3) Michael Rosenbaum – Lex Luthor
If you were a DC fan in the first half of the 2000s, it’s a fair bet that you were a big fan of Michael Rosenbaum. The actor starred in not just one, but two of that period’s biggest DC shows – the Justice League animated series and live-action Superman prequel Smallville.
While his fast-talking Wally West AKA The Flash provided welcome comic relief in Justice League, it is his turn as Lex Luthor in Smallville that provided his best, and most acclaimed, performance. A very different Luthor to the usual depiction, Rosenbaum’s versions begins as the best friend of Clark Kent, a fundamentally good man who is trying to get out from under the thumb of his demanding father, Lionel.
Across several seasons, viewers got to see Lex descend into darkness, ultimately positioning him as the supervillain we love to hate – and Rosenbaum was never less than compelling in the part.