The Official Lex Luthor Casting Thread

[terry78]

I'm aware of DDL's intense method acting techniques, the question was hypothetical. If Lex was cast with a truly amazing and talented actor but didn't want to do it bald, would that be okay?

No, it would not. No one is above that type of sacrilege. I don't care if the bard came back to life and wanted to take the role, you don't shave off that semi-mullet, you ain't playing Lex.

 

[DorkyFresh]

i wouldnt mind if they had Lex with hair for the first movie and he does some crazy secret experiment that blows up in his face, causing most of his hair to disappear (ala his teen years in Birthright) for him to be bald in the sequel.

 

[GreenKToo]

The lex casting interests me just as much as the superman casting did. I hope they get it right.
I can't help but think we'll get goode in the role tho..runner up for superman, has worked with snyder before, has kinda played a Lex type character already. I could live with him I guess, but i'd prefer a really big name.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Haha, it's funny, given how he was recently mentioned here: I'm watching an interview with Michael Shannon for Boardwalk Empire, and he describes his character as the Lex Luthor to Nucky Thompson's Superman. He even gets the pronounciation of "Luthor" correct.

 

[Matt]

I threw this name out there in the other thread for the sake of discussion, but I actually really like it. He has the commanding presence and voice to really do Luthor justice.

Dennis Haysbert:

 

[terry78]

I threw this name out there in the other thread for the sake of discussion, but I actually really like it. He has the commanding presence and voice to really do Luthor justice.

Dennis Haysbert:

Good as he is, you already know the outcome if he got cast.

 

[Matt]

An awesome Lex Luthor?

You're right, which is why Raybia, Roach, and I were discussing black Luthors to begin with (it spawned out of a conversation about the double standard of fanboys defending a British Superman to their last breath because he is a fan favorite but ****ting bricks when a black Kingpin was cast). None the less, Haysbert would make an awesome Luthor.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I want a younger actor to play Lex Luthor, so if I were to pick a black actor for the role, I'd probably suggest Idris Elba or Chiwitel Ejiofor.

But with some people already having this flawed perception of Superman being this "Truth, Justice and the American Way" Republican Tea Party icon, having a black Lex Luthor may further the analogy with people claiming he's being used as an Obama analogue.

 

[Puckenstein]

This is MY black Luthor...

 

[Keyser Soze]

I think Lance Reddick would be a better Brainiblack.

 

[terry78]

We already saw what was up with Idris and Heimdall and MCD and Kingpin. Some fanboys eventually got down with the program, others to this day still curse the choice that was made. I somewhat confess it's our own fault for putting comics on the pedestal we do. Not that I dismiss my love for them, but I know that's what we do.

 

[DorkyFresh]

i could buy MCD as Kingpin (mainly because there weren't many white actors that fit the role at the time) but i can't accept a black Lex Luthor when we have so many actors that could play him. there are probably 5 or more actors mentioned here that could be GREAT as Lex Luthor....but the same can't be said for actresses for Lois and/or actors for Superman before he was cast.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I will never complain about a person of color who is a good actor getting a good role.

 

[Puckenstein]

I think Lance Reddick would be a better Brainiblack.

Nice.

 

[SuperDaniel]

Denzel would be just great as Luthor. This would bring a lot of credibility to the project.

 

[Puckenstein]

Blex?

 

[KRIM]

An awesome Lex Luthor?

You're right, which is why Raybia, Roach, and I were discussing black Luthors to begin with (it spawned out of a conversation about the double standard of fanboys defending a British Superman to their last breath because he is a fan favorite but ****ting bricks when a black Kingpin was cast). None the less, Haysbert would make an awesome Luthor.

May I ask how? Nationality can be feigned. The stubbornness of a select few result from the short sightedness of not believing an actor can accurately mimic another accent. Of course, they are wrong.

This is an issue of accurately adapting the aesthetics of characters and their world. My firmness in not wishing for a black Luthor is as equivalent as to not wishing he was short and fat. It's not representative of the Luthor I grew up on and prefer.

To be perfectly honest there's no excuse to deviate from the general image of a bald, average to muscular build, white man. This is one of the easiest roles to cast because there are dozens of candidates in Hollywood that could suit this part well. All the actors mentioned in this page so far are good in their own right. But so great that it's worth altering the iconography of Lex? Absolutely not. We've got a ridiculous abundance of talented white actors.

 

[Matt]

i could buy MCD as Kingpin (mainly because there weren't many white actors that fit the role at the time) but i can't accept a black Lex Luthor when we have so many actors that could play him. there are probably 5 or more actors mentioned here that could be GREAT as Lex Luthor....but the same can't be said for actresses for Lois and/or actors for Superman before he was cast.

So would you be okay with....Zoe Saldana as Lois? She is a good actress who has the right personality and acting type for the role.

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Zoe would be a great Lois.

 

[DorkyFresh]

So would you be okay with....Zoe Saldana as Lois? She is a good actress who has the right personality and acting type for the role.

i'd love to see Zoe Saldana as Lois, but again, ethnicity is an issue. she'd be the PERFECT Lois if she were White though.

i can't see any of the main 4 Superman characters (Clark, Lois, Lex, and Jimmy) as anything other than Caucasians. i wouldn't mind seeing a black Perry White, but he's about the only Superman character i could see as a minority.....which is unfortunate, because i don't know of any Superman characters that are hispanic, asian, or even black.

 

[WarriorDreamer]

Maybe one day they'll be a Superman story with an all black cast...

You know I wouldn't actually mind a half black Lex. Since that is what he was in the animated series.

 

[SuperDaniel]

John Henry Irons, that kid Keith from the Suicide Slums .Metallo/ John Corben could be black. The parasite...etc etc

 

[HighFivingMF]

Maybe one day they'll be a Superman story with an all black cast...

You know I wouldn't actually mind a half black Lex. Since that is what he was in the animated series.

No, he wasn't. He was based on an actor of Greek descent. So if anything he was part-Greek.

 

[GinsterHead]

Don't forget Ron Troupe. He's black, too.

 

[SuperDaniel]

^True!