The Official Lex Luthor Casting Thread - Part 5

[chamber-music]

I would rather see Chiwetel Ejiofor as Black Panther and his a great actor. He was good in Dirty Pretty Things, Children Of Men, Endgame and The Shadow Line.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is also critically acclaimed for his stage work.

 

[storyteller]

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lex.......no......I have only seen him in Serenity and from that....no way would he be good as Lex. As for the race card, all I'll say is that whenever a comic book character is changed in movies/tv shows its never a good thing, the only exception to that based on what I have seen is Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (yes I know the Ultimate's Fury is black, but the original is not).

Can anyone actually name one other race switch that actually worked?....I actually do want to know cause like I said Jackson is the only acceptation I got, would be nice if there were more.

Off the top of my head the ones that just didnt work.....

Will Smith as Jim West
Michael Clarke Duncan as King Pin
Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
Sam Jones III as Pete Ross
Frank Langella as Perry White (HUGE shocker to me since I think the guy is awesome)
Jessica Alba as Sue Storm
Beyonce as Wonder Woman (never happened but was rumored but OMG that was a train wreck waiting to happen)
Halle Berry as Catwoman would be on the list, however she did not play Selena Kyle, there for she doesn't count as its a totally different character....still sucked but for a different reason lol

Oh the guy from THOR...Heimdall or whatever, he was decent (he was hardly there and didnt do all that much), still waiting on Laurence Fishburne as Perry White (plz be good lol).

Bottom line....stick with the basics cause when you screw with the character like that, chances are your gonna mess up...badly..

How can you even have a valuable opinion if you are unfamiliar with an actors work? Also I think its very ignorant to say that race change doesn't work and not explain why. Why didn't any of these roles work for you. did Kingpin being black make him less like Wilson Fisk? Lana didn't seem play up any asian stereotypes except that one china witch storyline but that was all crap writing and not an issue with race. Pete Ross being black never seemed to be an issue. To me that was the writers once again. If he had been white how would he have been better?

Honestly some of those characters were simply bad write that casting the correct race wouldn't have mattered. changing race isn't the issue. A poorly written character is a poorly written character.

 

[Brian2887]

How can you even have a valuable opinion if you are unfamiliar with an actors work? Also I think its very ignorant to say that race change doesn't work and not explain why. Why didn't any of these roles work for you. did Kingpin being black make him less like Wilson Fisk? Lana didn't seem play up any asian stereotypes except that one china witch storyline but that was all crap writing and not an issue with race. Pete Ross being black never seemed to be an issue. To me that was the writers once again. If he had been white how would he have been better?

Honestly some of those characters were simply bad write that casting the correct race wouldn't have mattered. changing race isn't the issue. A poorly written character is a poorly written character.

Exactly. I think the most important thing in casting a film is finding someone who embodies the character, no matter their race. To those who would pull out the: "Would you make Black Panther white?" argument, I'd certainly say no. Black Panther is an African prince. He's black; it's actually part of his character. Similarly, I wouldn't cast a minority as Daredevil. His Irish Catholic heritage is a huge part of his character. But, Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin was fine. Donald Glover as Spider-Man would have been acceptable too, in my eyes.

Comic book characters, for the most part, were created at a time when every character was white. It was just the culture. If there was a minority character, they were nothing but stereotypes. When translating these larger than life heroes and villains to the screen, consider who they are, not what color they are. And, to me, that's the truest interpretation of these classic characters.

Chiwetel Ejiofor for Lex!

 

[N7 Joseph Shepard]

How can you even have a valuable opinion if you are unfamiliar with an actors work?

I said quite clearly that based on what I had seen of him in Serenity I did not think he could pull of Lex. While its not everything he has done it does qualify as "being familiar with the actors work".


as for the rest....

King Pin I wont say much on cause the only other means I have to base him on is the comics and the cartoon of which yea the movie version was a millionx worse and that can be found just about anywhere you look and is multiple people's opinions, you dont believe so....good for you, enjoy the movie.

Lana Lang played by Kirsten Krerk is considered by far the worst Lana ever (I think I read a article that said Stacy Haiduk is considered the best, not sure though), one of the better in looks but worst as far as anything else goes. When it was first announced that she got the part the very first thing that was complained about was that she was Asian (actually she's half) and yea it was actually used more than just he witch storyline.

Pete Ross played by Sam Jones III.....the character was completely re-written, you know who they wrote as Pete on Smallville? Chloe, everything about Chloe's relationship with Clark is the silver age Pete Ross (just change the obvious parts and being a journalist who's Lois Lane's cousin). They changed Pete Ross to fit the actor which sorry is exactly what alot of you guys are saying just the opposite (the actor has to embody the character, not the other way around), after 3 seasons of that crap they figured since Chloe is being written as Pete anyways they might as well ditch the Pete character altogether...and thats exactly what they did.

Does bad writing have anything to do with is, absolutely, but if the actor fits then it doesn't matter how bad the writing is (Sam.L J again....in Iron Man 2 which Downey even said was horribly written).


Alot of the ppl I listed are good if not great actors (some total **** anyway), they just did not fit who they were cast as.


oh and @Majik1387........Alba is just a **** actress, everyone knows it, she's only around for her looks, thats it.


Anyway thats all I'm gonna say about that, lets just get back on topic instead of talking about other ppl lol

 

[Micromind]

Nic Cage as Lex Luthor.

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

I'm going to throw a name out there that most of you would probably NEVER have thought of. This person's name is Billy Zane. You are probably thinking to yourself "Who is this Billy Zane person?" Well once you see his picture, ALL debate will be over. I mean look at him! He's bald! That alone is enough to be THE perfect Lex Luthor. Come on Zack Snyder, make it happen!

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Before I read the post, I saw the pic and I almost flew into a wild rage and threw my computer at a wall.

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

Before I read the post, I saw the pic and I almost flew into a wild rage and threw my computer at a wall.

Ain't I a stinka?!

 

[Micromind]

Nic Cage could work as long as he can tone down his expressions and give a controlled, understated performance, sadly his recent movies are not as good as his older movies, in terms of acting.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Do you think it'd make him to happy to know he brings so much laughter into my life?

Seriously, I'm still giggling and crying a little bit, and it's been a good five mins since I read your post

I mean, the Nic Cage one woulda made me chuckle, but Zane is just puts me in hysterics now.

 

[Eddie Dean]

I loved him in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight!

 

[Micromind]

I want Lex Luthor to be a cunning, shrewd businessman, who understands technology and how to use it, but please do not make him as a super genius who is a millionaire and a brilliant scientist - inventor (like Tony Stark gone bad).

Smallville did get the Lex Luthor's character right.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Billy Zane would be okay as long as the rest of the cast loses their ability to act whenever he's onscreen so that he doesn't stand out.

 

[Rocanrol]

Have you seen him in The Believer?

 

[Eddie Dean]

No, but I saw him in Memory. He was craptastic!

 

[HighFivingMF]

I loved him in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight!

Nothing about Demon Knight wasn't awesome though.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Well, Jada Pinkett.

 

[Rocanrol]

I watched him act in several opportunities and didn't thought he was a bad actor. Maybe he just acted in movies with bad scripts and bad directors... That makes the trick in any case. Same with the Star Wars prequels. A cast of all-stars, making a pretty bad generation of movies.

 

[Project862006]

Jason Isaacs

since NBC canceled awake

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Jason Isaacs

since NBC canceled awake

If he were to be cast as Lex because of that cancellation, i'd forgive them. As it is, I was really enjoying that show... Isaacs was fantastic in it

 

[elgaz]

He's not someone I would have immediately thought of in terms of looks, but I think Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who plays Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones would be an interesting Lex. He's really perfected how to play a manipulative, egotistical, smug and unlikeable character.

I also quite like Blair Underwood

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I could see Nikolaj

 

[flickchick85]

I'd rather see Nikolaj as Batman or Daredevil, tbh (I know he's best-known for his "evil" Game of Thrones character, but he also plays brooding heroes really well). That said, he's not a bad suggestion for Lex at all. I could definitely see that working.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Never thought of Nikolaj for Lex, but I could see it. I think I'd rather see him play a superhero than a villain though; he just has the right look for it. I like the Daredevil suggestion. I also think he could make an amazing Aquaman, if that movie ever happens.

 

[elgaz]

True, he has a look that lends itself more to a superhero than a villain. But then again - if this is a modern incarnation of Lex (a politician, or CEO), and not the two-bit criminal we've gotten used to in films, perhaps that look would be part of his character. People actually like him and that's one of the reasons why he's got as successful as he is, but very few know just how deceitful and manipulative he is.

I'd like a Lex who looks like he could be your best friend, but will stab you in the back as soon as you turn. As good as Spacey and Hackman and co were, they always had the cigar-chomping villain look about them anyway.