Jude Law had a "flirtation" with playing Superman.

The 51-year-old actor confirmed he was in the running to portray Clark Kent and his alter ego in the early 2000s for the ultimately-scrapped J.J. Abrams-penned movie called 'Superman: Flyby', but he felt the project was a "step to far" for him.

Speaking in an upcoming episode of The Playlist’s The Discourse podcast, Jude said when asked about rumours he was up for Superman: "So this is true. Yeah. And there was a process of flirtation going on.

“And I always resisted because it just felt like [off]. And I know you can say, ‘Well, but you played Yonn-Rogg and Dumbledore!’ It just felt like a step too far.

“And it was when Brett Ratner was going to direct, I think."

Jude even tried on the character's iconic suit in a bid to "change [his] mind" but he couldn't "sell" himself into the role.

He said: “And they didn’t have a script, if I remember rightly. Did they have a script? I don’t remember reading one. This is a long time ago. They brought me the suit. They thought, ‘This might change your mind.'

"it wasn’t the Reeve suit. It was a kind of like it was more metallic.

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

Jude's comments come after Matt Bomer recently claimed he was also in the running for the lead role in 'Superman: Flyby' but got dropped because of his sexuality.

Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter's 'Awards Chatter' podcast, he said: “I went in on a cattle call for 'Superman', and then it turned into a one-month audition experience where I was auditioning again and again and again.

“It looked like I was the director’s choice for the role. I signed a three-picture deal at Warner Bros..

"This is a very early iteration of 'Superman' written by J.J. Abrams, called 'Superman: Flyby', I think is what it was called, and it never came to light.”

Matt - who only came out publicly in 2012, a year after he got married to Simon Halls - was then asked if his sexuality was a factor behind him not getting the job and he replied: “Yeah, that’s my understanding. That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponised against you.

"How, and why, and who [outed me], I don’t know, but yeah, that’s my understanding.”