Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Superman

Margot Kidder as Lois Lane

Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor

Mariel Hemingway as Lacy Warfield

Jackie Cooper as Perry White

Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen

Jon Cryer as Lenny

Sam Wanamaker as David Warfield

Mark Pillow as Nuclear Man

Damian McLawhorn as Jeremy

William Hootkins as Harry Howler

Jim Broadbent as Jean Pierre Dubois

Stanley Lebor as General Romoff

Don Fellows as Levon Hornsby

Robert Beatty as U.S. President

Bradley Lavelle as Tall Marshall

Mac McDonald as Marshall #2

Steve Plytas as Russian General #2

Czeslaw Grocholski as Russian General 1

John Hollis as Russian General 3 (Kremlin)

Bob Sherman as Senator - Pentagon

Eiji Kusuhara as U.N. Guard - Japanese

Yuri Borienko as Russian General - Red Square

Boris Isarov as Cosmonaut Captain

Dorota Zięciowska as Cosmonaut

Jayne Brook as Teacher - JFK High School

Susannah York as Lara (voice)

Diana Hunter as Museum Tour Guide

Indira Joshi as Secretary General U.N.

Jiří Stanislav as Cosmonaut

Ron Travis as Convict

Matthew Freeman as Submariner

Douglas W. Iles as Chief of Staff

Ted Maynard as Army Chief

Raymond Marlowe as Navy Chief

John Cagon as Technician

Malcolm Bullivant as U.N. Guard - Swedish

Mark Caven as Priest - Boystown

Nicholas Colicos as Paul - Metro Sports Club

David Garth as First Elder

Esmond Knight as Second Elder

Keith Edwards as Technician - Fort Mason

Eugene Lipinski as Cosmonaut - Space Walker

Dennis Creaghan as Bill Compton

Philip Fox as Husband - Great Wall of China

Jimmy Fung as Chinese Official - Great Wall of China

Guinevere John as Tourist - Great Wall of China

Peter Penry-Jones as Tourist - Great Wall of China

Witold Schejbal as Russian Premiere

Rex Robinson as Engineer - Subway

Kerry Shale as MBC Newscaster

Samantha Weysom as Lex Luther Girlfriend

Kenneth Coombs as Reporter

Stephanie English as Woman in Crowd

Jill Goldston as Commuter (uncredited)

Colin Hunt as Sergeant York (uncredited)