'Batman v Superman': Jesse Eisenberg Calls Lex Luthor Complicated

While the Lex Luthor character was rumored to
be a part of the Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice story, no one was expecting Warner
Bros. to cast 30-year-old Jesse Eisenberg as
the iconic villain back in January. With
production on the DC superhero adventure still
ongoing, Total Film caught up with Jesse
Eisenberg, who revealed he didn't take on this
iconic role for just a paycheck. In fact, he would
have taken on the role for free.
"My father always cautions me against thinking
of something as a means to some other end,
because then its irresponsible to the 'means'
thing...They asked me if I wanted to play the
part before they sent me the script. I'm not sure
how it worked, but it's something I read with
the understanding that I could do the role, If I...
[stops] You know, they don't just hand the
scripts out. But I really liked it on its own terms.
I would do it if it was for free and it was tiny."
He also spoke about working with screenwriter
Chris Terrio to figure out who Lex Luthor really
is.
"There are some indications of how the
character should behave based on the script,
and then an actor makes it his or her own. I got
to know one of the writers really well, Chris
Terrio , and we were able to discuss things at
length and figure out who this person is to
create a real psychology behind what is,
perhaps, in a comic book, a less than totally
modern psychology. I can only say I've been
asked to play an interesting role: a complicated,
challenging person."
When asked about if he would be able to walk
down the street without being noticed after
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comes
out, the actor had this to say.
"I've been in things that have been popular
before. To say, I can't do that which will appear
in thousands of theaters on opening day, but I
can do this which will appear in this amount of
theaters... It's arbitrary. I realize how popular
comic-book movies are, and now, working on
one, I realize why they're popular - the story is
really good, the dialogue is really good, the
artistry behind every department is high, the
acting is really good. So if they're all put
together with that level of quality..."