'Superman' actor Christopher Reeve's children pay tribute to their parents' heroism

The documentary "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" celebrates the late actor's real-life heroism and the role of his family after a 1995 horse riding accident left him paralyzed.

Best known for his portrayal of comic book icon Superman in the 1978 movie and its three sequels, Reeve became an activist for the treatment of spinal cord injuries and an advocate for disability rights and care. His late wife Dana Reeve and children Will, Matthew and Alexandra were essential in helping him throughout this life-changing transition.

ABC News' Linsey Davis sat down with the three Reeve children to discuss the documentary, their memories of their father's accident, Dana's role and how treatment of such injuries has changed.

ABC NEWS: Thank you all so much for joining us for this really important, moving conversation. I want to start actually in a very unconventional way because, obviously, on the face of it, this movie is about "Superman" and about Christopher Reeve.

But really, I think it's almost, a subplot is the strength, courage and superpower of love and devotion of Dana. And so I'm just wondering what you all think is, is the message that you would like viewers to to come away with, with regard to your mom?

WILL: That's kind of you to say, and I'm glad you noticed it because, yes, it's called "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story." But there is no Christopher Reeve story without Dana Reeve, without my mom, and she was a singular gift to the world.

She brought such grace and grit and compassion and courage and all these other things to not only her relationship with our dad, but to her role as a mother and as a, ultimately as a caregiver and as a public figure. And she did it all with a smile on her face.

ABC NEWS: You have this gift, this treasure trove of footage. What came first? Was it that we have all of this, we should do something with this or there was a desire to make a movie. And by the way, we have this whole back story.

MATTHEW: It was kind of a combination. This all started when I was cold emailed by an archive specialist based in the U.K. who wondered if we had home movies and we had this material and if we'd ever thought about doing something. And coincidentally, we had just kind of boxed up a family home and we knew what we had.

We talked amongst ourselves and we thought if we were ever going to do it, now is the right time. So it, it started there. And we really have Dana to thank; she was the family documentarian.

ABC NEWS: And part of that story in the film we hear from, from both of you. Will, you were obviously just 2 years old at the time that the accident happened. But just kind of give us a sense of, of how you all found out and then your first moment seeing your dad.

ALEXANDRA: So, we were so young at the time. Will was only 2. He turned 3 when our dad was still in the intensive care unit. I was 11 at the time and Matthew was 15. And we got the phone call from Dana saying this terrible thing has happened, get here as quickly as you can.

And I remember we were apart at the time, you were up in London and just getting, rushing to find airplane tickets and jump on that plane and then fly over to the hospital where he was in Virginia. But what's amazing about Dana is she knew that the most important thing was for us to be there and to be with dad.

And so, literally, we got off the plane, got to the hospital, and then we were right in there with him. And, you know, he was in the intensive care unit, hooked up to every machine imaginable.

But she said to us, you know, that's still him. He's still there. You go hold his hand and you tell him that you're here and that we're all here for him. And that's really just how we approached all those years after the accident to is, you know, being together is the most important thing.

ABC NEWS: Did it change the way he became as, as a father for, for the three of you?

MATTHEW: I mean, completely. I mean, he went through a very severe near-death experience that left him paralyzed. And that's going to change anyone. But it also changed the ways we could interact together.

We couldn't go skiing or sailing or swimming and things like that, but we could spend time together. And I think also just going through everything that he went through, he became more reflective, became sort of more spiritual and meditative and sort of aware of what relationships really mean and what was important.

ABC NEWS: There is also another moment, a woman who's interviewed who said that prior to him really bringing this attention to, to spinal cord injury and disabled people.

She said that disability was not part of humanity, which I thought was such a profound thing to say. And I'm wondering, with that said, what you all would like to see for the future of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

ALEXANDRA: We are so proud of the legacy of that foundation and the work that it's continuing today. When my dad had his accident, people would talk about spinal cord injury research as the graveyard of neuroscience. Not even worth paying attention. You have an accident. You're in the intensive care unit for a little bit, and then you get sent home or get sent to an institution.

And that is not the case today. There have been hundreds of millions of dollars invested in spinal cord injury research, and people are seeing improved mobility and quality of life.

WILL: And it has a dual mission and a dual legacy. It's the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. And its mission statement or slogan is "Today's Care. Tomorrow's Cure." My mom was focused on getting us through each day and making sure that dad was OK and our family was OK and that we could get from point A to point B literally and figuratively.

And that is where the Paralysis Resource Center came from. There now is a handbook for families that are dealing with this terrifying event. There are resources that are deployed at a federal level and on a more personal and community-based level that directly focus on quality of life for people impacted by paralysis.

ABC NEWS: And how about you being in a cameo in the upcoming "Superman" [movie]?

WILL: I don't know what I can say, Linsey. Maybe we'll talk off-air. No. It is a nice full-circle moment, I think I have half a line in the upcoming "Superman" re-launch.

In all seriousness, what was nice about it, the reason that I jumped at the chance, aside from it being a fun thing to do for a day, was we realize and this whole process of bringing this film out into the world has made us realize, again, on maybe even a bigger level, just how much our dad meant to the world. Especially as Superman.

To know that he matters so much to people in that role. I understood immediately and innately like, I got to do this. It's going to, it's not about me. It's about the people who loved him.

ABC NEWS: Thank you so much for sharing the family story. Really, I think it's, it's a gift for us all. So thank you.

ALEXANDRA: Thank you.

WILL: Thank you.

MATTHEW: Thanks.