‘Superman II’ Actor Jack O’Halloran Says Using The Man Of Steel “Correctly” Means Promoting “The American Way Of Life”
Older generations still believe in the third part of Truth, Justice, and the American Way more than the current ones coming of age. Why not, when that vintage tag line of the Man of Steel came to the fore on the radio during World War II and in the post-war period on television?
Boomers, as kids with their parents, were glued to the TV when George Reeves wore the cape, and they carried that into adulthood when Christopher Reeve took over. One senior citizen who was in the thick of things when Reeve wore the symbol of hope was Jack O’Halloran.
The big, burly former boxer played Non, Zod’s muscle in Superman and Superman II. He showed up at the beginning of the first one to get sent off to The Phantom Zone with his compatriots, but is better remembered for all the destruction he helped create in part two. That’s where he got to shine.
He worked with both Richard Donner and Richard Lester as both films were shot back-to-back initially, but O’Halloran prefers Donner, like so many others. It’s clear which of the two directors he considers the real visionary: “Richard Donner was a brilliant guy and a great director. It was such a treat working with a guy like that,” O’Halloran said to Fox 13 News in Tampa Bay.
He recalled what it was like filming the shots of himself, Terrence Stamp, and Sarah Douglas spinning through space in a flat square. “We were making all the gestures, like ‘How do we get out of here? How do we get out of here?” And then they spun it around, and it looked like we were twirling out into space,” the boxer-turned-actor laughed.
The 82-year-old is looking forward to the new film with David Corensewet, directed by James Gunn. However, he hopes to see the spirit of the Donner films and George Reeves’ portrayal, as in Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
Additionally, he says that’s what Gunn and Corenswet should channel to be successful. “Having the statement of the all-American way, bringing back the American way of life, and that’s what needs to happen,” said O’Halloran. “If they use Superman correctly, they can accomplish that.”
If Superman is used “correctly,” it may be up to the eye of the beholder. Most critics and viewers are unanimous in loving Gunn’s Superman for its color and spectacle. A select few others aren’t as sold, calling the film a mess or woke. O’Halloran might also walk away disappointed since it doesn’t mention the American way.
Nobody involved with it is, really, except for Sean Gunn, who thinks being authentically American means accepting all “immigrants” without standards.
