How Nicholas Hoult Fueled The Fire For His Superman Villain Role
Nicholas Hoult is sharing what fueled his “fire” to fill a classic villain’s shoes in the newest adaptation of the Superman films. As we previously reported, the actor stars as the classic villain, Lex Luthor, in James Gunn’s reboot, titled Superman: Legacy. The actor talked about this and more on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum, of course, played a younger version of Lex Luthor on the drama series Smallville, which ran for ten seasons.
How Hoult Lexed His Luthor
Hoult looked back at his time auditioning for Superman’s arch nemesis, saying Gunn has an “ability to keep things fun and alive and try things in the moment.” The Skins alum says he enjoyed how the DC head shouted his directions from the monitors. The English actor revealed in his new interview that his whole process of prep is to be as prepared as possible, so when you get on set, “You can throw it all away and do whatever you want in the moment.”
As for the physical prep, Hoult found his bit of “fuel for the fire” in his research in the 2005 comic series All-Star Superman, where he talks about his muscles being “real and hard work and all that.” However, for fans thirsting for Hoult’s ripped body, he noted that he doesn’t think the villain will have any shirtless scenes in the film.
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The X-Men: First Class actor revealed the first time he was exposed to Lex Luthor was in Rosenbaum’s version. He told his fellow Lex that growing up, he would watch Smallville. Adding that even after seeing the Superman films by Richard Donner “and all the other ones,” Hoult tells Rosenbaum, “I love your portrayal. Are you kidding me? It’s the best.” Other actors who have portrayed the live-action Luthor include Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jon Cryer.
Superman: Legacy Cast
Gunn’s Legacy began production last week, which he unveiled to fans on Instagram. After the first table read, Hoult appeared in the photo sporting a shaved head. In Gunn’s caption, he listed out everyone as the characters they play, including producer Peter Safran and himself “all together for the first time!”
The rest of the cast in the photo include David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, Terence Rosemore as Otis, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, and María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer.
Just revealed as a new addition to the cast, Gunn revealed Tuesday (March 5) that The Wire alum Wendell Pierce has been cast as Perry White. For those who don’t know, Perry White is the DC Universe’s version of J. Jonah Jameson, as he is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper, the Daily Planet.
Somewhat like Spider-Man‘s hot-headed Jameson, White maintains high ethical journalistic standards and is an archetypal image of the tough, short-tempered, but fair-minded boss. A few months back, Gunn shared on Threads that he and Hoult discussed how they would create a Lex that “will be different from anything you’ve seen before and will never forget.”
Superman: Legacy is set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.
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