James Gunn Reveals Who His Favorite Lex Luthor Actor Is; Who's Your Favorite!?
DC Studios Co-CEO and Superman: Legacy director James Gunn was recently a guest on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, and while on the show he revealed who his favorite Lex Luthor actor is.
While Gunn and Rosenbaum were discussing Lex Luthor as a character and the possibility of the villain appearing in Superman: Legacy, the filmmaker revealed that Rosenbaum’s version of Luthor in Smallville was his favorite iteration of the character in live-action. He said: “You are the best Lex, let’s admit it. We know you’re the best Lex.”
When Rosenbaum said that the director was just “being funny,” Gunn confirmed that he wasn’t and added: “I’m not being funny — you’re the best Lex. Definitely … But not right for my movie. I didn’t say there was even a Lex in it.”
So, there you have it. Gunn’s favorite version of Lex Luthor is Rosenbaum. Other actors that have portrayed the character of the years include Lyle Talbot in Atom Man vs. Superman, Gene Hackman in Superman, Superman II & Superman IV, Scott James Wells/Sherman Howard in Superboy, John Shea in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Kevin Spacey in Superman Returns, Jesse Eisenberg in Batman v Superman& Justice League, and Jon Cryer in Supergirl.
While I’ve always loved Gene Hackman in the original Superman movies, I definitely did like Rosenbaum’s version of the character better. He was definitely a version of Lex that I was able to relate to a little more than the other versions of the character.
What about you? Who is your all-time favorite version of Lex Luthor?