Ever since Jesse Eisenberg was announced as Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor, legions of internet-based fans blew a fuse. First there was his age – at 32, he's 16 years younger than when Gene Hackman played him in 1978's Superman. And then there was his CV, with haters complaining it would be like "Mark Zuckerberg in the DC Universe", a reference to Eisenberg's Oscar-nominated role as the Facebook founder in David Fincher's The Social Network.
The actor’s reaction to all this hot air? “Bewildering.”
Yet in many ways, the curly-haired Eisenberg may well be the saviour of this month's blockbuster Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a film that pairs the eponymous DC Comics superheroes on screen for the first time. After all, with fans also carping about Ben Affleck's casting as Batman and Henry Cavill's previous turn as Superman in 2013's Man of Steel somewhat underwhelming, the film needs a charismatic villain. And Luthor, from the comics to his various screen incarnations, has that in spades.
While Eisenberg's career to date has largely seen him work in indie movies such as Roger Dodger, The Squid and the Whale and Adventureland, he talks about his time on Batman v Superman in exactly the same terms. In particular his director Zack Snyder, the man previously behind Man of Steel.
“He has a very unusual, visual style and he’s a very collaborative guy,” says Eisenberg. “You’d think with a movie like that there’d be some strict game plan, but he’s been so collaborative.”
Certainly, Eisenberg appears entirely at ease with the pressures of taking on such an iconic character. “Oh it’s fun,” he says, with a wave of his hand. “The challenging thing to do for me is when I do theatre in front of two hundred people. That to me is the most nerve-racking experience. This is a fun role. When you’re playing the villain, you have a lot more flexibility with your personality than a character who is more a stoic hero.”
How could you not have fun when befriending Luthor, he says, is akin to striking "a Faustian bargain". True, he may well bring a little bit of Zuckerberg to the character – after all, Luthor is also a genius entrepreneur. But as for the age debate, it's been hinted, via a viral marketing campaign, that Eisenberg is actually playing Alexander Luthor Jr, the "31-year-old wunderkind" who has modernised his father's company LexCorp into a Fortune 500 outfit. Son of Lex – it's certainly a way to distance Eisenberg from Hackman, who played the character three times, and Kevin Spacey, who played him in 2006's Superman Returns.
At least Eisenberg has his predecessors on his side. Spacey called him “a remarkable actor” and suggested he would “own it” when he played the role.
"That's very sweet," says Eisenberg, when I raise the point. "I met him a few times because he was an executive producer of The Social Network because he optioned the book – he was very nice. When I was younger, he was my favourite. I really liked him in [1998 hostage drama] The Negotiator. I remember loving that movie."
Given Eisenberg's own interest in theatre – he has been writing plays since he was 16, and both his works Asuncion and The Revisionist were recently staged to great acclaim – would he ever consider doing what Spacey did when he ran the Old Vic theatre in London?
“No. I’d be a terrible administrator,” he says, with a laugh. “That takes a lot. I’m surprised he did it, frankly. I would not want to do that. As an actor, you’re at the mercy of so many people. So I can’t imagine being an administrator, and having other people be at the mercy of you.”
Still, Eisenberg, the son of a sociology professor who grew up in Queens and New Jersey, would doubtless prefer this to pursuing the Hollywood-driven popularity.
"I know I could write a play and put it on. I understand the economy of it," he states. "That makes me very happy. It's a sustainable thing because I know how to do it; it's not sustainable to decide that the public is going to like you. It's impossible to maintain that kind of thing. Nor is it interesting to me, but if it was interesting to me, I'd be in a dangerous place because it's not sustainable." He recently completed work on Cafe Society, his second movie with Woody Allen, and one that's tipped to bow in Cannes in May. Then there's Now You See Me 2, the sequel to the hit heist film set in the world of stage magicians. Playing a more confident character than he usually plays, Eisenberg admits that this cocksure attitude rather rubbed off on him during the shoot.
“You get immersed in whatever you’re doing,” he says. “My mother knows well this is what I do – she tells me I should play happier people.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is out in cinemas on Thursday, March 24
artslife@thenational.ae
