Nicholas Hoult Has ‘Been Working Out’ to Play Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s ‘Superman,’ Taking Inspiration From ‘All-Star Superman’ Comic
variety.comZack Sharf Digital News Director Lex Luthor met Lex Luthor as Nicholas Hoult was the latest guest on the “Inside of You” podcast with host Michael Rosenbaum.
Hoult is taking on the role of Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s upcoming “Superman,” which is now filming in Atlanta. Rosenbaum spent seven seasons playing a younger version of the villain on “Smallville.” Hoult revealed that Rosenbaum’s Lex was the first Lex he ever saw on screen as he watched “Smallville” long before getting a look at Gene Hackman’s Lex in Richard Donner’s “Superman” movies. “The first ever Lex I saw was you.
I grew up and ‘Smallville’ was on. I was 11 or 12,” Hoult said. “That was the show I would watch and it was the first iterations I would see of Superman and Lex and all those stories.
I love your portrayal. Are you kidding me? It’s the best.” Hoult appeared on the “Inside of You” podcast a few weeks before filming got underway on James Gunn’s “Superman.” He still had a head of hair at the time and confirmed he would be going bald to play Lex. “Yes, I’m shaving my head,” Hoult said. “I was thinking of letting my boys shave it for me and just giving them a pair of clippers.” A cast photo released by James Gunn a few weeks later confirmed that Hoult had shaved his head.
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