Michael Rosenbaum Addresses Fan Reaction To His Lex Luther On Smallville

Michael Rosenbaum he is “honored” to be called the best Lex Luther more than twenty years later Smallville started.

“I didn't know for a long time that people thought this way or felt this way,” Rosenbaum, 52, said. Us Weekly especially while promoting his new book Skilled Producer. “It wasn't until five or ten years ago that I started to feel it. People would have top ten lists, and I couldn't believe it for so long.”

Rosenbaum made his debut as Lex Luther in season 1 of Smallvillewhich aired throughout 2001. He left the show after its seventh season in 2007, but returned for the 2011 series finale.

“It's been many years. I think that when you do it, you want people to appreciate what you did,” said Rosenbaum about the program. “There [are] many Lex Luthers in the past, and I wanted people to be happy with what I did. I was happy.”

Social media wasn't really a thing there SmallvilleIe was at a high level, so Rosenbaum did not get an “immediate response” from fans. “It was kind of a crapshoot,” he admitted.

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Rosenbaum said Us that he is truly “humbled” by the continuous response from Smallville followers.

“I'm proud of it. It's amazing how many young people are watching Smallvilleand their children are watching it now. The new generation,” he added. “We started it all. Before us, there was none Flash again Arrow again Superman & Lois again Gotham.”

He went on to call Smallville a “well-made show” and “a great show,” praising the writing, acting and cinematography.

“I think that's why there are so many of them [superhero] shows now, and more movies,” Rosenbaum said. “I think Smallville it was a big reason for that.”

Smallville also established Rosenbaum's “good thing” off-screen. The actor's friendship with a former costar Tom Welling — who portrayed Clark Kent on the WB series — has changed over the years largely, in part, due to the show's continued success.

“We were friends, but we didn't really hang out because we were working all the time,” Rosenbaum recalled. “It wasn't until the end of the show that Tom started signing autographs. We have a rewatch podcast called 'TalkVille' and we do this thing called Smallville Nights, where they do little events in this villain. We just became very close.”

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Now, Rosenbaum and Welling are “trying” to sell the show together. “We are like brothers,” he added.

Welling and her 5-year-old son, Thompson, even showed great support for Rosenbaum's latest children's book, Skilled Producer.

“Him again [wife] Jess [Lee] I read the book, and they sent me the video, actually, today,” Rosenbaum said Us before sharing that the book is about a little boy whose “only skill is to make his lips sound like things you hear every day.”

The actor said the book “adds humor to life” and is proud to have written it. (Yes, all of the featured fart sounds are from Rosenbaum himself.)

“Everyone is kicking about it. I mean, farts are funny. They are part of the system. People do it. I don't care,” he said. “You never know what you're going to get with a fart. It would be the strangest sound you've ever heard.”

Skilled Producer it's out now.