Jude Law Reveals He Turned Down Playing Superman After Trying on Costume: 'You Can't Do This'

Jude Law is sharing why he opted not to portray Superman.

Law, 51, recently told The Playlist's The Discourse podcast that he was among the scores of actor who auditioned to play the iconic superhero figure when Warner Bros. Pictures was in preproduction with filmmaker Brett Ratner on a project known as Superman: Flyby in the early 2000s.

“So this is true. Yeah. And there was a process of flirtation going on,” he said, in a moment from the upcoming podcast episode teased by the outlet. "And I always resisted because it just felt like [off]. And I know you can say, ‘Well, but you played Yon-Rogg and Dumbledore!’ It just felt like a step too far.”

"And they didn’t have a script, if I remember rightly. Did they have a script? I don’t remember reading one," he added. "This is a long time ago. They brought me the suit. They thought, ‘This might change your mind.’ ”

The actor noted that he tried on a version of a Superman costume, though it was not the suit the late actor Christopher Reeve wore while portraying the character in the 1970s and '80s. "Anyway, I tried it on and I looked in the mirror and part of me initially was like, ‘Wow, this would be a [good thing],’ and then I just thought, ‘No, you can’t – you can’t do this. You can’t,' " Law recalled.

"And I didn’t sell myself to myself. And I stepped away and the film never happened anyway," he added. "So maybe it probably wouldn’t have done anything."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Filmmaker Ratner's Superman project never fully got off the ground; it was instead revived by director Bryan Singer with 2006's Superman Returns, which starred Brandon Routh in the title role. Coincidentally, Matt Bomer also recently discussed his brush with the character while auditioning for Ratner's same project; he told The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast on June 10 that he lost the role after he was outed as gay.

"That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you," Bomer, 46, said, after he was asked whether his sexual orientation affected his casting. "How, and why, and who, I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.”

Routh, now 44, only portrayed Superman for one movie — Warner Bros. rebooted the series once more for 2013's Man of Steel, at which point Henry Cavill took over portraying the DC hero.