Wearing an entirely appropriate shade of blue, Henry Cavil's somehow both excited and exhausted as he talks about plying Superman in Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel"; the British-born actor's in almost every scene of Snyder's film, and while Superman's cape has more than a little cultural weight, he seems to bear that burden with no small amount of enthusiasm. we spoke with Cavill in Burbank about playing an icon, what his new role means for his nephews, and more ...

MSN Movies: I guess my first question would have two parts. You are not from these parts, much like Superman;  what's it like for you as a British actor to, a) to be asked to play such an American but global icon, and b) what's it like to actually get to the nitty-gritty of playing all of that?

Henry Cavill:  To answer the first part, it's not necessarily an issue for me. I never thought, "Oh my goodness. Because this person's from here they can't play this." And I don’t think that's ... I mean it could be anyone. It could be an Irishman playing James Bond, you know? And it never even crossed my mind that that was an issue because actors are actors. We pretend to be someone else. Superman is an invulnerable alien from the planet Krypton so...

It's very hard to apply your own life to that.

Exactly. And it doesn't matter, I mean if we can find a lad from Krypton who happens to be invulnerable then I think he should play the role. Yeah, he might have a greater insight to the character.

Better qualified for the part.

Quite.

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Yes. I also like the idea of 'a lad from Krypton.' It sounds so charming. It sounds like a musical.

(Laughs) "The Lad From Krypton."

Russell Crowe is smiling and happy as he meets the press to talk about his role as Super-dad Jor-El in "Man of Steel." Compliment his suit and he makes the international sign for Euro-sophistication,​ upturned hand with the fingers meeting above it, as he intones "Giorgio Aaaaarmani." We spoke with Crowe in Burbank about what made him come on board, Jor-El's ultimate fate and what his kids most enjoyed about the film ... 

MSN Movies: You play Jor-El, the father of Kal-El who becomes Superman. We were just talking about the suit you're wearing today, which is a Giorgio Armani. But when you're playing Superman's dad, how much do the clothes make the Kryptonian? You have some great costumes in this; does it help?

Russell Crowe: The council chamber costume was probably the biggest battle I had in the whole movie -- me versus that costume. It was very difficult to even walk around in, that thing, and it's so heavy. And so when you have a fight sequence with it as well and the choreography, one of the moves is like a kick so you're trying to lift up your leg under that, all those layers of material. But the bottom line thing, the essential spandex, four layers of spandex thing, that definitely made you feel powerful.

And the other thing is, you do get to get your fight on a little bit in this. Normally when we see Superman's dad, he's intoning to preside over the launch of the rocket. Was it nice to be slightly more proactive version of that?

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Well, I don’t know those; I've never seen those other films, so I don’t really know what the references are. But certainly I was a little surprised at the size of the character when it first came to me, but I think it's cool. I mean I did have to explain to my kids, that, unfortunately I will die multiple times before their eyes. (Laughs)

A little bit grim.

A little bit.