Ask a diehard Superman fan who their favorite TV version of the character is and there’s a good chance their answer will be someone who never even wore the iconic red cape: Tom Welling, who played Clark Kent for 10 years on “Smallville.”
This coming-of-age series explored the iconic character’s formative years, growing up in the titular rural town. Debuting in 2001, before the modern wave of superhero media had started to dominate screens, “Smallville” was a breath of fresh air for the genre, for television more broadly, and for the character in general.
The success of “Smallville” helped launch several more superhero TV series, the most notable being “Arrow” and the interconnected universe of spin-offs it spawned. There were also series like “Gotham,” “Krypton” and “Pennyworth” that attempted to replicate the prequel format, avoiding featuring the superhero who inspired the series. When “Smallville” was first being pitched though, the idea was still novel, leaving series star Welling unsure about exactly what he would be signing up for if he were to take on the Superman series.
Understandably, prior to the fervor that now surrounds comic book properties, Welling had a few reservations about playing Superman on television. One of the most surprising reasons for this doubt, however, was that his manager had advised him the series probably wasn’t in very good shape, based on the fact no script had been shared with actors who planned to audition. While super-secrecy is commonplace on superhero projects today, in the early 2000s, it was a red flag.
Tom Welling wasn’t sure about Superman, but was sold on Clark Kent
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 about his introduction to the world of “Smallville,” Welling touched upon his initial reservations, stemming from both the lack of a script and his uncertainty about a Superman series. “I was auditioning a lot during that period of pilot season, going out three, four times a day. Just trying to figure out what the hell I was doing,” Welling said of the period leading to his Clark Kent audition. “This show ‘Smallville’ came along, and they weren’t releasing the script. They just wanted me to audition. My manager at the time says, ‘That either means they don’t have a script, or it’s not very good.’ We turned it down.”
Thankfully for “Smallville” fans, the series’ director, David Nutter, was persistent in his efforts to see Welling for the role. “He said I could come in and read the pilot script if I signed an NDA,” Welling revealed, before going on to explain that reading that script alleviated another of his concerns around the series. “I realized the show was not about Superman. It was about a kid in high school growing up and trying to figure out who he is. That’s a very human journey.”
Welling admitted, “I was terrified I was going to walk into a show where I’m running around in tights,” so he called a meeting with the producers of “Smallville” to better understand the show. The rest, as they say, is history.
Tom Welling stayed true to Smallville’s no tights, no flights rule
Any fears Welling may have had about playing a more conventional take on Superman were surely allayed by the “no tights, no flights” rule instituted by “Smallville” creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. This mandate prohibited Clark from flying or donning the Superman costume on the series. There were some near-exceptions to this rule, with a few episodes showing Clark gradually gaining his ability to fly, albeit without his fully mastering the power until the series finale. The Superman suit was seen on “Smallville,” but Clark was never clearly shown wearing it in full. Ultimately, Welling was able to focus on playing a more grounded Clark Kent, rather than the Man of Steel.
Welling stayed true to this principle even after “Smallville” concluded. The actor was invited to reprise the role of Clark Kent in the “Arrowverse,” for the crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” While Welling agreed to return, he did not put on the tights and has said he would not have returned had he been asked to portray Superman. Instead, the crossover special featured Welling in a cameo as an older Clark who had given up his powers to raise a family. This brought the story of “Smallville’s” Clark Kent to a fitting conclusion, as he and Lois settled on his family’s old Smallville farm to follow the example set by his adoptive father, Jonathan Kent.