In an interview with Deadline.com, Jon Cryer talks about the Season 4 finale of “Supergirl”, his portrayal of Lex Luthor, and how it compares to other versions both on and off the screen.
“I mean obviously Gene Hackman was a big departure from the comics,” explains Cryer. “Michael Rosenbaum [from Smallville], who’s one of my favorite Luthors – if not my all-time favorite. I mean, that’s tough because [to me] Gene Hackman’s Luthor had been so formative simply for being “him” when I was 13, and on top of that I got to actually work with him eventually, and in the role and all that stuff. But Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex was so good. Neither he nor Hackman was anything like the guy from the comics. Well, Rosenbaum was perhaps like the Superboy comics. That was the closest analog of him from the comics, but they were really going for the complexity of seeing somebody turn evil over the course of many years. The Lex that we’re working with is a full-formed sociopath, and that’s a different guy, and for me, in many ways, that’s more faithful to the comics than he’s been on film yet, so that was what excited me about it. That and just the cast is great, and they’re just great folks to work with.”
And all are light years better than Jesse Eisenberg. He’s slightly below Sherman Howard on my list. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen from Cryer. I had my doubts, but he proved me wrong within the first minute of his first appearance. Supergirl has never been my favorite of the cw shows, but for me, he breathed new life into it. He certainly has held his own against the best Luthors. Rosenbaum will always be my #1. That version was what I’ve always wanted to see on screen. I’m sad that we never got to see him go full Luthor… Read more »
You and me both.
I admit I was worried when I saw that they cast him, but I can admit I was wrong too. I have been very pleasantly surprised by his turn at Lex. He has done a fantastic job, he hasn’t succumb to the camp I thought was coming, I can say that he now ranks high on the list of Live action Lex’s. I still like Michael Rosembaum best, but I had several years for his version to take hold. For such a short time, Jon has left his mark on the character.