Jesse Eisenberg Gives Nicholas Hoult Hilarious Advice On How To Play Lex Luthor

Lucas Aquino
Jan 21, 2024
Jan 22, 2024

As the DCEU closes its curtains, a new dawn rises upon James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe, with an almost completely brand-new cast waiting to perform. In the much-anticipated first movie of the DCU, Superman: Legacy, we already have David Corenswet to replace Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan substitutes Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and the most recent change, Nicholas Hoult replacing Jesse Eisenberg as the villain Lex Luthor.

Though his screen time was brief, Jesse Eisenberg already has the experience of portraying the iconic villain in the 2016 movie Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Recently, the actor gave some witty advice to Nicholas Hoult, who is confirmed to play the new Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, about how he should play the DC big bad. let’s hear Eisenberg’s advice below.

#1. Jesse Eisenberg Roasted His Own Performance In Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

Source: Variety

Normally, when you give advice to an actor on how to play a role, you would reflect on your own performance and suggest to the latter what to follow. However, Jesse Eisenberg has done the complete opposite. Instead of giving Hoult his experience playing Lex, the Now You See Me star bluntly told Hoult to avoid watching his Dawn of Justice performance in the first place.

"Don't watch me!" Eisenberg humorously addressed the matter by straight-up telling Nicholas Hoult to stay away from his Lex Luthor portrayal in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

Source: Warner Bros.

"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,” Eisenberg also added, suggesting that Hoult should make the Lex Luthor role his own.

DC fans are deeply entertained with Eisenberg’s unexpected answer. They believe that while it was a hilarious answer, the actor wasn’t wrong, for his performance in Dawn of Justice was controversial and received a lot of backlash from the DC community.

#2. Jesse Eisenberg’s Only Lex Luthor Performance So Far

Source: Warner Bros.

Jesse Eisenberg made his DCEU debut as Lex Luthor in the 2016 movie Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the movie, Lex Luthor, the owner of LexCorp, manipulates both Batman and Superman from the shadows and makes them turn against each other. In the finale, Luthor also releases Doomsday, a monster created from his and Zod’s DNA, which kills Superman afterward.

While the film was a box office success, its lackluster plot and lazy writing didn’t sit well with fans, and eventually, it received negative reviews. Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luthor wasn’t very well-received either, as he tried to forge the character to his acting style by playing him as a rather paranoid and hot-tempered villain, rather than his calm and cunning comic counterpart. His motivation to manipulate both Batman and Superman also remains unclear in the movie.

#3. Jesse Eisenberg Also Wanted To Play Lex One Last Time

Source: Warner Bros.

Though his portrayal of Lex Luthor was highly controversial, Eisenberg loved playing the character and had expressed his desire to reprise the role in another DCEU movie. However, as the DCEU eventually came to an end in late 2023, the actor knew that it was time to move on. Now, Eisenberg is focusing on his two upcoming projects in 2024, Sasquatch Sunset and A Real Pain.

Source: Warner Bros.

Jesse Eisenberg is the fourth Hollywood performer to have portrayed Lex Luthor on the big screen, after Lyle Talbot in Atom Man vs. Superman, Gene Hackman in Christopher Reeve’s Superman franchise, and Kevin Spacey in Superman Returns.

Do you agree with Jesse Eisenberg’s statement? How would you rate his performance as Lex Luthor in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice? Tell us more in the comments.