Some awards open doors, while others quietly close them. For one acclaimed star, a mock trophy became the push he needed to step behind the camera.
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Jesse Eisenberg says his career took a nosedive after he received a Razzie Award for his performance in the infamous 2016 DC action film "Batman v Superman."
Jesse Eisenberg attends "The Debut" 2026 Closing Gala during the 70th BFI London Film Festival at The Royal Festival Hall on October 18 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
The Golden Raspberry Awards, better known as the Razzies, are a lighthearted parody ceremony that "honors" the films considered the year's biggest flops. The mock trophies are traditionally handed out the night before the Oscars.
Eisenberg, who played the archvillain Lex Luthor opposite Henry Cavill's Superman and Ben Affleck's Batman, was named Worst Supporting Actor for his role in the 2016 superhero flick.
The movie also collected Razzies for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, Worst Screen Combo and Worst Screenplay.
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While the awards are meant to be lighthearted, Eisenberg admitted during a screen talk on Sunday at the BFI London Film Festival that the recognition dealt a real blow to his acting career. According to the star, the experience is what prompted him to step back from acting and focus on writing and directing instead.
"Listen, a lot of it just came from fear," Eisenberg said at the event on Sunday evening, October 18. "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."
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Jesse Eisenberg speaks onstage during the Screen Talk with Jesse Eisenberg during the 70th BFI London Film Festival at BFI Southbank on October 18, 2026 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
"If you're an actor, you're constantly panicked about 'Am I on an upslope or a downslope?'" he explained.
He continued, "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. And if you're a paranoid person like me, you see it way in advance."
"So I was like, 'I've got to direct movies,'" he added. "That's why I started writing them, just to kind of keep my career afloat, really." Eisenberg said the main lesson he took from the ordeal was that he should steer clear of superhero films altogether.
Jesse Eisenberg speaks onstage during the Screen Talk with Jesse Eisenberg during the 70th BFI London Film Festival at BFI Southbank on October 18, 2026 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
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"The industry tells you what they want from you," Eisenberg said. "The industry did not want me to be in a superhero movie, and if you're smart and self-aware, you learn that quickly. And you know, it's the unsuccessful actor that goes, 'No, I want to be in more of those.'"
"It's not going to happen and they don't want you there and they wouldn't have given you a Raspberry Award if they wanted you there. That's an award for bad acting. And so the industry tells you what it wants and if you want a career in the arts you have to follow the things that you're being told are liked."
Jesse Eisenberg speaks onstage during the Screen Talk with Jesse Eisenberg during the 70th BFI London Film Festival at BFI Southbank on October 18, 2026 in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
In the years following the superhero blockbuster, Eisenberg appeared in sequels to "Now You See Me" and "Zombieland," as well as director Zack Snyder's "Justice League." He made his feature directorial debut in 2022 with "When You Finish Saving the World," which he also wrote, and followed it up with 2024's "A Real Pain."
These days, he is on a press tour for his latest directorial effort, "The Debut," starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, which served as the closing film of the London Film Festival on Sunday night. The project draws inspiration from his own early days in theater while growing up in New Jersey.
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