The creator of the 2000s hit DC comics show Smallville, Miles Millar, discusses how Shazam! star Zachary Levi auditioned for Lex Luthor in the days before his stardom. Millar and writing partner Alfred Gough have since penned other popular series such as The Shannara Chronicles and Into The Badlands, but their initial success came with the 10-season phenomenon Smallville, which burst onto the scene on The WB (later The CW) in 2001. The show followed the adventures of a young, pre-Superman Clark Kent as he learns to become a hero in his hometown, and the massive success of the teen-oriented drama to some extent paved the way for the popular superhero shows of the Arrowverse, many of which are still running today.
One of the show's fan-favorite characters was the young Luthor, introduced initially as a close friend of Clark's before his gradual descent into villainy. Michael Rosenbaum played the Smallville role for seven seasons, becoming one of the defining iterations of Superman’s arch-nemesis on screen. Rosenbaum’s Lex was flawed, tragic, and hard to hate, but there were multiple actors who could’ve ended up in the part.
In an interview with THR to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show, Millar revealed that Levi originally auditioned for the role of Lex. Millar says he and the other producers were impressed with Levi’s first audition, so much they went to the network with the intention of casting him, only for his follow-up to be a "disaster." While he didn’t go into detail about what went wrong for Levi, Millar expresses relief that the actor went onto great success in Hollywood.
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.
Levi’s career eventually took off when he starred in the comedy series Chuck for a successful five-season run. Later hitting Hollywood with roles in films like Thor: The Dark World, he also voiced Flynn Rider in Disney’s Tangled and eventually starred as a DC superhero of his own in Shazam!. While a key part on Smallville would’ve also likely done wonders for the aspiring actor, many fans of the show would struggle to imagine anyone other than Rosenbaum in the role.
The series' 20th anniversary celebrations have seen Millar and Gough reuniting with Rosenbaum and lead Tom Welling for numerous retrospective discussions. Welling and Rosenbaum also recently revealed they are working on bringing Smallville back, via an animated sequel series, with many fans eager to see the show's versions of the Man of Steel and friends back on TV. Levi, meanwhile, continues to explore the DC universe in the upcoming sequel Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, scheduled for release in 2023.
Source: THR
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