Back

|

Next

A role like Lex Luthor -- how much of a change is it from the kind of work you have done till date?

It is an iconic part, and, because he is larger than life, the parameters of how far you can go are much broader, larger, than in any other genre. For me, it was just fantastic working with Bryan (Singer) again after ten years; it was as if not a day had passed.

Are you going to be in the next Superman film too?

We don't know. I suppose we will find out how this one does first.

You have reportedly played Luthor as a mix of the threatening and the comedic...

I would love to credit myself with how it comes off, but I haven't seen the film in its entirety yet. When Bryan first approached me for the role, I accepted without having read the script, because I trust him so implicitly.

He did say from the beginning that it was going to be a very different Lex Luthor, in the sense that it had to be darker, deeper, out for revenge -- but it also had to be funny. It had to have those moments of humour, the moments of exasperation you get when you think of the kind of people he surrounds himself with.

And then I read the script. It was great the way Bryan set up the filming, because we started on stuff that didn't require a lot of dialogue. I think we shot the first part of the train sequence before it all collapses, and it was great to start off slow and, as we got closer and closer to scenes where Lex had to explain what he is doing, we were working on honing stuff with the writers. I love characters where you can't just go at them, because they are constantly moving, and shifting, as you go along.