premise: Henry Cavill played Superman.
hypothesis: Henry Cavill . Cavill gained further prominence and international fame playing the titular superhero Superman in the DC Extended Universe starting with the 2013 reboot film Man of Steel , originally the highest-grossing Superman film of all time until it was surpassed by 2016 's Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice , where he reprised his role as Superman ; making it his highest-grossing film to date . Superman . Several actors have portrayed Superman in motion pictures and TV series including Kirk Alyn , George Reeves , Christopher Reeve , Dean Cain , Tom Welling , Brandon Routh , Henry Cavill , and Tyler Hoechlin .