Almost a decade after Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Jesse Eisenberg is opening up about his time playing Superman's archenemy. The actor debuted his unique take on the businessman and scientific mastermind in the aforementioned film and reprised his role for both the theatrical release of Justice League and Zach Snyder's Justice League.
In a recent appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd (via IndieWire), Eisenberg discussed the reception of his Lex Luthor and the film overall: “I was in this ‘Batman’ movie and the ‘Batman’ movie was so poorly received, and I was so poorly received — I’ve never said this before and it’s kind of embarrassing to admit — but I genuinely think it actually hurt my career in a real way because I was poorly received in something so public.” He continued by explaining how being in a widely distributed film that was perceived badly affected him personally.
Though the actor had “been in poorly received things that just don’t see the light of day," Batman v Superman's broader release meant that its impact was harder to escape. Eisenberg explained: "For the most part no one knows, but this was so public, and I don’t read notices or reviews or movie press or anything, so I was unaware of how poorly it was received.” The actor clarified that "if [an actor is] in a huge, huge movie and not seen as good, the people who are choosing who to put next in their movie are just not going to select" them.
While it was certainly a controversial portrayal, I didn't think Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor was all that bad. The same intelligence and cold ambition to end Superman was still present, just packaged in a more modernized depiction. That said, I can understand why some fans were turned off by Eisenberg's more eccentric performance.
Despite the film's reception, Eisenberg enjoyed working on it and has no ill will toward Zack Snyder or any of the creatives behind Batman v. Superman. The actor "loved [his] role" and "loved the movie." As a result, he blames himself for his Lex not collecting with fans. He stated: “I’m not like 'they did me wrong,' no, I’m like, ‘Oh I guess I did something wrong there,’ and so it did feel like I had to climb out again.”
Eisenberg's comments regarding Lex provided an unfiltered look at how the industry operates. Regardless of the other creatives who work on crafting a character, audiences often place any emotion, negative or positive, onto the performer. As a result, Eisenberg's atypical Lex portrayal earned him some negativity from fans who didn't click with his performance, and studios didn't view him as a box office draw anymore.
While his Lex was far from comic-accurate, Eisenberg brought a uniquely manic energy to the role, which seemed to be what director Zack Snyder intended. It is unfair that the actor had to grapple with audiences that struggled to accept the differences between his performance and how the character is usually portrayed. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice featured a lot of big swings in terms of characterization, so Eisenberg's performance — love it or hate it — hit the notes as the film intended, and he clearly put care into it.
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In this high-action film by Zack Snyder, the two DC superheroes face off against one another in a conflict spurred on by the villainous Lex Luthor. The film also features WonderWoman playing a role in the fight against Doomsday and other villains from beyond the Earth. As the world's two most powerful superheroes prepare to destroy each other, an unexpected commonality brings them together to defeat their real enemy.
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