View From The Hill
(6/11/09)

Michael Rosenbaum

Anchor Intro:   He’s been a star on the big screen and the small screen,  but actor Michael Rosenbaum never forgets where it all started.

Amy Bingham talks to the famous WKU alum in this week’s “View from the Hill.”

Michael Rosenbaum is best known for his seven year stint as “Lex Luther” on the CW’S “Smallville..…the most iconic villain in comic book history.

But there is a lot more to the actor than that, and he says his alma mater made it all possible.

Actor Michael Rosenbaum has nothing but praise for WKU.
 
“I really think Western gave me the confidence to go out and become what I wanted to be.”

It’s been 14 years since Rosenbaum graduated from Western.  In addition to “Smallville”...you’ve also seen him in movies like  “Sweet November”, “Sorority Boys”, “Bringing Down the House”, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and more.

During a visit back to campus to address the Alumni College, Rosenbaum said there’s no doubt Western played a huge role in his success.
 
“They had an opera, musicals and plays and I just started getting heavily involved in acting here…they had everything to offer here, I mean everything.”

WKU Alumni Director Donald Smith was in the same fraternity as Rosenbaum back in the early 90’s.
 
“He would always tell us he was going to be big one day and we’d say sure Michael, sure Michael, but sure enough he set his mind to it and years later we are watching him on t.v. and in the movies…and doing the interviews out in L.A.”

Smith says he’s proud of Rosenbaum’s success both as a friend and a fellow alum.  And he’s grateful for Michael’s support of the university.
 
“It’s always special for Alumni to realize it’s not just a four year degree, it’s truly a life-long relationship…Michael stressed that by coming here and sharing with the Alumni college group.”

Rosenbaum is also doing his part to spread the WKU spirit…all the way to Hollywood.
 
“Back home in L.A. you’d think, wow, big deal, Western, but everybody knows Western.  The Sweet 16 the last few years, the fact that I constantly talk about it, what a great school it is.”

Rosenbaum, who grew up in Newburgh Indiana, left “Smallville” last  May and is now setting his sights on more comedic roles.

With this week’s “View from the Hill”, I’m Amy Bingham.