Jack O’Halloran: ‘Superman’ Villain Disses Beloved Actor Christopher Reeve

Jack O’Halloran, who played the mute villain Non in both Superman and Superman II, had a lot of negative things to say about his former co-star, the late Christopher Reeve, according to TMZ. His comments seem to clash with the memory of Reeve, who became a quadriplegic after falling from his horse in 1995. Reeve died of cardiac arrest in 2004.

TMZ says they can’t confirm any of Jack O’Halloran’s claims, and as they’re big fans of Reeve, the video they have of him speaking ill of his former co-star is “so shocking” to them.

In an interview with a TMZ cameraman in southern California, O’Halloran says Superman was the first project Reeve had done “that was of any consequence,” and he “believed in his own publicity too much.” O’Halloran stresses Christopher was very young and hadn’t yet worked with a lot of actors at the time.

O’Halloran claims he nearly punched Reeve during a disagreement on the set of Superman.

“He was like a child. He wanted to be Superman and Clark Kent all the time.”

Jack claims that during the altercation, filmmaker Richard Donner “grabbed me from behind and said, ‘Please, not in the face, Jack, not in the face.'”

O’Halloran also says the actor who played Jimmy Olsen, Mark McClure, once asked Reeve to listen to a song he wanted to play on his guitar. According to O’Halloran, Reeve allegedly told McClure to “talk to me like you’re Jimmy Olsen.” Jack says Reeve was a bit of a “diva” and wouldn’t show up to certain events, even ones for kids.

O’Halloran does say that later Reeve became “humbler” and “cared about people” more.

Jack O’Halloran voiced a shuttle commander in 2011’s Superman: Requiem. A man claiming to be Jack O’Halloran wrote the following review for the film.

“This is Jack O’Halloran, I lent my name to this project because I thought the talent going in was very good…I had no problem lending my name to the project and I don’t do that lightly. Being from the original cast of the films Superman 1 & 2. I applaud their efforts for what they did. And I would work with them in the future.

“This project was done on a minimal budget which means people gave their time for no money. To have that passion and turn out a product that meets criteria is brilliant…When I see and feel the creative passion in people. Realizing the length they are going to with their drive and determination to finish something properly they have my vote and support…We need creative life in our industry and we can’t discourage them we must support them.”

According to IMDb, O’Halloran has also been candid about Reeve in the past.

“I didn’t really like Christopher Reeve, we didn’t really get on. I thought he was a bit of an a******. But, when he got hurt, my heart went out to him and I’ve seen the courage he gave people. And that was magic. So he did do something with his life that was kind of good and for that, I give him a lot of credit. I can’t be a hypocrite, I’m not going to say we were best friends and all that s***, because we weren’t.”

Jack O’Halloran was also once a rated heavyweight boxing contender who fought George Foreman and Ken Norton. Illness forced O’Halloran to retire in 1974.

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]