Twenty years after starring in “Superman Returns,” Brandon Routh says he’s learned it takes a lot more than a spandex suit and red cape to deal with life’s hardships. On February 27, 2026, Routh shared powerful insights about self-care and personal growth on the “That’s Awesome” podcast, hosted by fellow Hallmark leading man Ryan McPartlin.
In addition to discussing synergies in their careers (McPartlin played Captain Awesome on “Chuck” from 2007 to 2012), the former superheroes candidly discussed how they tend to their mental health, from coping with stress and sadness to dealing with their inner critics.
Brandon Routh Says We Can’t Wait for Superman to Save the World: ‘We Have to Save Ourselves’
Routh, who co-starred most recently with Jonathan Bennett and Eden Sher in December’s “A Keller Christmas Vacation,” has become a vocal advocate for men’s mental health after dealing with insecurity, anxiety, and video game addiction after “Superman Returns” didn’t spawn a sequel despite its success at the box office.
Routh and McPartlin both said they appreciate being part of the Hallmark family because their movies provide people with an escape from what can feel like a constant deluge of terrible news.
“This life has become so unpredictable,” Routh said. “Sometimes it feels like, ‘Who’s going to save us? Is Superman going to save us?’ But the truth is we have to save ourselves, and that’s always been (the case).”
McPartlin agreed, “We have to save our own mind, we have to put boundaries around our mind of what we watch, what we read, what we listen to, like all those things, to give us joy.”
That led McPartlin to ask Routh what tools he uses to get through “the ups and downs of life.” Routh shares 13-year-old son Leo with actress Courtney Ford, who filed for divorce in early 2025, and admitted he’s had to come to terms with accepting rather than ignoring his own sadness and stress.
“Certainly I’ve had struggles both career-wise, relationship-wise, family-wise, just state-of the world-wise,” Routh said. “You know, I think for a while in my life, I probably tried to pretend that I didn’t, to my own detriment. So I think part of my journey is, like, coming to terms with light and dark, heaviness and sadness, and understanding that both are needed.”
Brandon Routh Says Self-Care Keeps Him From Spiraling
GettyRouth clarified in his conversation with McPartlin that he doesn’t want people to “sit in sadness” when hard things happen, but believes it is important to have the presence of mind to “respect” each other’s “suffering and pain” and “recognize that it was a part of the process and there’s some value in it.”
Noting that he’s continually trying to “honor my own experience more fully,” Routh said, “It certainly has been challenging the last few years, I think collectively for the world, and the things that I keep coming back to on more of a daily basis are I can only take care of me.”
He explained, “It can feel very like egotistical, or we can often push our own mental and physical wellness away to say that ‘I have to give to other people or I don’t get to go have a chiropractic appointment or just meditate for 10 minutes or roll on my foam roller or go for a 15 minute walk,’ which I did before this conversation around my neighborhood. I’m getting more into doing that … because I have to do these things.”
Those types of self-care, Routh said, help him deal with the inner voice that tells him there’s a whole list of things he must do or “the world’s going to fall apart.”
“I’m like, ‘Come on, that’s a story that I’m telling myself,'” Routh said he’s realized, “and also, I know through repetitive experience that the more I can take care of myself a little bit, listen to myself and water my own garden, take care of Brandon, then the better I am in taking care of everyone else in my life or at least being open to be of service to other people.”
Brandon Routh & Ryan McPartlin Say They’re Working on Quieting Their Inner Critics, Too
HallmarkRouth told McPartlin he’s also been working on quieting his inner critic, recalling a recent instance when he was beating himself up for being late to an appointment.
Routh suddenly noticed his inner dialogue, he said, “and I thought, ‘This guy’s been, like, heraunging me … such a taskmaster all my life. Right now he’s being kind of an [expletive] to me.’ And I’m like, ‘Hold on, that’s me. Like, I’m the only one here!'”
McPartlin interjected that when that happens, “I’ve heard to say it out loud — to talk to your inner voice with your outer voice — and that’s actually something I’m trying to do more.”
Routh agreed, and said that when he notices his inner critic tearing him apart, he intentionally changes that narrative by focusing on “what is lovely and put aside the negative.”
McPartlin and Routh’s nearly hour-long conversation can be watched in its entirety here.
You were right when you spoke of Superman, after all, he is just a Hollywood figure. But in speaking about yourself, you never mention “God, the Father, God, the Son (Jesus Christ), and, the Holy Ghost! You don’t make it on your own. None of us do! Jesus Christ suffered all those feelings of doubt and hurt, loneliness and helplessness in the Garden and again in the cross so that He could guide you through your pain and suffering. He already knows everything you are feeling and is willing, ready and waiting for you to ask Him for understanding, strength, and guidance through His wisdom and perfect knowledge of what you are facing and how to cope. You can think you have found answers on your own, but until you lean on Him, you will never be completely whole and able to overcome your stress. Try it, you may be surprised. He’s close as a silent prayer!