Christopher Reeve initially wanted to turn off life support when horse-riding accident paralyzed him: director

The "Superman" star, who died in 2004 after being paralyzed in an accident, is the subject of a new documentary about his life called "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story."

"What we didn't realize was that behind that, there was a quite remarkable family, and at a certain point, we realized we were making a film about the entire family, not just about Christopher." 

Ettedgui continued, "For us, that was ground zero for the entire story, because obviously, when he then finally did come round, you know, his first thought was just ‘Please just switch off life support.’"

But thanks to the love of his wife, Dana, and his children, the support of his two oldest children’s mother, Gae Exton, and close friend and former roommate Robin Williams coming around to "make him laugh," he began to find a "purpose" to live.