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August 9, 2017: Tom Welling Talks "Smallville" and Becoming Superman in Series Finale
by Neil Cole
Actor Tom Welling recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about his starring role as Clark Kent on "Smallville" and having to wait 10 years before finally suiting up as Superman in the series finale.
“It was something that we discussed before we ever shot the pilot with [creators] Al [Gough] and Miles [Millar],” Welling tells EW. “We literally had a sit down where we talked about the show and I asked about the suit and the tights and the flying, and they said, ‘No, absolutely not,’ part of the reason being is that show is about a teenager trying to figure out who he is. They felt that once Clark put on the cape and the suit, life became too easy, in a sense. They wanted to focus on who this character was before that. And, at the time, because of where visual effects and special effects and stunts were, it would be too expensive. That’s mainly why they save that for movies, more or less.”
When it became time for Clark to make the transition to Superman in the series finale, Welling revealed that the original plan was for it to happen very early on in the episode but that he was instrumental in it not happening.
“Our series finale was supposed to be, in the first act, Clark puts on the suit and flies around, saves Lois on a plane, and does this other stuff,” Welling says. “It was a call that I had with Peter Roth, who is the head of Warner Bros. Television, who’s a good friend of mine and we have a great relationship. I said, ‘That’s not our show, Peter.’ He’s like, ‘No, it’s going to be great,” and I go, ‘Yeah, but just think about what we’ve been doing. If we just jump into that, we haven’t earned it.'”
Welling also went on to reveal that there had been some previous talk of possibly making an appearance on one of the current DC Comics television series, specifically "Supergirl", but ultimately having no desire to do so.
“There was an idea that maybe Supergirl, appearing on that, but it’s such a different show," stated Welling. "I’m older now, I don’t look the same. Appearing on that show as Clark Kent or even Superman, for me, I would not want to watch me do that at all. They just have such a different tone."
Even though he will not be returning to the Superman universe anytime soon, Welling will return to television this Fall on season three of "Lucifer" which premieres on Monday, October 2nd at 8:00PM (EST) on Fox.
Read the complete interview with Welling at EW.com.
