Honestly, if you look at the modern landscape of superhero movies, everyone is so serious. We’ve got villains with tragic backstories, gods who want to erase half the universe, and tech moguls who talk in riddles. But back in 1978, Gene Hackman Lex Luthor was a completely different beast. He wasn't some tortured soul or a corporate CEO with a PR problem. He was, as the film famously puts it, the "greatest criminal mind of our time." And he was having a blast doing it.
People often forget how much of a risk that performance was. Gene Hackman was already a heavyweight. He had an Oscar for The French Connection. He was the guy you hired for grit and intensity. Then Richard Donner calls him up and says, "Hey, want to play a guy who lives in a posh underground lair and tries to sink California to make a buck on desert real estate?"
It shouldn't have worked. It really shouldn't. But Hackman’s Lex Luthor remains the gold standard for a specific kind of theatrical villainy that we just don't see anymore.
The Mustache Wars and the Bald Truth
There’s a legendary story about Hackman’s hair—or lack thereof. You see, Lex Luthor in the comics is famously bald. Hackman? Not so much. He didn't want to shave his head. He didn't even want to shave his mustache.
Richard Donner, the director, had to get crafty. He told Hackman, "Look, if you shave your mustache, I'll shave mine." Hackman agreed. He went to the makeup trailer, got the shave, and walked back out. He told Donner it was his turn. Donner smiled, reached up, and peeled off a fake mustache. He’d tricked one of the greatest actors in Hollywood history.
Hackman almost lost it. Then he laughed. That’s the energy he brought to the set.
As for the baldness, Hackman only wore a bald cap for the very end of the first film and a few scenes in the sequels. For the rest of the time? He wore wigs. The movie actually turned this into a character trait. Lex Luthor was so vain he wouldn't let the world see his true scalp. It added a layer of pomposity to the guy. He wasn't just evil; he was insecure and flamboyant.
Why the Real Estate Scheme Was Actually Brilliant
Most modern viewers laugh at the plot of the 1978 Superman. Lex buys up a bunch of worthless desert land in the middle of nowhere. Then, he redirects two nuclear missiles to hit the San Andreas Fault. The goal? Sink the West Coast. Suddenly, his "worthless" desert becomes the new California coastline.
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It’s campy. It’s ridiculous. It’s also kinda genius.
Think about it. Most villains want to "rule the world." How do you even do that? The paperwork alone would be a nightmare. Hackman’s Luthor just wanted to be the richest guy on the planet. He wanted to own the land everyone else needed. He understood the fundamental truth that "they're not making any more of it."
He wasn't a world-ender. He was a high-stakes con man.
The "Used Car Salesman" Energy
Critics have often described Hackman’s portrayal as a "used car salesman wielding nuclear missiles." That’s spot on. He surrounded himself with "unsatisfactory help"—the bumbling Otis (played by the late, great Ned Beatty) and the glamorous but morally conflicted Miss Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine).
He spent half his time screaming at Otis for being an idiot. It shouldn't be scary, yet it was. Because beneath the silk robes and the snappy one-liners, Hackman kept a tiny sliver of genuine menace. When he leaves Superman to drown with a Kryptonite necklace around his neck, he doesn't do a big speech. He just leaves. He’s got things to do.
This version of Lex was a narcissist who genuinely believed he was the smartest person in any room. He didn't hate Superman because of some deep ideological rift. He hated him because Superman was the only thing he couldn't control. Superman was a "big blue schoolboy" who got in the way of a perfectly good real estate swindle.
The Legacy of the Lex Luthor Wigs
It's funny to think about how Gene Hackman Lex Luthor influenced everything that came after. When Kevin Spacey took the role in Superman Returns (2006), he was basically doing a darker, more murderous cover version of Hackman. He even brought back the real estate obsession.
Michael Rosenbaum in Smallville went the opposite way, giving us the "tragic friend" version. Jesse Eisenberg tried to do a hyper-caffeinated tech-bro version. But none of them quite captured that specific blend of charm and cruelty that Hackman nailed.
Hackman played the character in three films:
- Superman: The Movie (1978)
- Superman II (1980)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
He skipped the third one because he was loyal to Richard Donner, who had been fired mid-production on the second film. That tells you a lot about Hackman. He wasn't just there for the paycheck—though at $2 million for the first movie, it was a very nice paycheck (especially compared to Christopher Reeve’s $250,000). He cared about the collaboration.
What We Can Learn from Hackman’s Luthor
Looking back, there’s a lot of value in how Hackman approached this. He didn't treat "comic book" as a dirty word. He didn't try to make it "grounded" or "gritty" in the way we do now. He leaned into the fun of it.
If you're looking to revisit these films or study what makes a great antagonist, keep these three things in mind:
- Ego is a better motivator than "Evil": Characters who act out of vanity and self-interest are often more relatable and entertaining than those who want to destroy the world for no reason.
- The stakes don't always have to be universal: Sinking a state for a real estate profit is "small" compared to a multiverse collapse, but it feels more personal and tangible.
- Chemistry matters: The back-and-forth between Hackman and Beatty is legendary for a reason. A villain is only as good as the people they have to deal with on a Tuesday morning.
If you want to dive deeper into this era of filmmaking, your best bet is to track down the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II. It restores a lot of the intended tone and gives you a much better look at how Hackman’s Luthor was supposed to fit into the grander narrative. It's less slapstick and a bit more cynical, which suits Hackman perfectly.
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Next time you see a movie villain giving a 10-minute monologue about their childhood trauma, just remember Gene Hackman. He didn't need a sad story. He just needed a map of the San Andreas Fault and a really good wig.
Actionable Insights for Movie Buffs:
Check out The Conversation (1974) right after watching Superman. Seeing Hackman go from a paranoid, quiet surveillance expert to the boisterous Lex Luthor shows you the incredible range of an actor who helped define the 70s. Also, pay close attention to the "Otisburg" scene—it’s a masterclass in comedic timing that most modern blockbusters completely lack.