WIZARD:
Singer said he wrote the part of Lex Luthor specifically for you. Did that put
additional pressure on you to take the gig?
SPACEY:
No. In fact. the first experience I had with Bryan was identical in that
they had written the role of Verbal Kint in "Usual Suspects" with me
in mind. And I found that incredibly flattering. I didn't find it put any
undue pressure on me at all. It was the first time that had ever happened to
me in my career. So I was very delighted when Bryan came to me a year ago and
said, "I'm going to do the new Superman, and I can't imagine doing it
without you." I was thrilled.
So,
did the two of you sit
down to discuss who Luthor was and how you both envisioned him?
The
truth is I accepted the role without having read the script because it wasn't
ready. I trust Bryan implicitly. When you have the kind of confidence like I
have in Bryan, you literally just show up and go in whatever direction
he points you in. And you try to
give
him as many different colors as you can in terms of what he's looking for and
how he's shaping it. You don't get involved in the minutiae. You just do your
job, and later on he shows you the movie. And in my experience, both on
"Suspects" and on this, I was very, very happy with what I saw, and
I think he's done a remarkable job with the movie.
This
wasn't your first time being considered for the role of Luthor. You were on
director Tim Burton's list when he was going to make a
Superman film.
Yeah,
I met one afternoon with
Burton
when he was scheduled to do the film - of
course, there was no script at that point. But he had an office at Warner
Brothers, and I went in. He had some storyboards and some ideas. It was
obviously a completely different idea than what this film is, but I was never
offered that role and it never happened. So that was just one of those,
"Hi. If I make this movie, that'd be great." But it never came off.
Your
portrayal of Luthor is much angrier than we've seen in the previous films. How
would you compare him to the way Gene Hackman played him In the original film
by Richard Donner?
I
don't know. There have been so many incarnations over the years, if you think
about it, starting on the radio and then on television and the Donner movie,
and we've had "Smallville." I think both the role of Superman and of
Luthor are those kinds of roles that continue to be reinterpreted, and I think
audiences rather enjoy seeing different actors do it. How many times did
different actors play Richard III or Hamlet? We don't feel like any actor owns
a particular role. But there's no doubt that Hackman was fabulous, and I'd say
that the main difference is that this is a much darker Luthor - he's out for
revenge. " So although there's still a lot of humor in it, I think this
is just j a deeper and darker telling of this particular story that Bryan and
the writers created.
What
is Luthor's view of Superman in this film?
It's
hard to answer that question in the context of this movie because I'd be
revealing too much. But I can say that I think Lex Luthor has always been
interested in property. It's always been about
land for Lex, and he wants his piece of the pie. And Superman to him
represents a challenge, and Lex loves a challenge. I think he loves the fact
that he may not have the brawn and the strength physically, but I do think he
thinks he's smarter than Superman, and can outwit him. He thinks he can beat
him and bring him down to a fair playing ground to match each other on a more
even keel. And that's what Lex goes about trying to do.
What
about shaving your head? Was that a pain? They had to trick Hackman into doing
it...
I
keep getting questions about whether having a bald head is a big deal, and
it's the easiest thing in the world. You just shave your head every day, and
then they make it up so it looks good. And that's it. Lex has been bald in
every incarnation of the series, even when he first originated in the comic
book. You kind of know going in you gotta shave your head. When I came back to
do "The Philadelphia Story" [at The Old Vic], I had to wear a wig
for six weeks while my hair grew back because you can't play [lead character]
C. K. Dexter Haven bald. It doesn't quite work.
What
was it like working with Brandon Routh? He was a virtual unknown before being
cast as Superman...
I
think Brandon is perfect for the part. I think he's a smart guy. I think it's
truly the smartest thing that Bryan did, to cast an unknown. You have to have
a suspension of disbelief in a movie like this, and I think if it had been a
known actor, I'm not quite sure audiences would believe he could fly around in
the red cape. But Brandon is perfect for the role. I think he does a terrific
job. We had a lot of fun together - or as much as you can have when you're
playing adversaries.
When
you're playing adversaries, do you try to keep away from each other?
No,
no. It's a f***ing comic book for God's sake. It's not Othello.
We
heard after you got on-set in Australia you started dragging a Superman doll
behind your golf cart.
Yes,
it's very true. I had a Lex-mobile made, and we called it "the
Superbuster." It had Kryptonite racing stripes on the side, and I had a
bullhorn. I drove around the lot declaring, "Superman must die! Superman
must die!" And I was dragging a little Superman doll behind it. By the
end of the shoot with the rain and everything, that little Superman looked
pretty bad. Just trying to set the mood, set the tone.
What
about the action figures? They're going to be everywhere this summer and this
is your first. How does that feel?
I'm
just happy that it actually resembles me. There'd be nothing worse than to
have an action figure where you thought, "Well, that doesn't quite do
it." No, I mean...1ook, I've never done a film of this type, but that's
the great thing about going through life. It has a way of offering you
opportunities you could have never imagined. And I'm only happy that in the
circumstance of doing a movie like this that I was put in such fine hands as
Bryan's. I can quite honestly say that if he wasn't directing the movie. I
probably
wouldn't have done it. ~
WIZARD
#177 - July 2006
Pages 80 - 83. Magazine cover photo, two small Lex Luthor photos on the
index page. Article contains six Lex Luthor photos.
