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Interview!

Catching Up With Brandon Routh

2017 Summer TCA Portraits
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - AUGUST 02: Actor Brandon Routh of CW's 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow' poses for a portrait during the 2017 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 2, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Benjo Arwas/Getty Images) Credit: Getty

Where To Catch Him: As Ray Palmer/The Atom on DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, which kicks off its third season on Tuesday, October 10, on THE CW.

It’s been 11 years since you played the lead in Superman Returns and now, you’ve been playing Ray Palmer/The Atom since 2014. Do you feel you’ve finally put Superman in the rear-view mirror?

“It’s been great being Ray for three-plus seasons now and I enjoy that. I don’t know if I’ve put Superman in the rear- view mirror, but to have something else that people know me for is cool. I take it as a compliment that people I meet say, ‘I didn’t realize you played Superman,’ because it’s been that long now and I’ve re-established myself as another character and they may not have seen that movie.”
Who would win the battle of Superman vs. The Atom? “Since I’d be playing The Atom, I’ll say he’d take Superman, unless of course it was me as Superman [laughs].”

You’ve worked consistently for nearly 20 years. What advice would you give your younger self, knowing what you know now?

“Don’t write your future and don’t be afraid of the future. Going into ONE LIFE TO LIVE, I didn’t want to audition for a soap opera. From the moment I started, I was like, ‘I am not doing a soap opera,’ and then I got talked into doing the audition. I auditioned. I got the callback and was like, ‘Oh, man. New York? A five-year contract? I’m going to be there forever.’ At that time, I wanted to do comedy. I didn’t want to be doing drama — but it happened to be the best thing for me. I got to go in to work, make money, live in New York for a year. Of course, then I got fired [laughs], but I did it. So, you’ve got to be open to experiences and not prejudge them, which I think we all do when we’re younger. Now, I’m much more open to things.”

Do you still talk to anyone from those days?

“I haven’t for quite some time but I did talk to Nathan Fillion [ex-Joey, OLTL]. We ran into each other in Vancouver and we both talked about our experiences there because he was on the show before I was. That was nice.”

What did you take with you from your time at ONE LIFE?

“I learned to work hard and how to be in front of the camera, which I got to do for almost a year straight, almost every day. That was a great experience, learning how to feel comfortable and learning to memorize all those lines.”

Are you still recognized by soap fans?

“Yeah, I’ve heard it from a few people, which is surprising: ‘Oh, I knew you back when you were Seth Anderson on ONE LIFE TO LIVE!’ That’s always fun.”

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