4) Kevin Spacey As Lex Luthor (Superman Returns)
Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Lex Luthor in the original Superman series from 1978 may have been overly camp and played for laugh at times, but it’s hard to deny the impact his performance had on future interpretations of the character.
Kevin Spacey is arguably the most acclaimed actor on this list, so fans were understandably excited that he would become Hackman’s successor, but unfortunately, this promise fell somewhat short in the final product. It certainly didn’t help that the script gave Luthor one of the most ridiculous plans ever concocted by a super villain; grow a new landmass that would cause sea levels to rise, providing Luthor with full control of the limited land left for those who survive. Wow… what happened to good old-fashioned death rays?
Despite this convoluted character motivation, not all of the blame can be placed at the hands of the screenwriters, as Spacey himself did very little to make the role of Luthor his own. Magneto in the X-Men franchise and The Joker in The Dark Knight are just two of many examples that prove super villains don’t have to be two-dimensional characters, but Spacey’s cold portrayal of Luthor made it hard for audiences to relate to him on an emotional level. Hopefully Eisenberg will find a way to add depth to the character of Luthor in a way that Spacey did not.