Turns out, even Lex Luthor has regrets. Jesse Eisenberg, the perpetually awkward genius of Hollywood, took a break from his usual “smart guy with a side of anxiety” roles to chat on the Armchair Expert podcast. And boy, did he spill some tea—specifically about the time he shaved his head, grabbed some Jolly Ranchers, and made everyone uncomfortable as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Apparently, playing the guy who hates Superman but loves dramatic monologues wasn’t the career rocket booster Jesse had hoped for. “The Batman movie was so poorly received, and I was so poorly received,” Jesse admitted, sounding like someone who just realized they brought potato salad to a pizza party.
But wait, it gets juicier. “I’ve never said this before, and it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I genuinely think it actually hurt my career in a real way,” he confessed. Translation: casting directors saw his performance and thought, “Yeah, maybe not.”
The 2016 blockbuster did rake in $800 million (because let’s face it, we all love a good superhero smackdown), but critics weren’t exactly throwing bat-shaped confetti. Rotten Tomatoes handed it a tragic 29% critic score—basically the cinematic equivalent of your Wi-Fi cutting out during a Zoom presentation.
Jesse, however, wasn’t entirely salty about the experience. “I loved my role and I loved the movie,” he said, like a guy defending his questionable karaoke rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Still, he took full responsibility for the flop. “I’m not like, ‘They did me wrong.’ No. I’m like, ‘Oh, I guess I did something wrong there.’”
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Jesse’s latest project, A Real Pain, is doing some serious heavy lifting for his IMDb page. Not only did he write, direct, and star in the film, but it’s also generating Oscars buzz for his co-star Kieran Culkin. So, while Lex Luthor might’ve Krypton-punched his career for a hot minute, Jesse is clearly bouncing back.
Oh, and fun fact: another A-list actor met with Zack Snyder for the Lex Luthor role. But hey, would they have nailed the weird Jolly Rancher scene? Probably not.
Moral of the story? Sometimes you have to lose to Batman to win at life.