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'Batman V. Superman': Lex Luthor Is More Than A 'Silly, Villainous Character' to Jesse Eisenberg

Superman's greatest foe is just a little more realistic this time around.

With reporting by Josh Horowitz.

Jesse Eisenberg caused a lot of commotion among comic book fans when he was first cast for the role of Lex Luthor in "Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice." After all, most audiences expect to see someone conniving and ruthless, like Gene Hackman in the original "Superman" movie or Kevin Spacey in "Superman Returns."

But as Eisenberg told MTV News while promoting his new film with Jason Segel, "The End Of The Tour," he's not worried about living up to anyone else's interpretation of the character -- he already has his own.

"The expectations that I have are never the same expectations that an audience has," Eisenberg said. "I don’t have expectations for myself to adhere to a comic book character, but a lot of people are interested in how I would coincide with the comic book character. But it couldn’t be farther from my mind, because I’m just playing a role."

A role that, by the way, Eisenberg loves. "It’s a really great character that’s written by this guy, Chris Terrio, he’s a phenomenal writer... He loves my character in the same way I love my character. He put a lot of work into it. It’s a great character, there’s an emotional core to the character. It’s not this silly, villainous character."

"This is a real depiction of a person who thinks these things. So the challenge is to make it seem real," he added.

"Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice" hits theaters

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