Midway through the filming of Superman Returns, star Brandon Routh received an envelope in the mail.

It contained two pendants and a letter. The pendants, each emblazoned with a red S, said simply, “Go Forward.”

The note from Dana Reeve, the widow of Superman Christopher Reeve, said much the same thing.

“She said she thought I’d be a good Superman,” says Routh, 26, best known for a guest role on Gilmore Girls. “She wished me luck. I can’t tell you what that was like to get her blessing. I was nervous, because I had never heard from the family, and it’

[…]

“I wrote her back but never got to speak with her,” Routh says. “Still, it was such an honor. And it made me realize how important it is to respect not just the characters in this movie, but the people who were a part of it.”

(via cbr via usa today)