‘I’m Getting The F*ck Out Of Here’: Why Paul Walker Turned Down A Huge Superman Payday
It’s hard to think of a time before big-budget superhero movies became so common, but over 20 years ago, it was still a pretty risky genre to be involved in. At the time, rising actor Paul Walker was starring in the Fast & Furious franchise (which is…still going….) and he was approached to be the man of steel himself, Superman.
The doc I Am Paul Walker, which was first released in 2018 and recently aired on The CW, includes conversations with the late actor’s manager, Matt Luber, who said that it would have been a major deal for the star. “I think it was a $10 million deal, and he was the frontrunner,” Luber, who had known Walker since childhood, said in the doc. Despite going in for an audition, Lehman didn’t think Walker was right for the role. “I knew he did not want to do three or four Superman [films] and be Superman for the rest of his life,” Lehman continued.
Luber then recalled when Walker’s response to his Superman audition, which was not pleasant: “‘I’ve got an ‘S’ on, I got a cape, boots, tights … this is not me. I’m getting the f*** out of here. Gotta go. F*** you.’ And he was gone,” Luber said. Maybe that was part of his audition? To prove he is faster than a speeding bullet? But maybe not.
In 2003, the actor confirmed to The Chicago Sun-Times that he “could have made a gazillion dollars on that franchise” but he didn’t “need” that kind of money. “My favorite brand of running shoes costs $23. I rarely pay more than $40 for my jeans,” the actor said at the time.”Throw in a T-shirt and that costs me $20 or $10 if I buy it on the beach. I don’t need a gazillion dollars to manage that kind of lifestyle.”
Walker passed away in 2013, and while he was never a superhero, he did his fair share of action-packed movies. Just without tights.