Jesse Eisenberg Says Razzie Win Cost Him Studio Roles

Jesse Eisenberg says winning a Razzie for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" shut him out of studio acting work and pushed him toward directing to, in his words, "keep my career afloat," he told an audience at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday, according to Page Six.

Eisenberg, 43, won the Razzie for worst supporting actor in 2017 for his role as Lex Luthor in the 2016 Zack Snyder film, which also starred Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman. Speaking at the festival, Eisenberg said the award marked a visible turning point in how studios viewed him, a remark Page Six reported had first appeared via Variety.

What did Eisenberg say about the Razzie win?

"Listen, a lot of it just came from fear," Eisenberg said, according to Page Six. "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."

He described the entertainment business as a system with no middle ground for actors trying to read their own standing. "Acting is just this unstable, awful industry where you are either on the treadmill and you're doing OK and you're running up, or you are yesterday's news, and it's awful," Eisenberg said. "And if you're a paranoid person like me, you see it way in advance."

"Acting is just this unstable, awful industry where you are either on the treadmill and you're doing OK and you're running up, or you are yesterday's news, and it's awful." — Jesse Eisenberg, BFI London Film Festival, Oct. 19, 2026

Why did he win the Razzie for 'Batman v Superman'?

The Golden Raspberry Awards, known as the Razzies, hand out annual prizes mocking the year's weakest film performances, timed to coincide with Oscar season. Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, played opposite Affleck's Batman and Cavill's Superman in the 2016 release, drew the worst supporting actor citation at the 2017 ceremony, per Page Six's account of his festival remarks.

How did the award affect his career path?

According to Eisenberg, the Razzie did not end his acting career outright, but it changed how he planned his next moves. He told the London audience that watching his own trajectory convinced him to diversify into screenwriting and directing rather than wait on studio casting decisions. "So I was like, I've got to direct movies," he said, per Page Six. "That's why I started writing them, just to kind of keep my career afloat, really."

That shift followed Eisenberg's earlier acting breakout in "The Social Network," and it has since produced multiple directing credits, according to the same report.

What is Eisenberg working on now?

Eisenberg is currently promoting "The Debut," an A24 musical comedy he directed, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, Page Six reported. His festival comments came as part of the press rounds for that release at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival, where he also appeared on the red carpet for the film's premiere.

By the Numbers

• 2016 — Release year of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," directed by Zack Snyder
• 2017 — Year Eisenberg received the Razzie for worst supporting actor
• 43 — Eisenberg's age at the time of his London festival remarks
• 2026 — Year of the BFI London Film Festival appearance and "The Debut" premiere

Where the account comes from

Eisenberg's remarks were reported by Page Six, which cited Variety's coverage of his BFI London Film Festival appearance. Page Six did not report any studio or Razzie organization response to Eisenberg's claim that the award affected his casting prospects, and no response from Warner Bros., which produced "Batman v Superman," was included in the available reporting.

Eisenberg's remarks represent his own account of how the award shaped his career decisions; no box-office or casting data from studios was cited alongside his comments in the reporting reviewed.