Smallville co-creator Alfred Gough has revealed that Shazam! star Zachary Levi was once up for the role of Lex Luthor in the show but that the audition was a disaster.
Before the CW Arrowverse came into existence, the Superman series Smallville was the gold standard for superheroes on television. The series aired from 2001-2011 and told the story of younger versions of Superman and his friends in Clark Kent’s hometown. The characters were last seen in the CW Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, where, during an encounter with Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor, it revealed that the show’s version of Superman had given up his powers. In the original show, Lex Luthor was played by Michael Rosenbaum and was one of the series’ big standouts. Once upon a time, however, the role may have been played by another.
In a recent interview, Smallville co-creator Alfred Gough revealed that Shazam! star Zachary Levi had auditioned for the role of Lex Luthor. While the initial audition went well, the second one with Warner Bros went horribly wrong and cost the actor the role. He did not reveal just what it was that happened in the audition:
“Zach Levi did an amazing audition for Lex. Incredible. We all went into The WB with Zach to be Lex. That audition was kind of a disaster. In leaving the audition, I remember thinking ‘Oh, that was the biggest chance of his life.’ And then he went on to incredible success. So you just never know.”
Here is the synopsis for Smallville:
This modern retelling of the Superman mythology as an action series blends realism, adventure and emotion. Years ago, a meteor shower rained destruction on an unsuspecting Smallville, Kansas. From this tragedy grew Clark Kent (Tom Welling), who, as he learns to deal with his emerging superpowers, becomes closer to the hero of legend.
Smallville starred Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Eric Johnson, Sam Jones III, Allison Mack, Annette O’Toole, John Schneider, John Glover, Jensen Ackles, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore, Laura Vandervoort, Cassidy Freeman, Sam Witwer, Justin Hartley, and Callum Blue.
Smallville is now available on BluRay for the first time. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the franchise and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
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