Jesse Eisenberg is playing one of the most intimidating villains in comic book history, and yes, even he’s afraid of the character!
Taking on the role of Lex Luthor in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Eisenberg confessed to Seth Meyers Thursday that gearing up to play Superman’s nemesis was worrisome because he had to do something he has never done before: shave his head.
“It was really strange,” he said of the experience. “It’s the kind of thing where you felt you could really damage yourself.”
With his scalp exposed, Eisenberg revealed that he felt he needed to be extra careful on-set because he was so worried he could hurt himself, which the Late Night host said makes “Lex Luthor seem so much less intimidating.”
When Meyers showed a picture that leaked of Eisenberg in character as the wealthy villain, he mentioned that he wasn’t wearing a bald cap.
The the Oscar-nominated actor joked that his face was “all computer-generated.”
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“It’s terrifying,” he added of his dramatic change. “It’s terrifying.”
Having never been bald before, Eisenberg insisted that he “came out of the womb with a full head of hair,” which made him further realize that he could really damage himself! But to protect the secrecy of the characters, the cast has to wear clothes to protect their costumes, which included Henry Cavill wearing sweatpants over his Superman suit. Eisenberg, however, opted for a large headscarf.
“It’s E.T. in the basket, basically,” Meyers joked of Eisenberg’s disguise.
When it was first announced that Eisenberg would be taking on the famed villain, the Internet didn’t know how to react. People were angry. People were ecstatic. It was, without a doubt, a mixed bag of emotions. Sort of like how the Internet reacted when Ben Affleck was named Batman.
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You can’t please them all, but we’re sure the worrywarts felt a little bit better once they saw how menacing Eisenberg looked in the photo that leaked!
What do you think of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? Sound off in the comments below!
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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