‘Supergirl’: Jon Cryer Took Lex Luthor Role Without Reading It

Jon Cryer makes his debut as Lex Luthor on tonight’s episode of Supergirl, “O Brother, Where Art Though?” and while Cryer was The CW series’ producers’ top choice for the role of the iconic villain, the opportunity to play Lex is one that Cryer himself was eager for as well. The actor was so interested in what Supergirl was planning to do with the role that he took it without even reading it.

Speaking with reporters ahead of the character’s much-anticipated debut, Cryer explained that while he had been given the absolute barest of details about what the show wanted to do with the character, he jumped in without really knowing what the plan was for the character.

“No, I didn’t know, because this is one of the roles, I took without reading it,” Cryer said. “Jessica [Queller] had told me a little about what they wanted to do, sort of bare bones, but for me, I really had to wait until I got the actual words, and so, okay, who is this guy and what does he talk like? I had to wait until I saw that, to figure out where we wanted to go. I mean, we talked about who we loved, and obviously, we loved [Gene] Hackman and I was a big fan of Michael Rosenbaum from Smallville. It was never quite articulated. We always kind of left it up in the air and said, ‘Let’s see where this goes.’”

This willingness to be open to how Lex would take shape on Supergirl is something that executive producer Queller called “a huge gift” that allowed them to create something different from other Lex Luthors while still honoring the character’s live-action history.

“So, this was a huge gift to get to create our Lex, and we really wanted to have a singular Lex Luthor, that paid homage to the other famous iconic Lexes, but I am in awe of Mr. Cryer,” Queller said. “I don’t think we possibly could have done better in our casting, and we’re just thrilled.”

And it sounds like fans of Supergirl may be just as thrilled with Cryer’s Lex as well. Our advance review of tonight’s episode has high praise for the actor’s take on the character, describing the villain as being something different than previous versions of the villain while also living up to the hype and history, ultimately coming together as a Lex that “the audience can easily love to hate, and hate to love as well.”

Fans can check out Cryer’s Lex Luthor for themselves 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.

Are you excited for Cryer’s debut as Lex Luthor? Let us know your thoughts and be sure to check back in with us after the episode or hit me up on Twitter @lifeinpolaroid to let us know your thoughts about all things Supergirl.