‘I loved playing an evil character’: Nicholas Hoult on portraying Lex Luthor in Superman
- ontargetmedia8
- Jul 10
- 4 min read
Nicholas Hoult, David Corenswet, and director James Gunn speak to Lynn Rusk about bringing the latest Superman film to life.
“I loved playing an evil character,” says Nicholas Hoult, reflecting on his portrayal of the bald, ruthless tycoon Lex Luthor.
The 35-year-old British actor, who rose to fame in About A Boy and Skins, stars opposite David Corenswet in James Gunn’s highly anticipated Superman reboot, hailed as ‘the true beginning of the DC Universe’.
In the film, Hoult’s calculating Luthor exploits Superman’s emotional vulnerabilities and the public’s growing doubts to orchestrate his downfall.
Armed with cutting-edge technology and a formidable intellect, Luthor is determined to eliminate the Man of Steel once and for all.
“When you’re trying to get into the headspace of a character like that, very rarely is someone’s objective just to be evil,” Hoult explains.
“You have to build up some core ideas – what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, what they’re hoping to achieve, and how they feel. The results, obviously, are what you end up seeing on screen.”
To prepare for the role, Hoult returned to the source material.
“I went back to the comic books and read anything I thought might be useful,” he says.
“I also listened to a biography of a tech billionaire and thought, ‘This could be interesting.’ I didn’t base Lex on that person – it was just insightful to glimpse their mindset and how they perceive the world.”
The film follows Superman’s journey to reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent in Smallville, Kansas.
David Corenswet, known for Twisters and the TV series The Politician, becomes the fourth actor to portray the iconic hero in a major Superman film.
The 31-year-old American actor says he drew inspiration from real-life heroes for his take on the character.
“I was inspired by a general amalgamation of people – mostly strangers – who’ve shown up in a moment and brought reassurance, calm, and even a little humour during a crisis,” Corenswet says.
“I thought about paramedics, firefighters, police officers, doctors and nurses – people I’ve never met, but who made everything feel like it was going to be OK. That’s what Superman ultimately represents: someone who swoops in and saves the day.”
For his portrayal of Clark Kent, Corenswet found inspiration closer to home.
“At the Daily Planet, I loosely based Clark on my brother-in-law, who’s 6ft8 and 275lb – a huge presence in any room – yet he tries desperately not to take up space or get in anyone’s way. I thought that was a great place to start for Clark,” he says.
Joining the cast is The Marvelous Mrs Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, the Daily Planet’s reporter and Kent’s love interest.
The 34-year-old actress says she immersed herself in journalism to ground her performance.
“I’m such a nerd for this stuff,” Brosnahan says. “I loved figuring out how to make this iconic character feel real. That was a priority for James across the board.”
She credits one particular conversation with a journalist as especially formative.
“She told me about this itchiness she had as a child – bored with school and playgrounds – just desperate to understand the extremes of the human condition. That curiosity drew her to journalism and kept her in it. That felt like a great place to start for Lois.”
Writer-director James Gunn, who took the reins of DC Studios in 2022 alongside producer Peter Safran, is best known for Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. Superman is the first movie in the new DC Universe reboot.
“Superman is a character who’s really about as good as a human being could be,” says Gunn, 58.
“He’s good-natured, but being good doesn’t always mean making the most logical choice.”
“The movie is about someone who is purely good in a world that often isn’t. I think that’s something we don’t often see. I get emotional about this because the film is really about why we love Superman.
“Is it because he can punch planets or lift skyscrapers? No – it’s his innate goodness and humanity. Even though he’s an alien, he chooses to be vulnerable. He chooses optimism.”
The film also showcases advanced visual effects, including CGI and robotic technologies, to bring fantastical elements to life – among them, Superman’s canine companion, Krypto the Superdog.
A fan-favourite from the comics, Krypto makes his live-action debut in this version, inspired by Gunn’s own pet.
“Krypto was inspired by my dog, Ozu – named after the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu,” Gunn says.
“We actually scanned Ozu, but he couldn’t play the part himself. We had another dog, Jolene, who’s a smart and respectable stand-in – unlike my lovable idiot Ozu.”
“We scanned Ozu, enlarged him a bit, turned him white – and that’s the Krypto you see in the movie.”
Though the film features several meta-human characters, including the Justice Gang in Metropolis, Gunn incorporates elements of magical realism rather than leaning heavily into superhero bombast.
“I thought this movie could be different,” he explains, “in that it could have all those magical realism elements – the fantasy of Superman: flying dogs, giant kaiju, robot helpers, and all of these fun things – while keeping the character himself grounded.”
“Superman is real and rooted – in his personality, in his relationships, and in a plot dictated by his own choices, not by external forces. The script was so fun to write because of that. It was also very different from anything I had ever written before.”
Corenswet adds that the film is designed to capture the spirit of classic comics in cinematic form.
“The film is aspirational,” he says. “What James has created is not so much a movie adaptation of a comic book character as it is the feeling of a great comic book playing out on a huge screen – with real actors, great effects, and the biggest canvas imaginable.”
“That’s what I think is going to excite fans the most.”
