Memories of Christopher Reeve...

Back when I lived in Manhattan, I had the privilege of meeting the late actor Christopher Reeve, whose life and courage has inspired so many of us.

The encounter happened after he had become known worldwide for his role as Superman. I was taking an acting class at Barnard, working on my undergraduate degree. Christopher had studied acting at Julliard, which is about 50 blocks south of Barnard, at Lincoln Center. His father went to Columbia University for a master's degree and his mother went to Barnard -- so there was a connection.

We got to class and the teacher announced that we would be having a guest instructor. The classroom where we met was a small auditorium with a raised stage. We students usually sat on the hardwood floor in circles, but today we were all facing the stage as our teacher made her introduction.

We had no idea who the guest instructor was going to be. When this tall (he was 6'4"), good looking man walked across the stage and then sat down on the edge and smiled at us, it was kind of surreal. He said, "Hi, I'm Chris." Totally casual.

The girl who was sitting next to me hit me in the arm. “That’s Superman!” she whispered excitedly. I nodded my head, but didn't take my eyes off of him. It was really cool – he seemed to be completely unaffected by his fame. He told us how he got started in the business. He told us his fears about taking on the role of Superman – that he didn't see himself as a super hero. He was really approachable; self-deprecating even, but at the same time he exuded an amazing self-confidence.

After he talked with us about himself for a while, he gave us an hour to ask him questions. We were all wannabes (after all, it was an acting class), and some people even asked him to get them a job in the business. He was incredibly patient.

He encouraged us to dare to dream. He admitted that often in life it is who you know, but he said that if we had a burning desire to express ourselves creatively, then we should keep trying, no matter what.

Years later, after he was tragically paralyzed, I saw that he did just that. He never stopped expressing himself creatively. He was truly a remarkable man. He is no longer with us (he died on Oct 10, 2004), but I can still vividly remember that day.