The Superman prequel series Smallville has the best live-action iteration of Lex Luthor by far. Smallville debuted in 2001, telling the story of how Tom Welling's Clark Kent discovered his Kryptonian origins and came to terms with his powers. As Clark's story progressed towards his destiny as Superman, so did the story of his future arch nemesis. Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor was entangled with Welling's Clark from the very first episode of Smallville, with the series telling the tragic tale of friends-turned-enemies.
Rosenbaum's long tenure on Smallville, seven of the series' ten seasons, helped the actor cement his legacy as the greatest live-action Lex Luthor to this point. Superman is the epitome of what it means to be a superhero, not only based on the characters' powers but his acute humanity, despite not being human himself. The character has spawned several different movies and TV shows over the years, with some of the best talent in Hollywood taking a stab at the character. Wherever Superman went, Luthor followed. Due to that, there have been many live-action Lex Luthor actors, but none gave a performance as remarkable as Rosenbaum in Smallville.
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