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Michael Rosenbaum Discusses His Smallville Departure

Michael Rosenbaum discussed his departure from Smallville in a new interview with Katee Sackhoff.

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Michael Rosenbaum paid a visit to his friend Katee Sackhoff‘s podcast Blah Blah Blah with Katee Sackhoff for an hour-plus-long discussion about careers, life, on-screen kisses, and more. The part that might matter most to Smallville fans, though, is that Michael talked about his departure from the show after Season 7 as well as being known as the best Lex Luthor (a sentiment shared on this very website).

On the podcast, Michael discusses how he was originally only contracted for six seasons but did extend it to include a seventh. When the time came to sign on beyond that, he was ready to leave, but Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth wanted to meet him for lunch, ostensibly to make an offer. Even though Michael had worked for Roth for over a decade, the interaction was “like the first time he ever met me,” Michael says.

According to Michael, Peter Roth proposed a three-year deal… for the exact same amount of money he was getting on his previous contract. “That was it,” he says. After that, he didn’t want to counter, and didn’t care what they’d offer afterward.  “That was it. I knew I had to respect myself, and it wasn’t worth it,” he recalls.

Which isn’t to say Smallville was a bad experience, despite having to play the same character for so many years. He always committed to and respected the role… and if people say he’s “known mostly as Lex Luthor,” that’s okay.

“F**k, yeah,” he says about that response. “If I’m known for that, and that’s the only thing in my life… that’s not awesome? I used to think ‘I’ve gotta do something better…’ How are you going to be better than playing a great character like that on a great show for so many years? Just to be lucky enough to be on a great show and be good in something is amazing. I honestly like that that’s how I’ll be remembered. That’s the best thing ever.”

At one point, Katie Sackhoff brings up the notion that many have named Michael as their favorite Lex Luthor — while Michael himself lists Gene Hackman as his favorite, the topic did also cover how even new DC Studios head (and personal friend to Michael) James Gunn has said that he was his favorite Lex Luthor. “It’s cool to see your peers and people you respect and admire, and your friends say that,” Michael says.

Michael isn’t Lex in the new Superman: Legacy film – that will be Nicholas Hoult – but Michael describes director James Gunn as “brilliant.” “I hope it’s brilliant,” he says about the movie, too. But no – it’s a different direction, and his friendship with Gunn doesn’t mean he would be guaranteed a part like that.

“That’s a thing that people think about this industry. They think you’re gonna meet someone and become friends with them, and they’re just gonna put you in everything. That does not happen. I’m here to say that that does not happen. It doesn’t mean that they’re not thinking of you; just [that] they have a vision for their projects, and sometimes it just doesn’t fit in their mind,” he says. (Gunn did use Michael in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, however, where he played Martinex.)

The entire podcast is a good listen; you can check it out embedded below.

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. QuntBizkit

    February 6, 2024 at 5:14 pm

    Peter Roth strikes me as a grade A tool

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Smallville

Revealed: Possible Smallville Cameos in James Gunn’s Superman!

A leaked call sheet may have revealed Smallville stars’ presence in James Gunn’s new Superman film

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As we all know, even here at KryptonSite, years ago, we had an April Fool’s gag that Michael Rosenbaum would be playing Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman film, out July 11 of this year. But, of course, that was just an April Fool’s fake story, but if some photos posted on Reddit are to be believed, we may be seeing Gunn’s personal friend Michael as well as his “TalkVille” cohost Tom Welling in the new movie which will star David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan as Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

Frequent scooper “DavidRPM” hinted a few weeks back that he had heard that several Superman-related cameos would factor into the new film — more than just the appearance of Christopher Reeve’s son Will Reeve making an appearance. Nothing else surfaced about this rumor until the last day when the photos surfaced from the filming of the movie last year, though there was the report that every Supergirl actress to date would appear in Supergirl: The Woman of Tomorrow in one way or another.

What’s in those photos?

Pictures of trailers saying “T.W.” and “M.R.” on the doors, which may not be the smoking gun we might need, but they do seem like a code if they don’t really want onlookers to know what’s going on…

But then…. there was a call sheet. Oh, there was a call sheet! And in said call sheet, in addition to several members of the principal cast reporting for duty that day – specifically, the Daily Planet gang – there are the roles of “Funky Flashman” and “Bibbo.”

The actors playing them? “M. Rosenbaum” and “T. Welling.”

Folks, we’re going to get to see our duo on the big screen!!!!

Because we don’t want Warner Bros. Legal breathing down our necks — that is, if they still exist and haven’t been all excised from their jobs by David Zaslav — you’re going to have to go to the original Reddit post which you can find here. Some other reveals might be within, so don’t say we didn’t warn you!!!

See you on July 11!

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Smallville

Smallville Animated Update: It May Be A While…

On TalkVille, the reality of the current status of the Smallville animated project was discussed.

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On a recent episode of Michael Rosenbaum and Tom Welling’s TalkVille podcast, they had the show’s creator Al Gough as a call-in guest, and among the topics discussed was the Smallville animated project that they’ve been trying to get off the ground. Unfortunately, Gough brought up the reality that especially with regime changes at the studio, it may be a while.

“Regime change” refers to changes in leadership at the studio or network. As an example, the regime changed massively when Smallville moved from The WB (who had executives that loved them) to The CW (where Dawn Ostroff was more interested in “pretty rich white girls with problems” shows and kept trying to kill Smallville).

“The problem with most projects in development in any studio and any network is regime change, and Warners has obviously gone through a lot, and I think the fact that they’re in the process of rebooting Superman again, unfortunately, I think, keeps our thing off the table for a bit,” Gough said in discussion with the actors. He pointed out that everything comes around in one form or another, pointing to Hulu’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival as such a thing.

So, don’t give up hope… but for now, it seems it’s not happening anytime soon, if at all.

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Smallville

John Schneider Added To Salute to Smallville 2025 in Chicago!

John Schneider has been added to the 2025 Salute to Smallville convention in Chicago from Creation Entertainment.

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John Schneider is the latest actor to be added to the guest list for Creation Entertainment’s second “Salute To Smallville” convention, happening September 13-14 in Chicago. Schneider portrayed Clark’s human father Jonathan Kent from Seasons 1-5 and returned for several episodes in the show’s final season.

Schneider will be joining Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Erica Durance, John Glover, Aaron Ashmore, Adrianne Palicki, and Alaina Huffman at this year’s event! Last year’s convention was a fantastic experience and it’s well worth checking out! You can read more about Salute to Smallville and purchase tickets here.

DISCLAIMER: KryptonSite’s Craig Byrne has created web graphics and websites for Creation Entertainment in addition to hosting their 2024 Salute to Smallville event.

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