'Smallville's' Tom Welling: 'I'm always amazed how far we've come
By Jay Bobbin
April 5, 2011 5:24 PM ET
Tom Welling is getting to return to the roots of "Smallville" as the series' end nears.
The CW will air the two-hour finale of the young-Superman saga's 10-year run Friday, May 13, but the show's star and fans are about to be reminded where it began. The 2001 pilot episode will be repeated Friday (April 8), recalling the literally meteoric arrival of young Kal-El from the planet Krypton, and his rechristening as Clark Kent by Earth parents Jonathan and Martha (John Schneider, Annette O'Toole).
"I've revisited the pilot a few times," Welling tells Zap2it, "sometimes by accident, other times for research, and I'm always amazed how far we've come. I'm 10 years older and 30 lbs. heavier -- I don't know how that happened! -- but I think the pilot still holds up. It doesn't necessarily look dated or out-of-touch.
"David Nutter, who directed it, really had a good sense of what it needed to be," adds Welling. "He executed it fantastically, but I remember thinking, 'Somebody tell me what to do.' I had no idea. Looking back now, I know that David created a warm, safe environment just to explore the character and allow the emotionality of the scenes to blossom, He set the standard for me as I went on to direct."
Continued at Zap 2 It