Jesse Eisenberg explains how 'Batman v Superman' Razzie made him director

Jesse Eisenberg says winning a Razzie for Batman v Superman left him unable to get studio roles, and pushed him towards directing. 

Speaking at a screen talk at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday, he said: “I couldn’t get into movie studio parts anymore because I had won a Raspberry Award from [being in the] ‘Batman’ movie… and I saw the trajectory.” 

The industry, he said, “did not want me to be in a superhero movie”.

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He explained that a lot of it “came from fear”. Acting is an unstable industry in which you are always worrying whether you are on an upslope or a downslope, he said, and as a paranoid person he sees it coming early.

“So I was like, I’ve got to direct movies,” he said.

He played Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder’s 2016 film and was handed the Razzie for worst supporting actor. 

The film, which opened globally with $424.1 million, won four Razzies in all, including worst screenplay, worst sequel and worst screen combo for Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck. 

Eisenberg has said before, on Armchair Expert, that the role “hurt my career in a real way”. 

The festival was closing on Sunday with his latest film as director, The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti.

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