Superman: All 11 Lex Luthor actors ranked from worst to best

7. Kevin Spacey (Superman Returns)

Make no mistake, just because Kevin Spacey made it onto the actual list doesn’t mean we’d call his performance great.  Spacey’s turn as Lex in 2006’s Superman Returns was way too over-the-top and failed to capture the complexity of the character.

One of the biggest issues many have with Spacey’s performance was how he played Lex as a cartoonish villain, rather than a layered and complicated antagonist like the Lex we see in the comics. Instead of exploring the character’s motivations and psychology, Spacey relied on over-the-top gestures and a melodramatic delivery to convey Luthor’s evilness.

These decisions led to Spacey’s Lex being a caricature of himself, complete with exaggerated facial expressions and a maniacal laugh. This made it difficult for the audience to take the character seriously and detracted from the film’s overall tone.

In contrast to Spacey’s performance, other actors who have played Lex Luthor, such as Gene Hackman and Michael Rosenbaum, have been able to capture the character’s complexity and made him a compelling and believable villain. By comparison, Spacey’s portrayal felt like a missed opportunity and a blemish on the character’s legacy.