'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' Cast and Spoilers: Jeremy Irons, Jesse Eisenberg Talk About Their Characters Alfred and Luthor

Cast of 'Batman V Superman' and 'Suicide Squad'
The cast members of 'Batman v Superman' and 'Suicide Squad' gathered together for a special joint photo for the newest issue of The Hollywood Reporter. |

Ben Affleck's Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman might be the stars of DC Universe's upcoming flick "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," but other supporting cast members are all set to impress viewers and steal the spotlight away from the two feuding superheroes.

Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred, who will be played by award-winning actor Jeremy Irons and Superman's genius rival Lex Luthor, to be played by "The Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg will be given a fresh new spin by the actors, and these two characters will deliver something new to the table as never seen before.

During an interview with the Toronto Sun, Irons revealed that he was given a free rein by the director to make the character of Alfred his own. The same character has been portrayed recently by Michael Kane in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, and by Michael Gough in the "Batman" films back in the 80s and 90s.

"Zack Snyder...wanted to create a completely different Alfred. So I felt I didn't have to carry any baggage from previous ones," he said. "It's sort of a reincarnation if you'd like. I had a feeling I was creating my own Alfred, more of a man who can actually do anything if he has to."

Meanwhile, during his interview with The Observer, Eisenberg went into full detail as to how his villain will be different from Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey's interpretations in the past. 

"In a lot of ways Luthor is more of a stretch than any character you would do in an independent movie, which is normally the place you stretch. So in that way it was not at all compromised. If anything it was the best, most advantageous role I've ever been given," he said about his new role.

Eisenberg added that Luthor will take advantage of the way people perceive Superman in the movie - which is with disdain since they deem it unfair that their protection lies in the hands of just one man.

"Now people expect the tone to be more realistic just because we live in a world where the average audience member has a sense of psychological motivations. How can one man - Superman - have so much power?" he explained. "These are the kind of things that we talk about when we think about authoritarian states. They're addressing geopolitics in this movie and not in a way that's pretentious or esoteric."

The actor has nothing but praises for the movie since it was able to tie superhero elements with reality in such a "sophisticated, philosophical theme" and "in a much smarter, different way."