Jesse Eisenberg Loves Playing Characters Like Lex Luthor

Jesse Eisenberg loves playing characters like Lex Luthor. The Batman v. Superman star talked to Collider about what he does to approach playing characters like the iconic supervillain. He might have only gotten that one chance to bring Luthor to life, along with a post-credits appearance in Justice League, but would absolutely welcome the challenge again. Eisenberg talked about the allure of playing someone who is not necessarily pure evil, but end up being twisted along the way. Even so, his comments here are rather illuminating.

“Yeah. When I write for myself, I end up playing characters that are probably more villainous than they are sweet,” Eisenberg said. “I’ve had four plays in New York, and I played the main character in three of them, and they were all despicable people, so I must unconsciously want to do that. I don’t know why. Even with Marceau, he starts the movie in this self-absorbed way. I really do like that, for some reason. I don’t know exactly why. So, certainly, when I create something for myself, I do that, and would love to do it in another movie, if given the chance, but only if it’s depicted in a way that feels nuanced rather than just pure evil, or somebody jumping out of the closet.”

The actor just reiterated that he would be open to revisiting Luthor earlier this month in an interview with In The Panda.

“Oh yeah, I would very much like to because it’s such a cool character,” Eisenberg said then. “Playing a villain in a superhero movie is the fun part. The good guys are fine, but the villains are the fun part because they get to be a little bit more flamboyant. Of course, the hero gets to, you know, survive. But, the villain has all the funny lines. I don’t know about the first part, but the second part is something that I could definitely be involved in, sure.”

Before that, he told Variety that he had no idea what was in store down the road.

“I hope so,” Eisenberg said to Variety. “I mean, I have no idea is the truth. I love playing the character. Probably in terms of movie acting, it’s the most enjoyable character I’ve had the opportunity to play. So I would love to do it again. But I don’t know what their slate is. If you have any pull, please use it.”

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