Why 'Superman' star Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor as 'alpha' cult leader

USA Today

19 hours ago

He steals dogs and murders innocents. He's a terrible boyfriend. He's also the worst boss ever. Yet for some reason, people seem to dig the megalomaniacal Lex Luthor in 'Superman.'
The billionaire tech bro is the kind of baddie that Nicholas Hoult loves to play. With guys who 'are very mixed up in their ideologies,' he can bring some understanding to their malevolence. 'There's an element of making those characters not likable, but palatable maybe,' says the British actor, who joins the ranks of Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey and Jesse Eisenberg as on-screen Lexes.
Hoult originally auditioned for Superman – a role that went to David Corenswet – but thought he might be a better Lex. Director James Gunn agreed: 'I waited for a couple weeks to let the rejection wear off and then I called him.'
Then, Gunn surrounded Supes' arch nemesis with a number of colorful characters, including dangerous right-hand woman Angela Spica (María Gabriela de Faría), aka the Engineer, and Lex's influencer girlfriend Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio).
And because it's a cult of personality, Lex's fearsome posse follows him wherever his shenanigans lead: 'He's this generous, loving guy who his employees love when he is feeling good,' Gunn says. 'But when he's feeling bad, we all know this guy.'
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Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor is mean but has some feels in 'Superman'
Lex Luthor has been a staple in Superman comics since 1940, and Hoult found inspiration in those stories where he was an 'alpha' male offended by the hero just existing as an alien on Earth. 'Because he puts in so much hard work for what he's developing and himself, it's even more frustrating that Superman is just naturally gifted and lauded and applauded for his abilities,' Hoult says.
He also saw Lex as 'a cult-like leader,' who amasses 'a lot of followers. Throughout the film you see him get picked apart and lose that, but he's managed to sculpt this image that people do like.'
Gunn adds that Hoult brought a predatory energy to the character: The first time we see him waiting for Superman to show up, 'he is like a tiger in a cage pacing back and forth.' But there's a lot of emotion to Lex as well. In one key moment, a tear streams down his face.
'I never saw him as a psychopath,' Hoult says. 'He's just got this deep, ingrained fear and hatred. Toward the end of the film, you see his plan ruined and him humiliated" as he suffers "all these things that are painful."
María Gabriela de Faría's Engineer makes a formidable Man of Steel enemy
One of Lex's most lethal weapons is a living one: Transformed by nanotechnology, the Engineer is an unpredictable foe for Superman and other heroes. She can shift into various different forms – like turning her hands into saws – and can hack into any computer system, even one that's Kryptonian.
'How does it feel to connect to the machine?' de Faría says. 'Is it painful? Is it pleasurable? Does it tickle? Every time she turned herself into something, it felt different, which made it really fun for me and also more realistic because I had something to play with my actual body.'
Like Lex, the Engineer is determined and willing to go to extremes to get what she wants, and she sees her boss as 'just means to an end,' de Faría says. 'She is deeply hurt by the world and she's deeply afraid of the path the world has taken. She has suffered the consequences for herself and she's willing to change it to make it better.
'Lex reacts and acts from envy and from being power-hungry,' the Venezuelan actress adds. 'Angela does it out of fear, and I don't know if acting out of fear is any better because we can see that they have the same consequences: pretty much destruction and pain and suffering.'
As Eve Teschmacher, Sara Sampaio is Metropolis' selfie queen
Eve Teschmacher isn't exactly menacing, but she is overly loyal to her man. And Eve has an auspicious screen debut, taking a selfie in the highest levels of LuthorCorp tower while Superman is getting smashed by a powerful enemy.
'She's like the playful part of me that I don't get to show the world very often,' says Sampaio, a Portuguese actress/model (and Victoria's Secret angel). Lex's gal pal "has this childlike wonder about her, where everything is new. She doesn't really understand what's appropriate, like when Superman is being beaten behind her. She's like, 'Oh, this is a great photo!' '
But Eve puts up with a lot. Her beau doesn't have the best history when it comes to girlfriends – most wind up imprisoned in an interdimensional pocket universe – and Lex is often seen throwing pencils at her. Sampaio came up with a backstory for her loyalty (she comes from a small city, for example, but not from wealth), though even Eve has a breaking point.
'Security, money and power can create safety in a way. She sees that Lex can provide a lifestyle for her (and) she won't have to struggle again,' Sampaio says. 'When she realizes that safety actually is not really there, she makes sure she always has a plan B, that she can escape and take care of herself. But I think everyone gets excited about handsome, powerful rich guys sometimes.'