Somebody SAVVVVVVVVVEEEEE ME! Smallville cast and crew reflect on show 20yrs later
They may have played enemies on #Smallville, but behind the scenes, Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum helped each other out on set. During one stunt for the series' pilot, Rosenbaum suffered a panic attack, but Welling was there to help him through it: https://t.co/B5EPr4MsYU pic.twitter.com/xC45QGUToX
- The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 15, 2021
-It's been 20 years since Smallville premiered and it would help usher in a resurgence of Superheroes on television and run for 10 years. The last successful live action "Superman" before Superman and Lois would premiere 19 years later.
-They were given creative freedom with the early years of the show since no one really cared about it and Clark Kent as a teenager is widely unexplored.
-They had to practically beg Tom Welling to audition for the role and Tom called a meeting with the team to see what the show was about and ensure that he wouldnt be running around in tights.
-Jensen Ackles was also in the running for Clark but of course Tom practically had it in the bag since they wanted him more.
-Zach Levi almost got the role of Lex Luthor but bombed his audition with the studio heads which lead to Michael Rosenbaum auditioning and when asked to return to screen test for the studio, pulled a Lex Luthor and refused to do so, instead telling them to watch his initial taped audition as it was just that good.
-They also had to practically beg John Schneider to read for the role of Jonathan Kent but once he read the script he knew he had to be part of the show no matter what.
-It initially took hair and makeup 2 1/2 hours to get Michael ready to be Lex as his hair would grow so much each day that they had to constantly shave him bald and ensure that the makeup blended naturally.
-They would insist on having directors that would give notes on their performances and how to improve them as most directors who would direct the scene and not care about the actual performance of the actors (explains so much about TheCW).
-Erika Durance was bts of the show initially booking the shows photo doubles and much like every actor, was ready to quit acting right until the role of Lois Lane came up.
-The cast/crew are even closer today than they were while shooting the show.
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