Michael Rosenbaum has explained why he left Smallville after seven seasons, saying he was offered a three-year contract without an increase in pay and had also been considering other opportunities.
The actor, who played Lex Luthor in the WB series, discussed his departure in a joint interview with co-star Tom Welling to mark the 25th anniversary of the show’s premiere.
Welling, who portrayed Clark Kent, said Rosenbaum’s contract had come up for renewal as the programme’s success grew, but that the expected rise in pay did not materialise.
Rosenbaum said he had reached an “impasse” with the show and wanted to move on. He recalled being told: “Hey, we want you to come back for three years — we want you to sign a three-year deal, and give you no increase in pay.”
“And anybody who works in any business, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m an integral part of this show, or this business,’ or whether you work at Kmart or whatever. And 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,” he said.
Michael Rosenbaum returned for the Smallville finale
Rosenbaum later asked to return for the series finale, saying he believed fans would appreciate seeing Lex Luthor’s story brought to a close.
“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,” he recalled thinking.
Although Rosenbaum shaved his head during his seven years on Smallville, he wore a bald cap for his final appearance.
