The Man of Steel: Henry Cavill displays muscular physique on Superman set

CEBU, Philippines - It's definitely a difficult nickname to live up to. But Henry Cavill proved he has no trouble filling the title of Man Of Steel as he showed off his muscular physique on the set of the new Superman movie in Vancouver, Canada, yesterday.

The 28-year-old British actor looked incredibly buff as he went shirtless to shoot the scenes against the backdrop of a green screen.

Cavill has been working hard to get in the best shape possible to play Superman in the upcoming comic book adaptation.

Talking about his diet and exercise plan, Cavill said recently: 'I’m on 5,000 calories a day… You’ve got to eat protein first, then a little bit of carbs…you’ve got to keep your hunger levels going.

'I’m training two and a half hours a day, pushing my body beyond its normal limits, putting on a lot of muscle mass and just making myself look like Superman.'

And while Stardust actor Cavill also shows off his physique in upcoming movie The Immortals, he said he had to get into a different shape for the Superman film.

He explained: 'It's going to be a different kind of shape. When you see the Immortals shape you'll see what I mean. It'll be fine-tuned and tweaked as we go along.

'But I think it's going to be a different sort of shape from Immortals.'

Cavill also spoke about donning the famous Superman suit - previously worn by actors such as Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh and Dean Cain who have played the superhero in previous film and television adaptations.

He told Total Film: 'It’s extremely cool. There’s no other feeling like it. They just put it on, I turned around and look in the mirror and you can’t really play it cool – you sort of guffaw and laugh.

'I thought "OK, holy hell, this is real, it’s not a joke anymore. This is it…you’re doing it, you’re right in the middle of it." '

Man Of Steel, due for release in 2013, also stars Amy Adams and Clark Kent's fellow Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane.

And talking about taking on the role in a recent interview, Adams said: 'What I love about Lois Lane is that she's been very consistently strong, successful, independent. I'm very attracted to that.

'What I loved about her was that she was able to be smart and be feminine and I think that that's something I know I'm going to teach my daughter, that you don't have to be a man to be powerful.

'You can be a powerful woman.'

Man Of Steel also stars Russell Crowe as Jor-El and Laurence Fishburne as Daily Planet editor Perry White.

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane will also appear as Clark's parents Jonathan and Martha Kent.