he WB's hugely popular Smallville series made news recently, with the guest appearance of original Superman star Christopher Reeve, playing a new mentor for the show's Clark Kent, played by Tom Welling. Reeves' appearance—and his avowed affection for the series—marked a coming of age for the show, about the coming of age of the teen Superman in his storied Kansas hometown.
Creators and stars of the series agreed that Smallville has finally taken wing in its second year, after a course correction away from the "Kryptonite monster-of-the-week" format that had hampered the show creatively. This year, the show has gone in interesting new directions. Clark has confided his secret to best pal Pete, played by Sam Jones III. Romantic sparks have flown with Chloe, played by Allison Mack. And Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) has broken out as the show's resident hunk, "Sexy Lexy," as the fans have dubbed him.
As the season wraps up, expect a new cliffhanger. Executive producer and co-creator Alfred Gough and series stars Welling, Rosenbaum and Jones took a moment at The WB's winter press preview to speak with Science Fiction Weekly about the show.
Alfred Gough, how did Reeve wind up on the series?
Gough: When we created the show, the first [Superman] film was sort of our touchstone. And I think, for us, the big sort of revelation was the first hour of that movie, where you did not see Superman in a suit, but you got to understand him as a person. [That] really helped us lay the foundation for the show, which was: No tights, no flights. So the idea [came up:] "God, wouldn't it be great to get Christopher Reeve to be involved in the show?"
So as we were arcing out this season, we knew we had this character of Dr. Swann, who's going to give Clark a big piece of information about his origins. And we called [Reeves'] agent and ... introduced ourselves and pitched him the ideas. "Would Chris have any interest? I don't know how he feels about being involved with Superman anymore?" ... He called Chris. He said Chris was a fan of the show. He watched it. His friends tell him that Tom looks like a younger version of him, when he was a young man. So we called him up. And we had a wonderful 45-minute conversation with him. Sort of pitched him the character and the character's sort of role, not only in the episode, but also in the series, because every hero needs a wise man, and that's really his role in the show. It's sort of the passing of the torch from one generation of Superman to the next.
Is there a chance the character could recur?
Gough: Absolutely, yeah. And he is open to doing that, yeah.
Tom Welling, how do you think the show's going in its second year?
Welling: We still have about a third of the season to go, but it's going great. I think everyone's even getting more comfortable with themselves, with their roles, with each other. And it just keeps getting better. It's getting to be a more ferocious, more efficient, a ... better machine, so to speak, on the production level.
I think it's going to look deeper and deeper inside of Clark and who he is, and [I] hope to continue to focus on him trying to be normal, rather than him just letting go and becoming a superhero. You know, I think that's the interesting part. The struggle.
How much of you is in Clark?
Welling: I think there's a little bit of all of us in Clark Kent. I mean, that's why the show is doing so well. So many people, [of] so many different ages, from so many different backgrounds, can associate with him and stay in touch with what he's going through, because we've all been there, or we're going through it now.
How will the season wrap up?
Welling: I have no idea. I really don't. ... We get the scripts two to three days before we start shooting, and that's it.
Is there more romance in store?
Welling: I don't know. I mean, the triangle of Chloe and Lana [Kristin Kreuk] and Clark ... that's going to be quite tense in the not-too-distant future. It's like a time bomb waiting to happen. I don't know what direction it's going to go, but it's definitely something to keep a close eye on.
Michael Rosenbaum, what's coming up for Lex?
Rosenbaum: There's always stuff going on with me and John Glover [who plays Lex's dad, Lionel Luthor]. You know, Lex and his father, there's always interesting turns and twists. There's things going on with the cave. There's new characters. There's my love interest, [and] something's going on there, I don't know what. I mean, there's a lot of possibility.
Is Lex going to turn into his father?
Rosenbaum: Whenever I agree to any of his deceits, there's always a game with us. And whenever I side with him, even against my will, it's not good for Lex, because he should stick to his own [guns]. And it's hard. It's hard for a son not to look up to his father. He doesn't want to hate his father. ... He wants a father he can listen to and confide in, and obviously Lionel Luthor is not that man. And he's finding that out more and more. But inadvertently, I think ... these little nuances throughout Lex's life, his experiences, are changing him, ultimately.
What's it like working with Glover?
Rosenbaum: The relationship between John and myself in real life is all a game. We love to have fun. We play with each other. I love him. I think he is the most underrated actor out there. He deserves an Emmy.
Do you ever read online stuff about yourself?
Rosenbaum: I have been e-mailed stuff. It just cracks me up. ... You read these little notes and little ideas that people have, and you really find there's a lot of interesting people out there. Not only interesting, but very ... I mean it's very thought-provoking at times. It's very. ... It's fun to read.
What do you think about having broken out as the show's sex symbol?
Rosenbaum: I can't believe it. I mean, look at me. Do I look like a sex symbol to you? I mean. ... I laugh. ... I gotta admit, once in a while, you try to be a little cool, and then my personality comes out, and I just gotta laugh at myself. And keep it real. It's ... just having a good time, you know?
How do you avoid standing out when you go out in public?
Rosenbaum: I got to wear a toque, they call 'em in Canada [where Smallville is shot]. I gotta wear a hat. A sock hat, a toque. ... Sometimes I even wear a fake mustache for fun. Just for fun, you know? ... It's great. ... It's a catch-22. ... That's part of it. It's like, if you get that far, you know, I appreciate it. The fans are part of it. It comes with the territory.
Sam Jones, how has the dynamic between Pete and Clark changed now that Pete knows Clark's secret?
Jones: I think the dynamic changed because, first of all, you got to learn a little bit more about Pete as a person. ... I think that ... if I had found out a secret like that, personally, as Sam, I would have been like, "Oh, yeah! What can you do?" But I think it showed you that Pete as a person, he's a little bit deeper. ... Because he was like, "I can't believe you didn't tell me." So it kind of showed you what kind of person he is.
I think the dynamics changed too because he has to be closer as a friend. Because he's in high school, and he can't slip up on a really big secret like that, you know? So I think it put a lot more responsibility on his character.
But I'm getting a lot more air time this year because of that, so I'm happy about it.
Was it hard to keep that plot development from your closest friends?
Jones: The funny thing is, I don't which episodes that have aired right now, like, which episode we're on. But we have a really good episode coming out ... I'm not going to give it away, but I might slip a little bit. So it's going to be really interesting.
How did you react when you learned that the writers had this in store for Pete?
Jones: I was very happy. ... They told me this summer. The writers told me. And it just kind of felt like getting a promotion, without getting a promotion, you know what I mean? It made me happy. ... Because a lot of fans were writing in last year. And I was just impressed that people were even paying attention. Because I thought all I was doing was one scene, saying hi to Clark, and out of the rest of the episode. They made a fan site for me, everything, trying to get me more air time. And by the time the summer came, the writers said, the fans keep writing in. They want you to have more air time. So we think that we're going to let you know Clark's secret. And it felt really good. I thank the fans every time I see them.
It wasn't part of the plan at all. It was never part of the plan. It was based [on] a lot of stuff on the Internet. It was basically the Internet stuff. I guess the writers always check the Internet. See what's going on. They were checking the Internet, and they sat me down this summer, and they told me, so it felt really nice.
My dad checks the Internet. I don't even have a computer. All my friends make fun of me. "You still don't have a computer? You have all this stuff, but no computer?" [Laughs.]
Do you watch the shows?
Jones: I run right to the producers' office, and I'm really cool with his assistant, so when he's not around, I take the episodes and watch them before they air. And even before that, Michael Rosenbaum, he goes in the camera truck, and he watches the dailies. And we're supposed to do that. So I used to always see him sneaking off. And I'm like, "Where do you go?" And he's like, "Dude, don't tell anybody." He said, "Just come with me." And I saw it. He showed me how to work the camera truck, the machine and everything. So now, like, we both sneak in there and watch the dailies. ... So we're pretty much happy with the show before it airs.
Where is your character going as the season winds up?
Jones: I'm not really sure how much ... he's going to change this year. I just know that, basically, he knows the secret. There's a lot more storyline coming up in the episodes that are coming up that you haven't seen yet.
Back to the top.
Also in this issue:
Joel Silver and Andy Jones of The Animatrix
