Among the many factors that hurt BVS upon its release was its iteration of Superman’s most iconic foe, played by Jesse Eisenberg. Considering Eisenberg’s Luthor was more jittery and Hyperverbal, which made him more in line with the likes of Riddler or even Joker, fans weren’t happy he wasn’t the cold calculated genius that fans love.
But with the DCU under James Gunn set to introduce a new version of Lex Luthor, which will witness Nicholas Hoult in the role, The Social Network Star had some valuable advice stored for Hoult.
Jesse Eisenberg’s Note for Nicholas Hoult Involves Staying Away From His Lex Luthor
While in general, actors tackling iconic roles refer to the ones that come before, Jesse Eisenberg advised Nicholas Hoult against it, bluntly stating to not watch him. Considering the Vivarium Star’s version was a major departure from the classics, which reasonably had fans of the character displeased, the advice of not taking notes from the BVS version does seem right. Upon further expanding on the subject, Eisenberg expressed Hoult should make Lex Luthor his own. He told Variety:
““Don’t watch me!”… “Whenever you play a role you feel connected to it. There’s no way around it. Any time you do anything, even if it’s a movie that’s a Hollywood kind of thing, you connect.”
Considering Gunn seemingly confirmed, Luthor will have gravitas while speaking to Michael Rosenbaum, whom he deemed his favorite Luthor. Fans can expect Luthor to be more in line with the comics.
Also read: James Gunn Didn’t Want His “Favorite” Lex Luthor Actor in Superman: Legacy
Jesse Eisenberg Loved Chris Terio’s Input Into His Lex Luthor
Although Eisenberg advised Nicholas Hoult not to look up to his character, it doesn’t mean that he thinks lowly of his version of the evil genius. To its opposite, the actor felt very personal about the whole thing, as he lauded writer Chris Terio for his input into the character, even past what appeared on screen, delving more into Luthor’s psychic. Per Deadline,
“I felt very personal about it,” he said. “The writer, Chris Terrio, is a very serious writer, and he’s a very emotional person. He thought a lot about my character, and I thought a lot about my character too. I talked with my acting coach about the character a lot, about his backstory with his father and his emotional life—and then people hate me.”
Also read: From Ezra Miller to Jesse Eisenberg: 5 Actors Whose Casting in Zack Snyder’s DCEU Pissed Off DC Fans
The actor further expressed that he’d love to return as the evil genius even though he didn’t grow up as a comic book fan, explaining it was more of playing a great character written by a great writer. But with that window closed as Aquaman 2 marked the end of the previous DCEU, fans will brace themselves to see what DCU’s Lex Luthor has to offer.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is available to stream on Max.
