Henry Cavill takes the column inches for his tall, dark portrayal of Superman in Man of Steel, but little Dylan Sprayberry provides a vital backdrop to the character, playing a 13-year-old Clark Kent as the film delves even deeper into the blue-spandex kryptonite-hating super hero.

“I think a lot of the percentage of young boys when they are growing up want to be a superhero. I know I did,” explains Sprayberry to MTV. “I would put a towel on my back, run around, and across my couch and try to practice flying and things like that. So I was definitely a fan just of superheroes in general and then you have Superman the ultimate superhero — it was like a dream come true.”

At the tender age of 14, Dylan has an impressive list of credits to his name from Criminal Minds to Glee, as well as starring alongside his 12-year-old sister Ellery Sprayberry in Soccer Mom. This will actually be his sixteenth movie, so we’re expecting a mature performance from the youngster.

Watch the Man of Steel trailer:

Man of Steel, which also stars Michael Shannon – star of Boardwalk Empire - as the evil General Zod, is due for release THIS friday, June 14th. And who knows, if the they decide to run this story like the Dark Knight Trilogy, Sprayberry might be playing Superman instead of Clark Kent in a few years.

Dylan and Ellery SprayberryYoungsters - Dylan and Ellery Sprayberry

Henry Cavill
Cavill's the perfect Superman