‘Smallville’ Star, 53, Looks Unrecognizable in Rare Red Carpet Appearance originally appeared on Parade.
Fans of Smallville may have some difficulty recognizing one of the show’s stars, Michael Rosenbaum, during a rare red carpet appearance.
Rosenbaum, who famously played villain Lex Luthor on the CW series, which aired from 2001 to 2011, appeared on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of the 2025 film, Superman, on July 7. As fans are aware, Rosenbaum was bald with no facial hair while playing Lex during his decade on Smallville. Unlike his beloved character, Rosenbaum has a full head of hair.
While on the red carpet for Superman, which was directed by James Gunn, Rosenbaum wore his short, highlighted hair in a slightly voluminous style. He also rocked a light beard.
For the event, the actor opted to wear a white button-down shirt under a black suit. He accessorized the dapper look with black dress shoes and a pair of red sunglasses.
Rosenbaum shared a picture of himself posing at the event with several members of the 2025 movie’s cast, including Nicholas Hoult, who plays Lex, in a July 8 Instagram post.
In the caption of the post, Rosenbaum said he was “proud of [his] dear friend James Gunn” for the film. He also encouraged his fans to “go see” the movie. In addition, he congratulated the film’s cast.
Rosenbaum’s Smallville co-star Tom Welling, who played Clark Kent AKA Superman, responded to the post in the comments section.
“Fun🙌🔥👏,” wrote Welling.
Rosenbaum spoke about attending the film’s premiere in the July 15 episode of his podcast, Inside of You. He said he “had a great time” at the event and was “proud of James Gunn.”
In addition, he referenced that he had a brief cameo playing one of Lex’s Raptor Guards in the film.
“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,'” said Rosenbaum.
He also shared that Gunn approached him last minute to voice the role.
“The last minute when everything is done, he’s 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,” said Rosenbaum.
‘Smallville’ Star, 53, Looks Unrecognizable in Rare Red Carpet Appearance first appeared on Parade on Jul 22, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
