Once upon a time in Kansas … a young Clark Kent learned how to be Superman while also juggling the difficulties of high school.
Before there was the Arrowverse, there was Smallville, which premiered in October 2001 and ran for 10 seasons on the WB and later the CW. The show followed a teenage Clark (Tom Welling) in his early days as a farm-dwelling kid living with his adoptive parents Martha (Annette O’Toole) and Jonathan Kent (John Schneider).
When the series began, Clark already had Superman’s speed and strength, but as the show progressed, he developed other abilities including X-ray vision, super hearing and heat vision. If that’s not enough for a teen to cope with, he also suffered the indignity of living next door to his longtime crush Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), who was already dating football player Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson).
When he wasn’t rescuing locals from various mishaps, Clark was building a friendship with local rich person Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), who at the beginning of the show was not as evil as he would eventually become. “Clark never really knew what was going on,” Welling joked of his character in 2017. “He always had to figure out what was going on, that’s for sure.”
Though Smallville fans always knew Clark was Superman, he didn’t wear the iconic red-and-blue suit until the series finale in May 2011. According to Welling, cocreators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar decided Clark would never wear the suit before they even shot the pilot episode.
“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,’” the actor told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. “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.”
When the Arrowverse introduced Superman in season 2, producers tapped Tyler Hoechlin to wear the red cape. Welling, however, made a cameo appearance in 2019’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event — just as Clark, though, and not his superhero alter ego.
That was seemingly for the best as Welling said he wouldn’t have wanted to do the show if he had to wear the tights. “If they had started the conversation with ‘So, Clark is in the suit,’ I’d have been like, ‘Click!'” the Lucifer alum said during Fan Expo Vancouver in 2020.
Keep scrolling to see what the cast of Smallville has been up to since the show ended in 2011:
After ending his 10-year run as Clark, the New York native rejoined the DC universe in 2017 when he played Cain on Lucifer. He also starred in the movies Cheaper by the Dozen, Parkland, Draft Day and The Choice and was an executive producer on the series Hellcats. He has been married to Jessica Rose Lee since 2019. They share two sons, Thomson and Rocklin.
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The Canadian actress played Clark's on-again, off-again crush and later girlfriend, Lana Lang. After Smallville, Kreuk landed a leading role on the CW's Beauty & the Beast. She also starred in the CBC legal drama Burden of Truth. In 2017, she was linked to the controversy surrounding the NXIVM cult, which counted her costar Allison Mack as a member. Kreuk said that she left the group in 2013 and did not witness any illegal events during her time in the organization.
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Following his portrayal of Clark's eventual nemesis Lex, the Indiana-raised actor appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the sitcoms Breaking In and Impastor. Since 2018, he has hosted a podcast called "Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum." His first guest was, naturally, Welling.
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Johnson's character, Whitney Fordman, was written off after season 1, but he later made a couple of appearances as a guest star. He is perhaps best known for playing Jack Hyde, Anastasia Steele's evil boss, in Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. His TV credits include Rookie Blue, Supernatural, Orphan Black, The Alienist, Vikings and American Gods. He has been married to producer Adria Budd since 2004. They share one daughter, Calla.
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Jones played Pete Ross, one of Clark's best friends. After leaving Smallville in 2004, he appeared on ER, 7th Heaven, Bones and Army Wives. In 2012, he served 10 months in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to possess illegal drugs with the intent to distribute. After his release, he returned to acting and starred in the movies Of Fortune and Gold and All Light Will End.
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Nearly 20 years before taking on the role of Clark's adoptive mom, O'Toole played Lana Lang in Superman III. The veteran actress later starred in episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Halt and Catch Fire and The Punisher. In 2019, she landed a starring role on the Netflix series Virgin River. She has been married to actor Michael McKean since 1999 and shares two daughters with her first husband, Bill Geisslinger.
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The Dukes of Hazzard alum left Smallville in 2006 after the death of his character, Jonathan Kent. He has since racked up TV credits on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, 90210, Glee, Desperate Housewives and The Haves and the Have Nots. He has been married to Alicia Allain since 2019.
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The veteran actor played Lex's father, Lionel Luthor, until season 7 when his son murdered him. He returned to the DC world in 2019 for the big-screen adaptation Shazam! His TV credits include The Good Wife, Marvel's Agent Carter, The Good Fight, Evil, Lucifer and Fear the Walking Dead. In 2016, he married sculptor Adam Kurtzman.
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The Texas native played Lana's love interest Jason Teague until 2005 when Supernatural came calling. He played Dean Winchester for 15 seasons through the show's end in 2020, and in 2021, he announced a spinoff series called The Winchesters. He has been married to actress Danneel Harris since 2010. They share three children, daughter Justice and twins Arrow and Zeppelin.
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The Canadian actress joined Smallville in 2004 as Lois Lane, Superman's one true love. She cameoed alongside Welling in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but also played Supergirl's mother, Alura Zor-El, in 10 episodes of Supergirl. Her other TV credits include Saving Hope and Private Eyes. Since 2005, she has been married to actor David Palffy. The couple share two sons.
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Long before Stephen Amell picked up the bow and arrow, Hartley played Oliver Queen, a.k.a. Green Arrow, in Smallville's later seasons. After scoring parts on Hart of Dixie, Revenge and Mistresses, the actor landed the role of Kevin Pearson on This Is Us in 2016. He married his former Young and the Restless costar Sofia Pernas in 2021 following his high-profile split from Chrishell Stause. He shares daughter Isabella with his first wife, Lindsay Korman.
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The actor (whose twin brother is actor Shawn Ashmore) played Jimmy Olsen, photographer at the Daily Planet, in later seasons of the show. He went on to star in Lost Girl, Warehouse 13, Designated Survivor, Locke & Key and Killjoys. He has been married to Zoe Kate since 2014. The couple share two daughters.
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