‘Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice': Jesse Eisenberg says mirroring Gene Hackman for Lex Luthor portrayal is ‘weird’

Jesse Eisenberg recently talked about his portrayal of Lex Luthor in “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.” The actor revealed he channelled his own personality with his portrayal of the villain character, instead of mirroring Gene Hackman.

Eisenberg talked about his iconic role in the Zack Snyder film during an interview with The Diane Rehm Show. When a fan named Scott asked the actor who or what he channelled in his portrayal of Lex Luthor, Eisenberg replied that he channelled his own personality with the character.

“The best thing to channel as an actor is yourself, to figure out what makes you angry, what makes you feel vengeful or righteous. Those are the feelings that Lex Luthor has,” he said.

The actor also talked about why he didn’t choose to mirror Gene Hackman, who played the villain in the original 1978 film “Superman.” Eisenberg admitted he would rather use his own emotions in the portrayal of Lex Luthor than take some helpful cues from Hackman’s portrayal. He added that mirroring the actor “would just come off weird.”

“We have different faces, different life experiences, different emotions, but what I do have - that I have more than anybody - is my own feelings, and so I use those, and then the character seems not only real, but emotional and just. He believes he's the hero of his own story - is the kind of the actor cliché - when you're playing the villain, you're the hero of your own story,” Eisenberg explained during his interview on the The Diane Rehm Show about “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

Eisenberg has also spoken about his character during a previous interview with Today on Sept. 4. The actor was asked to share some details about what fans could expect to see from Lex Luthor in “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Eisenberg remained mum on spoiler details but assured that his villain character will be “incredible.” He also expressed his confidence that “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” will be “phenomenal.”

“Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” is slated for US release on March 25, 2016. Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne/Batman) and Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/Superman) star opposite Eisenberg in the film.