Jude Law turned down Superman because he hated wearing the costume

The actor was approached to play the hero in 2006's Superman Returns

(Getty Images)

You may not be aware but we almost lived in a time where Jude Law played the Man of Steel.

The British actor has revealed that he was approached to play Clark Kent for Bryan Singer's Superman Returns back in 2006 - but turned down the opportunity.

"So you remember they were rebooting Superman - not this last time with Henry Cavill, they did it once before - when I was obviously young enough to play Superman," Law explained on The Late Show.

"So I was approached and at the time I don't know, I just, it didn't float my boat, you know, like I just really didn't want to go there," he levelled. "First of all, I'm an Englishman and I felt like, I don't know, it just didn't seem to fit and I just didn't fancy it."

"This director was very keen to meet and impress it upon me and I was actually out in California and he said 'Look, you just have to try the suit on. The suit's amazing.' So there's a knock on my hotel room, there's a guard and this lady from the wardrobe and they bring the suit in.

"So I take the suit into the bathroom and I'm putting it on and then I look around, I'm in the mirror and suddenly... I'm Superman. I stood there and then I had this picture of me in that costume on posters all over the world and I was like 'no way' and I unzipped it.

"But I was Superman for two minutes, that's enough."

The role eventually went to Brandon Routh, while Law that year starred in the films All the King's Men, Breaking and Entering and Christmas favourite The Holiday.

Next up, Law will star in biographical drama Genius, Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur and the recently announced Sherlock Holmes 3.