I tried to create a Lex Luthor who was actually really scary and dangerous
Kevin Spacey shot to prominence in Bryan Singer's iconic thriller The Usual Suspects (1995) playing the cripple 'Verbal' Kint. He followed that up with an equally memorable turn in Se7en (1995), before winning a Best Actor Oscar for his part in Amerian Beauty (1999). Of late he's been the Artistic Director of the Old Vic theatre on London's South Bank, producing and appearing in several plays. Now he's reunited with Bryan Singer for Superman Returns, as arch-villain Lex Luthor.
How formidable a task was it to step into the shoes of Gene Hackman, who played Luthor previously?
Like Bryan Singer, I have great affection for the [Richard] Donner film and the performances in it. I felt Hackman was great. But Bryan said that while he wanted to retain certain characteristics of Lex Luthor - being funny, silly and having a bickering relationship with the Kitty character - he also wanted to introduce a new element. That was to create a Lex Luthor who was actually really scary and dangerous. He wanted to create a formidable nemesis to Superman, so that when Superman is at his most vulnerable the audience might actually think that Lex is going to win.
I also come from a philosophy in the theatre where no actor really owns a part - we just borrow them for periods of time. We've all seen countless Hamlets and Richard IIIs, so I think when you have that philosophy about things it feels less like you're stepping into someone's shoes and more like you're trying to create your own pair.
Did your commitment to the Old Vic affect whether you took on Superman Returns?
I said yes on the condition that it would have to work around the theatre schedule. If it was going to be a five or six month shoot, I couldn't carve that sort of time out. It was complicated for them because it meant they had to build sets and have things ready. I'm sure there was some difficulty and expense to it, but Bryan said he wasn't doing the movie without me and that they'd make it work.
Once they had a schedule they came to me and I had to decide whether I could leave The Philadelphia Story, which was an ensemble play. But I wasn't the star and at the end of the day I thought it would benefit the Old Vic because I'm about to be introduced to a whole generation of kids who've probably never seen the movies that I've been in. Maybe they're kids who've never been to a play. So just as they all came to see Gandalf [Sir Ian McKellen] when he did the pantomime for us, maybe they'll want to come out and see Lex Luthor. And that's fine.
You always seem to have such fun playing the bad guy roles. What is it about them that appeals to you so much?
I suspect it just looks like I'm having more fun because in a role like Lex Luthor you can get away with being large and theatrical. The balance you try to strike is achieving that yet still investing it with a sense that it's a bit more real.
This was an enormously fun experience as well as a great opportunity for Bryan and I to work together again for the first time in eleven years. He's the same director now as he was then. I think he's proved, as he did with X-Men, that you can do a big tentpole movie with a large budget and still have it be about character and relationships. Bryan and I worked every day on the set to find the right level and the right way to say each line.
What was it like working with Marlon Brando, even though you didn't, physically?
Well, it didn't really hit me until I saw the movie for the first time at the premiere in Los Angeles, because I wanted to wait until it was all finished. When the credits came up and I saw my name and then Brando's name I thought that was pretty cool. I'd waited my whole life to work with him.
Given your status in Hollywood, do young actors like Brandon Routh ever come up to you and ask how they might approach a big scene?
If they do - and Brandon didn't - I have to be quite careful about the fact that I'm not the director of the movie. The actor has to be in a position where they trust their director - that's who they're getting their guidance from. Ultimately, you have to be quite respectful of the fact that Brandon's relationship with Bryan is not the same as mine. It's one that they're developing. Bryan has the vision of the movie, I don't. I'm trying to help his vision.
How do you see Brandon coping with his sudden rise to fame? Did you have any advice for him in that respect?
Nobody can prepare you for what Brandon's about to experience, but I think he's about as prepared for it as any young actor could be. He is Clark Kent. It's why Bryan cast him. There's a lot of that total Mid-Western, completely sincere guy. I think he's going to do fine. He's certainly had enough time to imagine what it's going to be like. There's no school for it, you just have to learn to ride the wave however it comes.
