triplet
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Ah.. here's the whole story, registration is free:
Rosenbaum's career boosted by Luthor role
By Dave Mason [email protected]
December 6, 2005
Playing Lex Luthor has boosted Michael Rosenbaum's career.
But it hasn't always been good for his dating.
"I've walked out on some dates because they expected me to be Lex Luthor," the star said in a phone interview from Vancouver, British Columbia, where "Smallville" is filmed. "They meet me and say, 'You're nothing like your character.' I say, 'That's good, right?' They say, 'I like your character.'
"I'm not as cool as Lex," Rosenbaum said.
He said he didn't have to try, though, to convince a Vancouver police officer he was up to no good. An officer in a music store was certain Rosenbaum, who resembled a suspect in a photo, was a thief. The store manager finally convinced him that Rosenbaum was simply "the bald guy on 'Smallville.'"
Rosenbaum explained he tries to be believable as that bald guy. "I don't want to make it cartoony. I've always wanted to make it real. I'll say, 'We need another take. I don't believe what I'm saying (in the scene).' "
Rosenbaum said he stretches further in Thursday's (Dec. 8) episode, airing at 8 p.m. on The WB.
Luthor actually gets to be happy.
"When I first read page 1 of the script and the title, 'Lexmas,'" I almost vomited," Rosenbaum said. "I didn't want to be the first Christmas story. I didn't want to be some bald guy in a Santa suit."
But Rosenbaum kept reading and discovered the story was really a twisted version of the Frank Capra classic "It's A Wonderful Life." "I kept reading and I couldn't put it down," he said.
He laughed. "I don't know if Frank Capra would have filmed this one."
In this week's story, Rosenbaum's Luthor is shot, and while unconscious in the hospital, he has a vision of a happy life, complete with a wife and children. It can be his if he chooses to become a hero instead of the villain he is destined to be.
But the vision has a cruel twist that convinces Luthor to embrace the dark path he has approached during the five seasons of "Smallville." The story is clearly the catalyst for Luthor becoming the enemy of his best friend and future Superman, Clark Kent (Tom Welling).
Rosenbaum, who sounded outgoing on the phone despite late nights of filming that puts his character in an upcoming car chase, said viewers can expect Luthor to get worse after this week.
"A lot of times you don't see why a villain becomes a villain," Rosenbaum said. "And we've never seen what Lex would be like if he was good and if everything he dreamed of came true."
Rosenbaum, who has kept Luthor consistently cold, said it was fun to actually get to play a laughing, happy Lex. "I got to show everyone that this isn't all that I can do.
"I think Lex (in this episode) is a bit more mature than I am at times. This is the family and life he can have, and once he accepts it, there's more of me in him than you've ever seen in Lex," Rosenbaum said.
Rosenbaum said that his agent had to talk him into playing Luthor when "Smallville" started.
"I'm sure fans don't want to hear that I was never a huge comic book fan," said Rosenbaum, an Oceanside, N.Y. native who grew up in Newburgh, Indiana. "I love the 'Superman' movies. I love Gene Hackman (who played Lex Luthor), and I adore Christopher Reeve. But I didn't want to do this part. I had no idea how good it could be."
Rosenbaum feared "Smallville" would lack quality, but the pilot script convinced him to take the role.
Clearly the series has had its shades of grays. Luthor, who has been slowly evolving into a villain, has done some good, even noble deeds. And Clark hasn't been honest with Lex, Rosenbaum said.
"He's not such a super guy; he's got his secrets, and Lex has his," Rosenbaum said.
When he isn't playing Luthor, Rosenbaum is the voice of another DC Comics character, The Flash, on the Cartoon Network series "Justice League Unlimited." And he's a hero of sorts in real life as he, other actors and National Hockey League players team up to play hockey in fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald House.
Being on "Smallville" has had its perks for Rosenbaum. He said that when he visited fellow "Smallville" star John Schneider's house in Agoura Hills, he got to see the General Lee. Schneider, who plays Jonathan Kent and played Bo Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard," keeps the car from one of the "Dukes of Hazzards" TV reunion movies in his garage.
Rosenbaum said he has had concerns about being typecast as Lex Luthor after "Smallville" ends. "But a friend told me, 'You're the only one (in the cast) who can grow his hair back and look completely different.' "
Sometimes it pays to be the bald guy.
Rosenbaum's career boosted by Luthor role
By Dave Mason [email protected]
December 6, 2005
Playing Lex Luthor has boosted Michael Rosenbaum's career.
But it hasn't always been good for his dating.
"I've walked out on some dates because they expected me to be Lex Luthor," the star said in a phone interview from Vancouver, British Columbia, where "Smallville" is filmed. "They meet me and say, 'You're nothing like your character.' I say, 'That's good, right?' They say, 'I like your character.'
"I'm not as cool as Lex," Rosenbaum said.
He said he didn't have to try, though, to convince a Vancouver police officer he was up to no good. An officer in a music store was certain Rosenbaum, who resembled a suspect in a photo, was a thief. The store manager finally convinced him that Rosenbaum was simply "the bald guy on 'Smallville.'"
Rosenbaum explained he tries to be believable as that bald guy. "I don't want to make it cartoony. I've always wanted to make it real. I'll say, 'We need another take. I don't believe what I'm saying (in the scene).' "
Rosenbaum said he stretches further in Thursday's (Dec. 8) episode, airing at 8 p.m. on The WB.
Luthor actually gets to be happy.
"When I first read page 1 of the script and the title, 'Lexmas,'" I almost vomited," Rosenbaum said. "I didn't want to be the first Christmas story. I didn't want to be some bald guy in a Santa suit."
But Rosenbaum kept reading and discovered the story was really a twisted version of the Frank Capra classic "It's A Wonderful Life." "I kept reading and I couldn't put it down," he said.
He laughed. "I don't know if Frank Capra would have filmed this one."
In this week's story, Rosenbaum's Luthor is shot, and while unconscious in the hospital, he has a vision of a happy life, complete with a wife and children. It can be his if he chooses to become a hero instead of the villain he is destined to be.
But the vision has a cruel twist that convinces Luthor to embrace the dark path he has approached during the five seasons of "Smallville." The story is clearly the catalyst for Luthor becoming the enemy of his best friend and future Superman, Clark Kent (Tom Welling).
Rosenbaum, who sounded outgoing on the phone despite late nights of filming that puts his character in an upcoming car chase, said viewers can expect Luthor to get worse after this week.
"A lot of times you don't see why a villain becomes a villain," Rosenbaum said. "And we've never seen what Lex would be like if he was good and if everything he dreamed of came true."
Rosenbaum, who has kept Luthor consistently cold, said it was fun to actually get to play a laughing, happy Lex. "I got to show everyone that this isn't all that I can do.
"I think Lex (in this episode) is a bit more mature than I am at times. This is the family and life he can have, and once he accepts it, there's more of me in him than you've ever seen in Lex," Rosenbaum said.
Rosenbaum said that his agent had to talk him into playing Luthor when "Smallville" started.
"I'm sure fans don't want to hear that I was never a huge comic book fan," said Rosenbaum, an Oceanside, N.Y. native who grew up in Newburgh, Indiana. "I love the 'Superman' movies. I love Gene Hackman (who played Lex Luthor), and I adore Christopher Reeve. But I didn't want to do this part. I had no idea how good it could be."
Rosenbaum feared "Smallville" would lack quality, but the pilot script convinced him to take the role.
Clearly the series has had its shades of grays. Luthor, who has been slowly evolving into a villain, has done some good, even noble deeds. And Clark hasn't been honest with Lex, Rosenbaum said.
"He's not such a super guy; he's got his secrets, and Lex has his," Rosenbaum said.
When he isn't playing Luthor, Rosenbaum is the voice of another DC Comics character, The Flash, on the Cartoon Network series "Justice League Unlimited." And he's a hero of sorts in real life as he, other actors and National Hockey League players team up to play hockey in fundraisers for the Ronald McDonald House.
Being on "Smallville" has had its perks for Rosenbaum. He said that when he visited fellow "Smallville" star John Schneider's house in Agoura Hills, he got to see the General Lee. Schneider, who plays Jonathan Kent and played Bo Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard," keeps the car from one of the "Dukes of Hazzards" TV reunion movies in his garage.
Rosenbaum said he has had concerns about being typecast as Lex Luthor after "Smallville" ends. "But a friend told me, 'You're the only one (in the cast) who can grow his hair back and look completely different.' "
Sometimes it pays to be the bald guy.
now excuse me while I take a power drill to my temple 
