“I was the director’s choice for the role”: Matt Bomer, Who Says He Lost Superman Role as He’s Gay, Wasn’t the Only Doom Patrol Star Who Auditioned for it

Matt Bomer and Brendan Fraser were in the race for portarying Superman in the early 2000s!

Matt Bomer is an iconic actor known for portraying several roles in some notable projects over the years.

The actor revealed that in the early 2000s, he was almost finalized for the role of Superman in a film titled Superman: Flyby.

Matt Bomer is an actor known for starring in projects like White Collar, Fellow Travelers, and, Magic Mike. Being an openly gay actor in the early 2000s, Bomer recently talked about a certain Superman role that he continuously auditioned for but was ultimately rejected.
Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey in Fellow Travelers | Off-Season Productions
Well, in a recent interview, Bomer talked about a canceled Superman project back in the early 2000s titled Superman: Flyby. The actor, however, claimed that he was the director’s favorite choice for the role, but because he was publicly outed as a gay person, Bomer was dropped out of the project!

Matt Bomer Was Supposed To Portray The Role of Superman!

With a script by J.J. Abrams, a Superman project in the early 2000s was announced titled Superman: Flyby. The project had the entirety of Hollywood auditioning for the lead role of Clark Kent aka Superman and Matt Bomer was one of them.
Matt Bomer at the 2015 SDCC | Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons
Being an openly gay actor since the early 2000s, Bomer has actively and proudly embraced his se*uality rather than be closeted. Although it might be good for the actor, Matt Bomer revealed that his preferences led him to drop out of the Superman project!

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In a recent interview with THR’s Awards Chatter Podcast, the actor revealed that he felt as if he was the director’s favorite choice for Superman.

It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role. This is a very early iteration of Superman written by J.J. Abrams, called Superman: Flyby, I think is what it was called, and it never came to light.

When he was asked about his opinion on whether his se*ual preferences led to him being dropped out of the project, here’s what Bomer had to reply.

Yeah, that’s my understanding. That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. How, and why, and who, I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.

Although the actor may or may not be right, it cannot be said with surety that Bomer was dropped solely on the basis of his se*uality. In another interview, The Mummy star Brendan Fraser talked about the infamous canceled Superman project.

During his talks, the actor mentioned that the whole of Hollywood was after the role of Superman. From big celebrity names like Paul Walker to TV stars like Matt Bomer, everyone was in line for the role of Clark Kent!

Brendan Fraser, Hollywood, And Superman: Flyby

Yes, the project was indeed titled Superman: Flyby (Brendan Fraser confirmed it in another interview). In the early 2000s, Paul Walker had found fame with The Fast & The Furious, Brendan Fraser with The Mummy, and, David Boreanaz in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Brendan Fraser in the Mummy | Universal Pictures
Naturally, the three of them were heavily considered for the role of Superman in the project. Matt Bomer was also one of the actors in the race for the role. In an interview with Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show, Fraser revealed that everyone was crazy behind the project.

Of course, it’s a life-changing, amazing opportunity. But I had to reconcile with, ‘Okay, say you do get the job to be the Man of Steel. It’s going to be chipped on your gravestone. Are you okay with that?

Brendan Fraser further continued that the only reason he didn’t take on the role was because of the permanent tattoo of Superman that would be stuck with him forever.

You will forevermore be known as the Man of Steel.’ There was a sort of Faustian bargain that went into [the] feeling. And I think inherently I didn’t want to be known for only one thing, because I prided myself on diversity my whole professional life. I’m not a one-trick pony.”

Well, due to some reasons, Superman: Flyby was shelved and then Bryan Singer picked up his project titled Superman Returns in 2006. The role of Clark Kent eventually went to Brandon Routh and then later on to Henry Cavill.

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Being one of the more famous iterations of Superman, the 2006 film received a rating of 6.1/10 on IMDB and an average of 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. Superman Returns is available to stream on Max in the U.S.