Gene Hackman Was the Funniest Lex Luthor
Gene Hackman, who unexpectedly died this week at the age of 95, was famous for his roles in tense dramas like The Conversation, The French Connection and Unforgiven. But the two-time Oscar winner also had a flair for comedy, a talent that made him the funniest Lex Luthor in the best Superman movies to date.
Sure, others have tried. Jesse Eisenberg did a jittery, Zuckerbergian version in Justice League. Creepy Kevin Spacey took a turn in Superman Returns. Michael Rosenbaum and, somehow, Jon Cryer have played the villain in Superman’s TV adventures. Nicolaus Holt will get his shot this summer when James Gunn’s Superman hits the big screen.
But none of those actors found the intersection of comedy, menace and madness quite like Hackman. In 1978’s Superman: The Movie, his Luthor hatches an outrageous scheme right out of the campy 1960s Batman series — blow up the West Coast along the San Andreas fault, leaving the country’s new oceanside views along land that Luthor owns. But Hackman takes supervillainy to new and unexpected places. Camp is the top layer, but unlike the TV villains in Batman, we believe Hackman just might murder you while you’re giggling.
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When Luthor employs the old “put a damsel in distress” scheme to distract Superman, Hackman plays it with hilarious elan. He tickles the ivories on a grand piano and croons “You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby” while his henchman Otis lowers the lady to her doom. When Superman arrives, a pouting Hackman plays his impending defeat like a third-grader caught putting a tack on the teacher’s chair — not at all sorry and chuffed about getting caught.
He only triumphantly reveals his famous bald scalp once he’s captured, serving notice to his prison guards that he’s “the greatest criminal mind of our time!” It’s threatening and pathetic at the same time — he likely is a genius but still no match for the Man of Steel.
One bit of Hackman/Luthor lore is as funny as anything in the film. While Hackman begrudgingly agreed to go bald for the role, he absolutely refused to shave his mustache. He only relented when director Richard Donner offered to shave off his own mustache in solidarity. The ploy worked, but after Hackman hacked off his whiskers, the inventive Donner pulled off a fake mustache. After a stony silence, Hackman finally laughed.
Critics loved the performance. “Gene Hackman is a tremendous Lex Luthor: the wisecracking villain and acting heavyweight that Superman deserved,” raved The Guardian. “The movie’s brightest moments are those very broad ones supplied by Mr. Hackman,” said The New York Times.
Hackman got a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor and could have easily earned an Oscar nod as well. His humorous portrayal influenced the character for decades, even nudging the comic-book version of Luthor from “evil scientist” to “megalomaniacal businessman.” It remains one of the superhero genre’s great performances, the perfect mix of arrogant wit and formidable danger.