Nicholas Hoult on Being Given Darker Roles and Working With Robert Eggers, Clint Eastwood and Justin Kurzel in the Space of a Year

Has Nicholas Hoult gone over to the dark side?

Speaking at Variety Lounge presented by Red Sea Film Festival, the actor acknowledged that characters such as Lex Luthor in “Superman,” as well as Thomas Hutter in “Nosferatu,” Justin Kemp in “Juror #2” and Bob Mathews in “The Order” had all been darker than those he had earlier in his career.

Age has played a part in his choice of roles, something he has discussed with his friend Daniel Kaluuya, who was also at the festival this year. The two have known each other since they were both in teen comedy drama series “Skins.”

“I think it’s partly to do with age and, speaking of Daniel Kaluuya earlier, we always said that, our 20s were like figuring stuff out and trying things, and then when you get to your 30s as an actor that’s when things get really interesting, character-wise,” he said.

“I feel like with those movies, I had a great little run. I think at the end of the year that we shot ‘The Order,’ ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Juror #2,’ I was like, oh, you know, if I could say to me 10-15 years ago that I’d get a chance to work with Robert Eggers, Clint Eastwood and Justin Kurzel all in one year, playing those characters and in those films, I’d be very, very satisfied and content.”

Although Kaluuya and fellow “Skins” alumnus Dev Patel have gone behind the camera with films such as “The Kitchen” and “Monkey Man,’ don’t expect to see Hoult follow suit, although he admires their achievements. “I’m so impressed with what they did and what they do. Both of them are so creative, in how their minds work. I just love spending time with them, because they’re so inspiring. I mean, ‘Monkey Man,” the fact that Dev managed to pull off acting and directing, and it’s such a wonderful piece of directing, but to act in it as well … I just don’t know how your brain can do that. I definitely don’t think I could ever manage that.”

Although directing is not in the cards for now, in case he changes his mind he’s been watching carefully. “When I’m working with a director that I really like, I kind of try and keep a few notes, like, what they do, so I’m like, ‘Okay, remember this in case one day you do end up directing, and hopefully learn from the people you work with and really liked.'”

Talking about playing Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s “Superman” and the upcoming follow-up, “Man of Tomorrow,” which is set to start shooting in April, Hoult commented: “There’s been so many wonderful actors who’ve played Lex. So I feel honored to be another one, another name added to that list. And I just love what James Gunn writes, how he wants to portray that character, evolve the character going forward as well. So I feel like I’m in safe hands with him, and it’s a character that I really enjoy playing. It makes me happy.”

As for the script for “Man of Tomorrow,” while he wouldn’t go into details, he said it was “awesome.”