MICHAEL ROSENBAUM Reveals Why He Left SMALLVILLE After Season 7

The writers should have come up with a better conclusion for lex and Lana. Lionel had a great conclusion at his death.

Lex literally finds out Clark's secret and then vanished and Lana broke up on video..... There should have been more forethought from the writers esp with contracts ending on the horizon.

Adventures Of really broke trail in early TV for nearly a decade, but Smallville accomplished so much more. A small, reoccurring role for JACK LARSON would have totally ruled.

Clark and Lois's chemistry/love relationship felt so forced.

You are the best Lex !

He quit because, like most actors in Hollywood... especially TV actors of the time...Thought they could do better. They wanna be movie stars. They don't wanna be typed cast. They see it as a stepping stone to bigger things...not the final destination. But for most actors...Its the best they will ever get...But their ego won't let them accept it. I'm sure Michael career goals were much higher then...hosting a podcast in his spare room...talking about the one gig he had 15 years ago. Yeah he's done some voice work...But smallville was the role of his career. He was very lucky and did a great job. He thought it would leave to him being a blockbuster movie star....It didn't. He should of stayed and ran with the show until then end like Tom.

Best lex ever and would love to see him take up the roll again with the same cast in a movie.

I still wish we would of got more episodes and more seasons I say like smallville season 11 cause we never got see Clark fully in the Superman suit or how he gave up the powers and stuff i really wish there was season 11

Honestly i felt like the showrunners should have left before the end of season 7. The show was losing it's way before season 8 and i think it's actually impressive that they managed to find some kind of footing at all during seasons 8-10. Don't get me wrong Seasons 2-4 are still peak Smallville for me and i love those seasons so much. But i feel like some fans give seasons 5-7 quite a bit more credit than they actually deserve. For me, that's when the show was actually losing it's way

So who are these other two guys who were apparently also on the show? I don't know why I finally got curious why "Lex" left the show, but it was pretty obvious. As he basically said, he had nothing left to contribute. They had played his role and his character into the ground. Since all of these shows exist in a sort of multiverse where things don't always follow what we consider cannon, and the majority of fans of a show couldn't care less about "cannon" anyway, I always thought it would have been nice if the Lex character had been working behind to scenes to help Clark become a super hero, under the guise of helping his old friend now that he finally knew his true identity. This could become known to Clark and his allies at some point with irrefutable proof that he both knew his identity, and had been working to protect him behind the scenes. Just to throw everyone off, his ultimate goal being not just to eventually turn on Clark but to create a superhero to then defeat imagining it a much more substantial victory than simply defeating a farm boy with super powers no one had ever heard of. They could have played that story out until the finale with many new and interesting avenues to explore along the way.

I loved Lex but it was nice when he was gone. The show needed to move on.

The most common reason for a show going bad after is it running out of steam for ideas, as they said. That's assuming there isn't a crazy amount of studio interruption or political biases or persona beefs contaminating the production.

Seinfeld knew it was time to stop the show, even after being offered a ton of money to keep going.

As the saying goes, "some shows eventually jump the shark and kill the value of the show as a result".

Mr. Rosenbaum, I’m so happy you came back towards the end of the show. No other person has yet to play as great a Lex Luther in live-action as you have through Smallville’s run.

It's my first time watching all the way through... I had no idea he left.....😢

He is the real Lex, he is playing Michael Rosenbaum in real life.

Long story short, even he felt the series was going on too long to get to the lackluster point it ended up ending with.

lol they are low key shitting on anyone who stayed after season 7

IMO, it's admirable for people to leave a comfortable situation that provides a very nice livelihood because you just don't feel that you have more to give. That shows, just my opinion, great integrity and respect for the work.

Am I the only one who actually *watched Smallville's final seasons?

This is not a matter of opinion or perspective or preference. It was shit tv. Period.

If you like that texture ff shit, well, more power to you?

Lois Lane begins masquerading as a super hero, one who can better understand Clark, because she has stilettos.

The show attempts a Doomsday fight with a $400(?) budget.

Lana ends her run with super speed, super strength and permanent Kryptonite radiation on her skin

"DaRkSseid" POSSESES Lionel and is defeated by Clark using tackle. Which was super effective!

Yeah. No.

The days where we pretend that all opinions were created equal, like men, needs to die.

But they literally left it on a huge cliffhanger, they should have done at least one more season and then ended the show.

When I realized Michael Rosenbaum was not in Smallville anymore, I stopped watching it. Love the show, but I could not get into it anymore. I found myself falling asleep when watching, I just could not get back into it.

take me back, loved the show, by far best clark and lex, cant believe how long ago it was now, feels like yesterday watching season 1

I'd agree with their sentiment however the end of season 7 had zero ending in sight. Maybe if they would have ended with lex being fully evil and Clark being close to superman then I'd agree there's not much to tell.

The is why Star Trek has their built-in 7 season limit for all their shows (Enterprise notwithstanding) You get to a point where everything to do has been done, and you simply begin to repeat yourself. Best in and get out while the audience is still interested.

Loved Smallville, but quit watching it after the 4th season.

I think it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. The best Lex Luthor character also.

Nah bros, once new people are brought on board, it typically changes the tone of a show in a bad way. Now that shows are doing fewer seasons guess we'll be seeing less of this

People didn't understand that you signed a contract and at the end of it you were done? I'm not sure what he thinks he is revealing here but literally no one thought anything other than it was the end of your contract and you didn't "Leave". it was just the same as any other actor..... what a useless clip of a nothing Burger.

You left because you were tired you are sleepy you were saying too much lines😊😅

Best portrayal of Lex I have ever seen in the DC Universe.

I will say that Lex leaving the show makes me skip all the episodes that are just about him. They were a little boring the first time around and he's not important to the arc of the show in the end. Sorry Michael😂

Smallville greatest show ever. Though season with zod was my favorite

I can feel that

After season 7 I couldnt be bothered. Tried watching it without Lex, Lana, Lionel, but it wasnt the same. The show suffered and became unwatchable to me.

I was pissed at the time but forgave him when he came back for the finale. 😅

Smallville ran too long. Locecit but too long.

Bros James Gunn puts his friends to work. Maybe we will see Rosey as Luthor again some day? PLEASE GODS PLEASE

Who the fook are those guys?

The way the story of Smallville was writen, I knew was going to be a butterfly deviation from the comics ever since Clark destroyed his own ship. Take Lex out after Season 7, why not? At least Tom Welling stuck around and got to be a considerably better character after that especially after he started wearing black in Season 9. After all those Clone Lex's that came in his place it just made Rosenbaum's return in the finale that much more special. What I think was not fair to the story is that Lex memory was erased before it all ended, a Lex Luthor working against Superman while knowing his identity would have made a more interesting storyline than the mainstream comics.

Seasons 8-10 are my fave. Clark grew as a character (not to mention the evolution of Clark and Lois) and the storylines were chefs kiss 🤌🏾 they almost became movie like with the Continuous villain storylines and I loved it

I loved Lionel Luther. I think John Glover acted the hell out of that role! 🙌🏼

Who are those two guys

My biggest problem with Smallville was that Clark was floating above his bed in the pilot episode and never had another hint of ability to fly until the last episode of the show. He should have been flying by at least the 2nd season.

I love the last few seasons as it became more of a superhero/comic book show.
Clark, Lois & Oliver are my favourites so didn't really miss Lex or Lana 😉

Coolest lex ever this guy😂

it would have been interesting to see what if Lex Luthor has stayed and what his stories would have been in season 8 9 and 10 i know he was in season 8 kind of but it wasn’t Michael Rosenbaum

It's interesting how Rosenbaum's reason here for leaving is similar to one given by Jon Pertwee, the third Dr. Who, for his leaving the role as The Doctor. The people up top, who had guided the show's success, were leaving, and he didn't see how he fit that equation any more.

I still think Michael would make a great return to DC, this time as Buddy Baker aka Animal Man. Grant Morrison had a pretty wild run and Ive also heard Jeff Lemire’s run would be interesting too

The show really wasn't the same after Lex. I still think it was the perfect ending to a show but would have benefited huge with more Lex.

Michael did all I believe he was talking and talking Clark was not really

If they knew they were running out of juice why did they leave Season 7 on such a hefty cliffhanger? (Al and Miles, not Rosenbaum) Could have just ended the show at Season 7. Seasons 8, 9 and 10 didn't feel like Smallville and the concept became to big for the shows budget.