World Gene Hackman or Kevin Spacey?

[Comic Book Boy]

Yep, same here.

Great avatar.

 

[Malone]

Hackman. At least he was openly campy. Spacey is a great actor and he did try to convey the idea that this was a more creepy Luthor but he stuck by his intentions. That idea never really materialized on screen.

I agree. I like the idea of a dark Lex Luthor, but Spacey's performance just didn't cut it. It seemed like he was trying to impersonate Gene Hackman, rather than Lex Luthor, while trying to be dark at the same time. Gene Hackman's Luthor was more original, and he fit well in the Christopher Reeve world of Superman.

 

[Billy Batson]

Hey! We all get it now.
SR is the GREATEST adaptation of SUPERMAN of all time! "OF ALL TIME!" voice Hackman's Lex
The cast,crew & fans of SR wipe the floor, with the cast,crew & fans of any other adaptation!

Fans of SUPERMAN!
Stand Before SR!
Now!
Kneel before SR!

 

[mjbull23]

Spacey was more believable for me. If Lex were a real life character, Spacey is closer to what I envision Luthor being. So i cast my vote for spacey, although I will through in this caveat, Hackman was more entertaning to watch in the role. Perhaps it was his delivery, he projected more charisma than Spacey did.

 

[Morgoth]

Spacey IS Luthor, Gene was just some moron.

 

[El Payaso]

Spacey put little to no effort there.

That's why Hackboy for me.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

Hackman,because if there was no Hackman to play Luthor first,Spacey would not have had the job.

 

[Super Kal]

I prefer Spacey over Hackman... Gene was just too campy for my tastes.

 

[Mr.E.Nygma]

Kevin Spacey because he can play the good, the bad and both at same time! He is a hell of an actor!!!!!!! One of the best in decades!

Spoiler

Kevin Spacey>Gene Hackman...in his whole career

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

1. Clancy Brown
2. John Shea
3. Michael Rosenbaum

I can agree with that

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

According to Spacey he wasn't playing Hackman's Lex. He was playing Singer's Lex.
---
With the cinema’s Luthor most famously portrayed by Gene Hackman, Spacey left it up to Bryan Singer to guide his own portrayal. “I didn't watch them, in terms of the respect for the Donner movies. I figured Bryan was going to take care of that completely, because he does so admire it, and he has such respect for the genre. I mean, Bryan unlike me grew up loving the comic book and stuff, and I never was into that when I was a kid. But I sort of avoided seeing it. Also, I accepted the movie before I saw the script and that's because I trust Bryan completely. But he'd given me a sort of shape and idea, and the thing he kept saying was, ‘This is going to be a much darker, a much more bitter, a much more seeking revenge Lex Luthor than we've seen before.’ And so I thought, ‘Well, it's probably best I don't get another performance in my head,’ so I just kind of avoided seeing it.”

 

[A.J.Rimmer(BSC)]

Both suck in my opinion.

I think that its really sad that the two big budget film 'franchises' have used technically better actors and produced worse Lex Luthors (nay, arch-enemies in general) than two long running super-soap operas.

Rosenbaum is easily the best Luthor, whilst Shea at least gave it a good bash.

 

[matthooper]

Neither were good Luthors, but Hackman had a charm and wit. Spacey's "Lex" had nothing. At least it felt like Hackman was trying. Donner wanted a lighter Lex and he got it. Whether it is a good portrayal of Lex or debatable, but it was a good performance.

Spacey's Lex was just bad. He is a fine actor but his performace in SR had nothing. It felt like he was reading cue-cards and didn't want to be there. I know he had those personal problems in London around that time so maybe that explains it.

 

[afan]

Wether or not STM's Luthor character was good "Luthor" or not, he(Hackman) certainly was more fun to watch than SR's Luthor(Spacey). Could be that Hackman was given more to work with, the Luthor / Superman / Otis scenes are delightfully clever, and light years better than any character interaction in SR, so for my money give me Hackman.

By the way I found the Luthor character in SR to be a loathsome individual. Just can't see Hackman's Luthor or any iteration of the character playing the gigolo, whether she be an attractive fox or an old dying woman!

 

[Cryogenic]

Hackman -- by MILES and MILES and MILES.

I like Spacey in the right roles (e.g. "The Usual Suspects", "Se7en", "American Beauty", "K-PAX") ................ but he was really bland as Luthor, IMO. He had little complexity and barely interacted with the other characters.

By contrast..........

Gene Hackman delivered an incredibly stylish, cunning and nuanced performance as Lex Luthor. As far as I am concerned, his performance is Oscar-caliber. He rarely gets the respect I feel he's owed -- even by FANS of his portrayal. He had such an uncanny sense of timing as Lex. And the writing itself was LEAPS AND BOUNDS better. In the Donner movies, Luthor actually has a real relationship with his sidekicks, Otis and Miss Tessmacher, almost to the point that he's a needy child who in someway needs them around to paradoxically feel superior and gain their approval. It's a subtext no one seems to talk about, but if you watch the films carefully and closely enough, it's there. Hackman also had fantastic interplay with Terence Stamp in the sequel. Honestly, his performance remains one of my favourites of all time.

 

[afan]

Hackman -- by MILES and MILES and MILES.

I like Spacey in the right roles (e.g. "The Usual Suspects", "Se7en", "American Beauty", "K-PAX") ................ but he was really bland as Luthor, IMO. He had little complexity and barely interacted with the other characters.

By contrast..........

Gene Hackman delivered an incredibly stylish, cunning and nuanced performance as Lex Luthor. As far as I am concerned, his performance is Oscar-caliber. He rarely gets the respect I feel he's owed -- even by FANS of his portrayal. He had such an uncanny sense of timing as Lex. And the writing itself was LEAPS AND BOUNDS better. In the Donner movies, Luthor actually has a real relationship with his sidekicks, Otis and Miss Tessmacher, almost to the point that he's a needy child who in someway needs them around to paradoxically feel superior and gain their approval. It's a subtext no one seems to talk about, but if you watch the films carefully and closely enough, it's there. Hackman also had fantastic interplay with Terence Stamp in the sequel. Honestly, his performance remains one of my favourites of all time.

Totally agree.
For example: Luthor / Hackman's brief pantomime response to Miss Teschmacher / Perrine's plea for her mother who lives in Hackensack beats the entirety of Spacey's performance in SR.

 

[Cryogenic]

Totally agree.
For example: Luthor / Hackman's brief pantomime response to Miss Teschmacher / Perrine's plea for her mother who lives in Hackensack beats the entirety of Spacey's performance in SR.

Excellent example! One of my favourite moments! t:

And again, it all goes back to timing (quite literally in that moment, too): The sublime flair that Hackman has for dialogue and delivery echoes Sinatra at the height of his singing. THAT'S how good I find Hackman to be. Every moment is delivered with amazing style and precision.

Reading back through this thread just now, I see that someone termed Spacey as "bored". I couldn't agree more. He seemed to be just going through the motions. His I'm-really-cynical-and-above-everyone schtick has grown thin. Hackman has FAR more range. And consider: He didn't want to take the part on originally because he was afraid that it would tarnish his career as a serious actor, yet Donner won him round, and look at the result. Hackman has had a really diverse career, acting in some outstanding films like "Bonnie And Clyde", "The French Connection", "Superman", "Unforgiven" and "The Royal Tenenbaums", and completely transforming lesser films like "Mississippi Burning", "Crimson Tide", "Enemy Of The State" and "Heist".

 

[Mr.E.Nygma]

Look, nobody can beat Spacey! Go watch the video linked at the first page of this thread as a proof...now!
EDIT : It's not on the first page

 

[Mr.E.Nygma]

Nobody can beat The Spacey! Go watch this...now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB-OHvAdDkc

Someone posted this link on another Supes thread, a golden dig!

 

[blind_fury]

Totally agree.
For example: Luthor / Hackman's brief pantomime response to Miss Teschmacher / Perrine's plea for her mother who lives in Hackensack beats the entirety of Spacey's performance in SR.

Yeah. Hackman using a special high pitched device to contact Superman was awesome too. You can hear the confidence and evil in his voice as he tells Superman who's in charge. It's a classic Superman/Lex Luthor moment. It displays Superman's powers and Lex's genius simultaneously.

I can't think of anything that clever or special in all of Superman Returns.

 

[Afsheen]

Spacey IS Luthor, Gene was just some moron.

michael rosenbaum is lex luthor, hands down.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

michael rosenbaum is lex luthor, hands down.

You mean Rosenbaum's portrayal of John Shea's Lex Luthor.

 

[Afsheen]

You mean Rosenbaum's portrayal of John Shea's Lex Luthor.

Idk about John Shea after you posted that i looked up Shea on good old wikipedia, i remember i used to watch Lois & Clark but i was too young to remember the details as of now, but regardless of Shea's performance as Luthor, Michael Rosenbaum portrays Luthor as I have always imagined and seen throughout the comics and cartoons. Luthor is one of my favorite villains and unlike the crazier depiction of Luthor in the films, I would much rather see a Luthor that is for the most part cool headed, extremely intelligent, and truly a match for Superman. The Luthor in the films is no match for Superman, the only thing the Luthor really can use is kryptonite, but when we turn to the comics and cartoons, we really see that Luthor has many other attributes that rival Superman's all inclusive powers, and when I watch Rosenbaum depicting Luthor, I feel as though I am watching Lex Luthor in action and not Rosenbaum, but on the other hand, in the films, I feel like I'm watching Kevin Spacey, and Gene Hackman. That being said I'll have to revisit those Lois & Clark episodes and check out Shea's performance, because if what you say is true, I assume I will really enjoy Shea's Luthor. Now that is a good trip to take on the magic bus known as YouTube. Thanks for the heads up I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Mike]

Ummm Michael Roenbaum.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Idk about John Shea after you posted that i looked up Shea on good old wikipedia, i remember i used to watch Lois & Clark but i was too young to remember the details as of now, but regardless of Shea's performance as Luthor, Michael Rosenbaum portrays Luthor as I have always imagined and seen throughout the comics and cartoons. Luthor is one of my favorite villains and unlike the crazier depiction of Luthor in the films, I would much rather see a Luthor that is for the most part cool headed, extremely intelligent, and truly a match for Superman. The Luthor in the films is no match for Superman, the only thing the Luthor really can use is kryptonite, but when we turn to the comics and cartoons, we really see that Luthor has many other attributes that rival Superman's all inclusive powers, and when I watch Rosenbaum depicting Luthor, I feel as though I am watching Lex Luthor in action and not Rosenbaum, but on the other hand, in the films, I feel like I'm watching Kevin Spacey, and Gene Hackman. That being said I'll have to revisit those Lois & Clark episodes and check out Shea's performance, because if what you say is true, I assume I will really enjoy Shea's Luthor. Now that is a good trip to take on the magic bus known as YouTube. Thanks for the heads up I'll be sure to check it out.

NP. When Rosenbaum received a Saturn award he actually gave credit to having played John Shea's Lex. You'll like it. Season 1 and 2 only though.