Smallville's villain, who played Lex Luthor on the popular series, recently made a red carpet appearance, however, the TV star looked unrecognizable.
Michael Rosenbaum, now 53, who portrayed the devious character from 2001 to 2011, showed support for the blockbuster hit premiere of Superman.
© WireImageFans of the long-time CW series remember Michael's character Lex being bald, but the actor recently sported a full head of hair with highlights, and he also donned a light mustache. Michael wore a classic black suit, white button-down, and opted to go without a tie. He finished the elegant look with red-colored glasses.
The actor took to social media to share a carousel of pictures with the cast. He captioned the sweet post: "Super proud of my dear friend James Gunn and all my friends who really kicked some [expletive] in the new SUPERMAN. The movie is a lot of fun. Go see it! You guys really brought it."
Smallville's Superman, actor Tom Welling commented "fun" on the post, with an applause and fire emoji. Michael shared his experience attending the major red carpet on his podcast, Inside of You.
© Getty ImagesHe explained that he was "proud of James Gunn," and "had a great time," going to the premiere. The TV star revealed that he also made a brief appearance in the film playing one of Lex's Raptor Guards.
Michael expressed: "Everybody's like 'Are you in it?' And I'm like, 'Well, yeah. I'm underwater and I say three lines. But you don't see my face.'" When it came to voicing his character, Michael shared that the unique offer came unexpectedly.
He recalled: "[At] the last minute when everything is done, [James is] like, 'Hey, will you come and do this voice?' Some of my friends are doing it. I'm like, 'Yeah sure.' So I did. It was fun."
© WireImageNicholas Hoult originally auditioned for the role of Superman in the latest film; however, he got cast as Lex Luthor. Being that Michael knew a thing or two about playing the popular villain, Nicholas reached out to him for words of advice. The conversation he shared with the fellow actor was a full-circle moment for him, being that he grew up watching Smallville.
Nicholas recalled to Entertainment Weekly: "Honestly, he was so kind and encouraging, and he really gave me a freedom and a confidence and a support that felt really lovely going into it. He was probably the first person I saw play Luthor when I was growing up. So to get to interact with him and to chat with him beforehand was really special. I appreciate that from him, his time, but also just his encouragement meant a lot."
The actor was moved by Michael's enthusiasm and early stamp of approval and he found their conversations to be refreshing and motivating.
© Getty ImagesNicholas continued: "The beautiful thing he said was, 'You've got this. Go have fun,' It's a weirdly, kind of uplifting and wonderful thing to play a character that you've watched someone play and do a brilliant job at, to then have them say, 'Yeah, go get it. Go take it on.' That's a really bolstering sort of thing to happen."
The actor revealed that the process of playing a popular character that has been portrayed multiple times is a unique experience.
He added: "It was very kind of him to do that because I suppose it's a weird thing taking on a character that other people have played in some ways. Normally in acting, there's no comparisons, really, when it's a unique character, but when there's been different interpretations, then obviously people do compare."
