'Man of Steel' star Russell Crowe says he never saw a Superman movie

New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe says he never saw a Superman movie before playing the alien hero's biological father Jor-El in director Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel."

Asked at a recent press conference in Los Angeles what it was like to take over a role once played by the late great Marlon Brando, Crowe replied: "I have a confession. I might as well just get it out. I've never seen any other Superman movie.

"I haven't seen any of the ones with that fellow in it," he explained. "I don't have any references in terms of cinematic experience. ...

"The only Superman reference I have is the 1950s, black-and-white show that was on TV after school when I was a kid. So, I really don't have anything to draw on. The simple thing for me is I read the script and I thought it was a complex and really cool story in and of itself and I thought that the problems that Jor-El faced in terms of his decisions as a father was a really interesting thing to do and that's why I got involved."

Crowe went on to say having two children in real life didn't quite prepare him to play Superman's dad on the big screen.

"I had a very interesting experience being a father on this movie. I think Zack employed four babies as the recently born Kal-El and unlike in my own experience as a father of two -- I've managed to dodge all the piss and the poo -- I'm pretty slick with a nappy. But on this movie, I got farted on first. That was OK. I got pissed on, which was a little inconvenient. Then the topper happened under those hot lights. It was after lunch -- to be expected -- and I got a handful of the essential Kryptonian material, so I learned a lot. I had new experiences as a parent on this movie that I hadn't previously had, so thank you, Zack."

"I just wanted to add to the tapestry of your life as best I can," added Snyder, who was sitting alongside Crowe at the press conference.

Co-starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and Michael Shannon, "Man of Steel" opens nationwide Friday.