'Supergirl' Baddie Jon Cryer Says 'Superman: The Movie' Changed His Life

Jon Cryer may be bringing Lex Luthor to the Arrowverse tonight when the character makes his Supergirl debut, but it won't be the first time the actor has played a Luthor. Back in 1987, Cryer appeared as Lenny Luthor, Lex's nephew in Superman IV and while his Supergirl role owes as lot to Lenny, it's actually Superman: The Move that Cryer credits with changing his life.

Speaking with reporters at a screening of tonight's episode, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", Cryer opened up about how Superman: The Movie was a pivotal moment for him.

"No, seriously. It was," Cryer said. "But again, five minutes in I was like, 'Yeah, I have to do this.' You know, just because I loved it so much. I loved the comics ad a kid, and part of the reason that I did Superman IV was because Superman: The Movie, the first one changed my life."

"I think I was 14 years old, and their tagline was, 'You will believe a man can fly' and boy, I bought it. I totally bought it."

As a fan, it was certainly incredibly exciting for Cryer to get to be part of the Superman film franchise as Lenny, a comic relief character -- something that had become increasingly important as the Superman franchise aged. Unfortunately, though, that aging led to Superman IV not being particularly well-received -- something that Cryer admits hurt him, but now he feels like he has a chance to get things right.

"Part of me, you know Superman IV had very high hopes, but unfortunately, it was very disappointing for people, and that had always sort of hurt me in a very 14-year-old boy way," Cryer said. "And so I thought, 'this is my chance to do it right.'"

Doing it right will include what sounds like a complex relationship with not only Lex's sister, Lena, but Supergirl herself. Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) being the cousin of Superman will have a unique relationship to the villain -- especially since he will see her as a part of the problem, not the solution.

"He includes her among the alien hordes that are destroying Earth, and to some degree, I was trying to explore his understanding of her, because I do believe that if humanity was faced with super-powered aliens, it would be deeply threatening," Cryer explained. "I don't see that he's completely wrong ... except the sociopath part."

Fans will get their chance to see if Cryer does it right by Lex tonight in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Supergirl airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday nights, before episodes of Charmed, on The CW.