Jesse Eisenberg says Razzie win for 'Batman v Superman' damaged his acting career

Jesse Eisenberg says his Razzie win for 'Batman v Superman' hurt his career and prompted him to pursue directing

Jesse Eisenberg has said winning a Razzie Award for his performance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice damaged his acting career and influenced his decision to pursue directing.

The 43-year-old actor and filmmaker reflected on the experience during an appearance at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday, October 18, while promoting his upcoming film The Debut.

Eisenberg played Lex Luthor opposite Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman in Zack Snyder’s 2016 superhero film.

His performance earned him the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor, while the film also received awards for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, Worst Screen Combo and Worst Screenplay.

"Listen, a lot of it just came from fear," Eisenberg said, according to Variety. "I couldn't get into movie studio parts anymore because I had won a Raspberry Award from [being in the] 'Batman' movie … and I saw the trajectory."

The actor described the uncertainty of working in the film industry, saying performers often worry about whether their careers are progressing or declining.

"If you're an actor, you're constantly panicked about 'Am I on an upslope or a downslope?' Because there's no plateau. Acting is just this unstable, awful industry where you are either on the treadmill and you're doing okay and you're running up or you are yesterday's news and it's awful."

Eisenberg added that he began writing films because he believed directing could help sustain his career.

"So I was like, 'I've got to direct movies.' That's why I started writing them, just to kind of keep my career afloat, really."

He made his feature directorial debut with 2022’s When You Finish Saving the World, followed by 2024’s A Real Pain, which he also wrote.

"I genuinely think it actually hurt my career in a real way because I was poorly received in something so public," he said.