 20th century, people are becoming more limited: Vocabularies are smaller, thoughts are smaller, aspirations are smaller, everything is very scaled down. Everyone is typecast. — Christopher Reeve

It's defeatist to harp on what might have been, and yet, it's hard to resist considering what might have been. — Christopher Reeve

Never accept ultimatums, conventional wisdom, or absolutes. — Christopher Reeve

We have a government that, generally speaking, does not respond to the people. — Christopher Reeve

A Hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. — Christopher Reeve

If you don't have a vision, nothing happens. — Christopher Reeve