The Superman actor pulled back the curtain on his experience with Scientology in his 2002 memoir, Nothing Is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life.
Reeve first encountered Scientology while living in New York City in 1975. At the time, the actor had graduated from Cornell University and studied at Juilliard. He had also appeared in the soap opera Love of Life.
The late star was “enjoying [his] life as a young bachelor in the Big Apple” when he saw a man holding a sign that read, “Free personality test, no obligation.”
Reeve ultimately followed the stranger into the New York headquarters of the Church of Scientology, where he filled out a form with personal information, including his address and social security number.
The following day, the Emmy-winning actor returned to the church because he was curious to learn his “personality test” score.
Instead of receiving a score, however, Reeve received a diagnosis.
“There was no score, no grade, no quantitative measurement, just their assessment,” he recounted.
“I was obviously deeply depressed, suffering from low self-esteem, and carrying heavy ‘baggage’ around with me, not only from emotional damage in this incarnation but from previous lives as well.”
The actor, who was not raised in a religious household, said he found the principles of Scientology “logical and highly motivating” and was told he should begin “training” at the center.
This included participating in an “audit,” which, according to the church, helps people rid themselves “of any spiritual disabilities” and increase their “individual abilities.”
“Then my growing skepticism about Scientology and my training as an actor took over,” the actor penned.
Reeve told his auditor that he had been a Greek warship commander in a past life, a story that deeply moved the Scientology member.
“I was simply relying on her ability, assisted by the E-Meter, to discern the truth,” said the star, who later became a Unitarian after being paralyzed in an equestrian accident in 1995.
“The fact that I got away with a blatant fabrication completely devalued my belief in the process.”
