Michael Rosenbaum spent seven seasons playing Lex Luthor on “Smallville,” but he walked away from the superhero drama in 2008 after a contract dispute with Warner Bros. Television. Now, the actor is opening up about why he turned down the opportunity to return for three more seasons.
In a new retrospective interview with Variety, Rosenbaum and his “Smallville” co-star Tom Welling, who nearly turned down the role of Clark Kent, discussed the contract dispute that led to Rosenbaum’s departure. Rosenbaum was initially hesitant to talk about it, but Welling wasn’t, explaining that when his co-star’s contract came up for renewal, “the idea is that, based on the success of the show, the contract will be increased. And that wasn’t happening.” According to Rosenbaum, Warner Bros. Television, which produced “Smallville” for The WB and later The CW, expected him to sign on for three more years without offering a pay raise.
Rosenbaum wasn’t willing to accept those terms, telling the publication, “You’re like, ‘I’m part of the success, and don’t I need to get rewarded?’ So I said, ‘Yeah, no thanks.’ And that was it.” After leaving “Smallville,” he went on to explore other roles in projects like “Breaking In,” “Impastor,” and the second and third “Guardians of the Galaxy” films.
Michael Rosenbaum returned for the meaningful Smallville series finale
Even after leaving “Smallville” following a contract dispute, Michael Rosenbaum decided to return for the show’s series finale to give fans a fitting send-off. He personally reached out to then-showrunners Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders to tell them that he wanted to come back, and they agreed. The experience ended up meaning more to Rosenbaum than he thought it would.
He revealed to Variety that he told himself at the time, “You should come back and wrap it up for the fans — I think the fans will love it. And I didn’t realize how much I would love it, and I’m glad I did it.” His return also gave him the chance to reconnect with people behind the scenes, including “Smallville” makeup artist Natalie Cosco, with whom he’d developed a close bond during his time on the show. Rosenbaum recalled the emotional reunion, saying, “I gave her a hug, and I just go, ‘Oh man. Oh, shoot. Here I go!’ I just started crying, and she cried, and we hugged it out, and that was it. It was bittersweet.”
These days, Rosenbaum and Tom Welling continue to look back on their time on the series through their rewatch podcast, “Talkville.” As the show celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, the podcast gives fans a chance to revisit the series alongside two of its stars.
This story originally appeared on TVLine
