Supergirl - Peter Facinelli on Maxwell Lord: Good or Bad?

The character of Maxwell Lord in CBS’s “Supergirl” often seems to ride the fence between good and evil. His motivations change and morph depending on the circumstances. The character’s portrayer, Peter Facinelli, says it all boils down to Maxwell’s priorities – they just differ from Supergirl’s.

“He’s trying to protect humanity from any outside sources that could possibly turn on us,” Facinelli explained to fans in a panel at Salt Lake Comic Con FanX. “He looks at people like Supergirl as a magnet for trouble: If we didn’t have her, we could solve our own problems. So is he good? In his mindset, he is – he’s looking at Supergirl as bad.”

But Facinelli says Maxwell also lives between the lines. “He lives in a grey zone because part of him teams up with her at times to help, when there’s a bigger problem. I like that he lives in a grey zone.”

The character has received a lot of comparisons to “Superman’s” Lex Luthor. But Facinelli sees Maxwell differently. “He’s a green tech billionaire so he doesn’t really need money. And he’s famous already so he doesn’t need fame. So it’s not like he’s like a Lex Luthor that’s motivated by greed or anything else. For him, in his mind, what he thinks he’s doing is good.”

Peter Facinelli speaking to fans at his Salt Lake Comic Con FanX panel.

Though Maxwell is willing to team up with Supergirl to conquer larger threats, Facinelli says he doesn’t see the character ever truly embracing her and her powers. “I think he’ll always not want alien influence on our planet. So I think he’ll always be against the superheroes and supervillains. I don’t think he’ll ever be 100 percent on board, [saying] ‘I think Supergirl is great.’ I think [he will always want] to rid the planet of all the aliens and basically have humanity take care of each other.”


To watch Peter Facinelli speak about Maxwell Lord at his Salt Lake Comic Con FanX panel, click on the video below:

About the Author - Tonya Papanikolas

Tonya Papanikolas is an online, print and broadcast journalist who loves covering entertainment and television. She spent more than 10 years as a broadcast news anchor and reporter. Now she does everything from hosting to writing. She loves being a part of the SpoilerTV team.