When the trailers were released for the new Henry Cavill-less Superman film, you might have been right to sigh. The movie appeared as if it might be quite boring. Instead, the flick is one of the rare occasions when the film is better than the trailers.
David Corenswet makes a worthy Superman, but what might make Superman truly work is how great Nicholas Hoult is at playing Lex Luthor. In fact, is Hoult the best Luthor ever?
We rank the actors who have played the role below. This comes with a caveat: The ranking only includes the role portrayed on the big screen, not in a television series or animated project. To pull off Lex Luthor on a massive screen takes a bit of magic.
Clancy Brown, for instance, has been terrific as Lex Luthor in several animated adaptations of the comic. He could be arguably among the best three here, except for our silly rule of only doing live-action Luthors. He is as good as Mark Hamill voicing the Joker in several Batman adaptations, and based on voice work alone, Hamill could be considered the best Joker.
Michael Rosenbaum should also be noted. He hasn't played Luthor in a true big-screen work, but he is mesmerizing in the TV series Smallville. Heck, Rosenbaum's Luthor is so evil that we almost understand his reasons for breaking bad. That we feel a little sorry for Luthor in Smallville is due to the talent of Rosenbaum.
5. Jesse Eisenberg
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Justice League (2017)
- Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Eisenberg, who is capable of excellent work, got three chances to play Lex Luthor, and the question is "Why?" The actor made some odd choices with his evolution of billionaire to supervillain, choosing to play Luthor as if he had far too much coffee. Maybe Eisenberg was trying to take the same risk Johnny Depp did as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
The problem with that is that Luthor is never meant to be as manic as Captain Jack, and the approach didn't seem to fit Eisenberg, who tends to be more cerebral. If the actor had a chance to play Luthor a different way, he might be fine, but he wasn't in the three films above.
4. Lyle Talbot
- Atom Man versus Superman (1950)
Talbot might be slighted in these rankings through no fault of his own. He does a bang-up job as Luthor, but the issue is that the adaptation he is in isn't great. Plus, the special effects available at the time pale in comparison to today's standard, and Luthor needs his special effects.
Still, Talbot, perhaps best known for the 98 episodes he was in of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, is the best part of this Superman iteration. He has just enough menace, but doesn't come across as overbearing. Talbot knew a thing or five about playing in comic book adaptations, too. He was also part of the Dick Tracy TV series in the early 1950s.
3. Kevin Spacey
- Superman Returns (2006)
Before Spacey was accused of lots of different awful things, he had a pretty good career going. Some rankings might have Spacey lower on these kinds of lists because of his off-screen issues, but as Lex Luthor, he was really good. Spacey naturally has a way of being seemingly judgmental and controlling, and that works well as the supervillain.
While camp can work extremely well with comic book films (because, after all, the whole situation is not realistic), Spacey goes full throttle serious here. One might expect him to somehow be holding a cat like Ernst Stavro Blofeld in a James Bond flick. Still, a little camp would have helped.
2. Nicholas Hoult
- Superman (2025)
Is it too soon to have Hoult this high on the list, and is this a case of recency bias? That argument might be valid except for one important point: Hoult is so good as being Lex Luthor. Hoult's Luthor is a dynamic character who understands how to use technology for evil ends, but is also torn by the confusion of why people like Superman more than him.
Hoult is no stranger to comic-related films, as he appeared in a few X-Men flicks, and he has played a character who is an awful human being, Bob Mathews in The Order, but his Luthor is quite different. Hoult doesn't bend to be cartoonish, but plays the character straight.
We don't root for Lex Luthor, of course, but there is something sinisterly cool about him. Much in the same way that Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber is terrible but highly interesting in the original Die Hard.
1. Gene Hackman
- Superman: The Movie (1978)
- Superman II (1981)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
- Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Hackman is arguably the best pure actor on this list, but the reason he makes for a surprising number one on this list is that he acts against type. In many roles in his career, Hackman has been extremely serious, which gave him a sense of danger. Even in Hoosiers, this is the case.
But as Lex Luthor, Hackman is talented enough not to wink at the audience, even though he has a terrible assistant, a toupée that is quite silly, and an ego that is Moriarty-worthy. The actor appears to be having as much fun playing opposite Christopher Reeve as it is for viewers watching him. The role offers Hackman to see him in a different light, and he works every minute of his screentime.
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