THE JOY OF LEX

NICHOLAS HOULT JOINS HIS SUPERMAN CO-STAR DAVID CORENSWET AND DIRECTOR JAMES GUNN TO DISCUSS THE APPEAL OF PLAYING A SUPER VILLAIN AND DISCOVERING A SOFTER SIDE TO THE MAN OF STEEL. BY LYNN RUSK

- 

"I LOVED playing an evil character," says Nicholas Hoult, reflecting on his portrayal of the ruthless, bald-headed tycoon Lex Luthor.

The 35-year-old British actor, who rose to fame in About A Boy and Skins, stars opposite David Corenswet in James Gunn's highly anticipated Superman reboot, hailed as 'the true beginning of the DC Universe'.

In the film, Nicholas's calculating Luthor cunningly exploits The Man Of Steel's emotional vulnerabilities and the public's growing doubts to orchestrate his downfall.

Armed with cutting-edge technology and a formidable intellect, Luthor is determined to eliminate Superman once and for all.

"When you're trying to get into the headspace of a character like that, very rarely is someone's objective just to be evil," Nicholas explains.

"You have to build up some core ideas - what they're doing, why they're doing it, what they're hoping to achieve, and how they feel. The results, obviously, are what you end up seeing on screen."

To prepare for the role, Nicholas returned to the source material.

"I went back to the comic books and read anything I thought might be useful," he says.

"I also listened to a biography of a tech billionaire and thought, 'This could be interesting! I didn't base Lex on that person - it was just insightful to glimpse their mindset and how they perceive the world."

The film follows Superman's journey to reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent in Smallville, Kansas.