Was Nicholas Hoult always the perfect pick for Lex Luthor? The Superman star reveals the key inspirations behind the DC Universe’s first villain.
It’s truly hard to imagine a better casting origin story for a superhero film. Nicholas Hoult originally auditioned to play Superman in the early days of the DC Universe. However, after losing out to David Corenswet, he was offered the role of Lex Luthor. A more poetic series of events for casting a villain could not be created even in the dastardly devilish mind of Luthor himself.
That proximity to the material provided for Superman actors has paid off in spades when it comes to preparing Nicholas Hoult for the role of Lex Luthor. By knowing the Paragon of Hope’s place in the DC Universe so intimately, the actor was able to breakdown exactly what reason a villain would have for hating him. And much of that, according to Hoult, stems from a jealousy about how Superman is perceived by the wider world around him.
“He’s someone who really worked hard for a long time in terms of science and himself and how he wants to be perceived and his intellect,” Hoult told Entertainment Weekly in a recent profile about his role in Superman. “Even, for me, physically in this, I wanted him to feel like he was as much alpha as possible, where he’s someone who’s, in his mind, done everything he possibly could for himself but also for humanity in some ways.”
“In his mind, he should be adored. And then this person, this superhuman, this alien has come along who all those things come naturally to in many ways. That gives him a deep, deep resentment.”
Lex Luthor’s Ambitions In Superman
Lex Luthor isn’t just bark either. The outlet asked Nicholas Hoult if his incarnation of the villain took any inspiration from real life tech oligarchs, to which the actor admitted that they were a part of his inspiration. This goes hand-in-hand with the character’s compulsions in the DC Universe, with his warpath against Superman being so clear in his mind that everything else falls to the wayside: including keeping a clean head of hair!
“It was an amalgamation of lots of different things. But, yes, it would’ve been foolish of me not to explore that [image] a little bit because of Lex in this story and what he represents.”
“It’s this character who’s so focused on his goals and what he’s trying to achieve; hair would seem frivolous. That would be something that would slow down the progress of what he’s doing.”
For as open as Nicholas Hoult has been about his process of preparing for Superman, fans still don’t know much about how Lex Luthor will play into the film, or even the wider DC Universe. The villain certainly has a big plan cooking up that the audience is entirely ignorant too. Though, if these comments are anything to go by, it’s certain to be an Oscar-worthy performance.
Superman is currently scheduled to hit theaters on July 11, 2025. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the DC Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
