What Happened To The Cast Of Smallville? – SlashFilm

It is arduous to think about this now, contemplating the stranglehold that superhero movies and tv collection have had on Hollywood over the previous decade and a half, however within the early 2000s, growing a present a couple of superhero — even a high-tier one like Superman — was not assured to be a slam dunk. It is a testomony to the charming, borderline addictive nature of “Smallville” that it not solely existed on the fledgling CW community, however thrived there for 10 seasons from 2001 to 2011.

In telling the story of Clark Kent’s (Tom Welling) teen and younger grownup years rising up in Smallville, the frothy superhero drama launched audiences to a crop of upcoming actors who made their mark each on “Smallville” and past. Whereas some are nonetheless performing to at the present time, others have taken fascinating profession — and private life — turns through the years that will shock followers of the present. This is the principle forged of “Smallville,” and every thing they have been as much as since leaving Superman behind.

Again when Tom Welling was forged in “Smallville” in 2001, he was only a child Calvin Klein mannequin with a couple of minor credit to his title. However in taking over the function of a teenage Clark Kent aka Superman, his profession was blown into the stratosphere and just about stayed there all through the ten-season run of “Smallville.” (Funnily sufficient, the showrunners apparently needed to beg Welling to audition within the first place.) After the enduring superhero present went off the air, nevertheless, Welling took the chance to sluggish issues down.

Though Welling continues to be a daily fixture in movie and particularly on tv, he would not appear notably involved with sustaining a celeb standing. His filmography is nothing to sneeze at, although. Within the years since “Smallville” led to 2011, Welling appeared in a recurring function on “Lucifer” as Cain (sure, that Cain), starred in 10 episodes of the motion collection “Professionals,” and performed Samuel Campbell within the “Supernatural” prequel “The Winchesters.” He even briefly reprised his function as Clark Kent in a 2019 episode of “Batwoman” throughout the CW’s “Disaster on Infinite Earths” saga.

When Kristin Kreuk was forged as Lana Lang in “Smallville,” she had no small job forward of her. Because the lady subsequent door to Welling’s pining Clark Kent, she needed to make audiences neglect in regards to the superhero’s most well-known and enduring love curiosity, Lois Lane. Fortunately, Kreuk was as much as the problem, successful over viewers nearly instantly and sticking with the present for a formidable 158 episodes.

After leaving “Smallville” as a most important forged member (though she would seem on and off over the course of the collection), Kreuk continued performing on tv. Her most distinguished TV function after Lana Lang was when she starred in “Magnificence and the Beast,” a contemporary-day adaptation of the traditional fairy story. (Albeit with a a lot much less beast-y beast — it did air on the CW, in spite of everything, the place good-looking main males are just about a requirement.) It aired for 4 seasons earlier than ending in 2016. Within the years since, she’s made appearances on reveals like “Burden of Reality,” “Ghostwriter,” and “Reacher.” Most lately, she starred in “Homicide in a Small City,” a Canadian crime drama collection that was renewed for a second season in January 2025.

For each superhero, there needs to be a smarmy, superrich villain to behave as his foil, and on “Smallville,” that was Lex Luthor. Generally he acted a good friend and confidant to Clark Kent, generally he was an out-and-out unhealthy man, however he was all the time scheming away. Rosenbaum started performing within the late Nineteen Nineties, and a few of his most distinguished early roles had been in “City Legend,” “Midnight within the Backyard of Good and Evil,” and the 1999 WB sitcom “Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane.” When the creators of “Smallville” introduced the actor in for an audition, nevertheless, Rosenbaum wasn’t instantly satisfied. Fortunately, he ended up taking the job, and caught with it for seven full seasons.

All through the run of “Smallville,” Rosenbaum labored steadily, usually taking over different roles within the DC and Marvel universe, together with voicing the Flash in “Justice League,” “Justice League Limitless,” and “Teen Titans.” Lately, he is had a minor function within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, taking part in the Ravager Martinex T’Naga in final two “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. Since 2018, Rosenbaum has additionally hosted the wildly profitable “Inside You” podcast, interviewing everybody from former costars like Tom Welling to Hollywood powerhouses like James Gunn.

Chloe Sullivan, one in all Clark Kent’s closest highschool mates, was just about a ray of sunshine on “Smallville,” and that is largely because of Allison Mack’s bubbly on-display disposition. A former baby actor, Mack appeared in movies like “Camp Nowhere” and “Honey We Shrunk Ourselves” earlier than touchdown one of many lead roles on “Smallville” on the age of 19. She was on the present for all 10 seasons, and continued performing after it went off the air, taking part in supporting roles on “Wilfred,” “The Following,” and “American Odyssey.” However what occurred subsequent in her life is one thing nobody might have predicted.

Starting in 2006 — whereas she was nonetheless performing on “Smallville” — she grew to become concerned with NXIVM, a company that claimed to supply a variety of self-enchancment packages however was, in actuality, a intercourse cult. Mack rose via the ranks of NXIVM, recruiting different girls into the group, and in 2018, she was arrested on fees of “intercourse trafficking, intercourse trafficking conspiracy and compelled labor conspiracy.” To keep away from a prolonged jail sentence, Mack testified towards NXIVM’s chief Keith Raniere, and in 2021, she was sentenced to 3 years in jail. She in the end served lower than two years, and was launched in 2023.

At the very least 50% of all comedian ebook villains include a complete host of daddy points, and Lex Luthor isn’t any exception. (No, we do not have a supply on that quantity, but it surely feels proper.) Enjoying his extremely-wealthy, very troublesome to please father is John Glover, an actor nicely-identified for his villainous performances, each inside the comedian ebook realm and outdoors of it. He was nicely established inside the leisure business lengthy earlier than he took on the function of Lionel Luthor in “Smallville,” with appearances in movies reminiscent of “Scrooged,” “Robocop 2,” and, apparently sufficient, “Batman & Robin,” the place he performed mad scientist Jason Woodrue.

Within the years after “Smallville,” Glover has labored on among the largest reveals on tv, together with “The Good Spouse,” “Agent Carter,” “The Blacklist,” “Concern the Strolling Useless,” and “Lucifer.” You may also acknowledge him from 2019’s “Shazam!” the place he performed Mr. Sivana — one more father abusive sufficient to show his son (performed by Mark Sturdy) right into a supervillain.

For so long as Superman has been round, there’s been Lois Lane, the love of his life. However in “Smallville,” she did not flip up till the fourth season in 2004, the place she was performed by Erica Durance all through the remainder of the present’s time on the air. Up till that time in her profession, she had largely had one-off tv roles to her title, however her star steadily rose whereas she was on “Smallville” and the years that adopted. From 2012 to 2017, she starred as Dr. Alex Reid on the supernatural medical drama “Saving Hope,” a chief surgical resident whose fiance Charlie (Michael Shanks) develops the power to see useless individuals after a severe automobile accident.

Durance by no means shied away from her comedian ebook roots, nevertheless. In 2019, she reprised her function as Lois Lane on a multiverse episode of “Batwoman,” and from 2017 to 2019, she performed Alura Zor-El, Supergirl’s organic mom, on “Supergirl,” taking up the function from Laura Benanti, who portrayed the character on the primary two seasons of the present. Nowadays, you are more than likely to search out Durance on the TV Christmas film circuit — she’s appeared in movies like “The Christmas Chalet,” “Mrs. Christmas Involves City,” and “Pleased Holidays from Cherry Lane,” amongst many others.

Annette O’Toole was already a distinguished determine in Hollywood by the point she took on the function of Clark Kent’s adoptive mom Martha, a component she performed for the primary six seasons of “Smallville.” And coincidentally, taking part in the Kent household matriarch was not her first foray into the world of Superman. In 1983, she performed none apart from Lana Lang in “Superman III,” a childhood good friend who Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) reconnects with when he returns house to Smallville for a highschool reunion. 

Within the years since “Smallville” went off the air, she’s starred in a handful of different tv collection — O’Toole performed Susan Emerson on the criminally underrated “Halt and Catch Fireplace,” and is at the moment starring in “Virgin River,” the place she performs the small city’s mayor. “Virgin River” has been streaming on Netflix for six seasons, and in October 2024, it was introduced that the forged can be coming again for a seventh. She additionally obtained important reward for her work within the tragically underseen 2020 crime dramedy “Blow the Man Down.”

In case you have even a passing familiarity with early Eighties tv, you may doubtless acknowledge John Schneider from his efficiency as Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard.” However he additionally had a profession as a rustic singer (he is had 4 singles attain the #1 spot on the U.S. Nation charts) and labored constantly on the massive and small display earlier than he took up the mantle of Jonathan Kent, Clark Kent’s adoptive father, on “Smallville.” He was on the present for the primary 5 seasons, earlier than leaving in heartbreaking style throughout the a centesimal episode.

Schneider went on to have recurring roles on excessive-profile tv collection reminiscent of “Nip/Tuck,” “The Secret Lifetime of the American Teenager,” “Soiled Attractive Cash,” and “Determined Housewives.” In 2023, he drew controversy after publicly advocating for the lynching of then-president Joe Biden on X (previously generally known as Twitter) a remark that sparked an investigation by the Secret Service and was later deleted from the platform. That very same 12 months, he appeared on “The Masked Singer” as an enormous donut, coming in second place.

Lengthy earlier than Stephen Amell took on the function of Oliver Queen aka Inexperienced Arrow within the CW’s hit superhero present “Arrow,” Justin Hartley performed the billionaire vigilante on “Smallville,” first showing in Season 6 and changing into a most important forged member for the ultimate three seasons. Earlier than “Smallville,” he had actually solely been in a single factor: The cleaning soap opera “Passions,” the place he performed Fox Crane for 4 years. However after “Smallville” went off the air, boy, did his profession blow up. 

He had key roles in “Emily Owens, M.D.,” “Revenge, “Mistresses,” and “The Younger and the Stressed,” however the undertaking that basically despatched him into the stratosphere was somewhat community drama referred to as “This Is Us.” Perhaps you have heard of it? In it, he performed Kevin, one in all a set of triplets featured closely within the Pearson household melodrama. “This Is Us” took the U.S. by storm, operating for six seasons and incomes 14 Primetime Emmy nominations through the years. After “This Is Us” led to 2022, Hartley wasted no time find his subsequent large function. In 2024, he took on the lead character of Colter Shaw on the CBS motion drama “Tracker.”

Sam Jones III was one of many unique forged members of “Smallville” throughout the present’s highschool years, taking part in Pete Ross, one in all Clark Kent’s greatest mates. (He was additionally one a part of the Clark-Chloe-Lana-Pete love trapezoid, however fortunately that arc burned out pretty rapidly.) Ross was an integral a part of the present till he exited throughout Season 3 — the burden of carrying Clark’s secret grew to become too nice, and he took the chance to maneuver away from Smallville together with his mom after his mother and father divorced.

Jones labored steadily as an actor after leaving “Smallville” in 2004. He was featured in 16 episodes of “ER,” taking part in medical scholar Chaz Pratt, in addition to showing in “Blue Mountain State,” a university sitcom that ran for 3 seasons on Spike. Throughout the 2010s, he skilled some authorized troubles, as he was caught in a DEA sting operation and charged with “conspiracy to own unlawful medicine with the intent to distribute”, particularly 1000’s of oxycodone capsules. He in the end served 10 months in jail. Jones’s most up-to-date credit score was within the horror movie “All Mild Will Finish,” which was launched on VOD in 2018.

On “Smallville,” Tess Mercer is only a lady on the lookout for somebody to consider in. First it is Lex Luthor — the brother she by no means knew she had, actually — however when he inevitably disappoints her, she hitched her wagon to none apart from Clark Kent. Though Cassidy Freeman was solely on “Smallville” for its final three seasons (and arguably the interval the place the present had misplaced a few of its cultural relevance), she made a powerful impression.

Tess Mercer was Freeman’s first main function, and after “Smallville” ended, she jumped proper into her subsequent large undertaking — taking part in Cady Longmire on “Longmire,” a contemporary-day Western that ran on A&E for six seasons. She additionally had a recurring function on the authorized drama “Doubt” starring Katherine Heigl, which was sadly canceled after only one season attributable to weak scores. However these days, you may doubtless acknowledge Freeman for her work on “The Righteous Gems,” the place she performs Amber, the formidable spouse of Jesse Gemstone (Danny McBride), the oldest son in a household of megachurch royalty.

Though a number of characters on “Smallville” had been on the present from the very starting, Aaron Ashmore was a late addition to the forged, becoming a member of in 2006 as Jimmy Olsen for the final 4 seasons. Clark Kent’s cheerful but usually-unfortunate colleague on the Every day Planet, Olsen brings a vibrant high quality to the present’s more and more darkish proceedings.

You may really feel as if you have seen Aaron Ashmore in all places, however whereas he is definitely had a prolific profession, a part of this confusion doubtless stems from the truth that he has an similar twin brother Shawn, who can also be an actor. (And apparently sufficient, they’ve each had a foot within the superhero world — Shawn performed Iceman within the “X-Males” franchise and even had a two-half stint in “Smallville,” too.) 

For his half, Aaron has executed a few of his most distinguished work on tv, starring in reveals reminiscent of “In Plain Sight” and “Warehouse 13.” And he is actually simply getting began — a few of his largest roles have are available simply the previous few years. From 2020 to 2022, he performed Duncan Locke within the Netflix fantasy collection “Locke & Key,” and in 2023, he embraced a really totally different sort of character, taking part in Georgia’s abusive ex on the frothy teen drama “Ginny & Georgia.”

Other than the principle roster of characters on “Smallville,” Zod is without doubt one of the most vital figures in Superman canon, so he casts an extended shadow regardless that he is solely within the last two seasons of the present. Performed by Callum Blue, as soon as Zod recovers his powers, he is as much as his outdated world-conquering methods once more. By the point Blue was forged in “Smallville,” he’d had a number of profession-defining roles underneath his belt, together with taking part in the chaotic reaper Mason on “Useless Like Me,” Sir Anthony Knivert on “The Tudors,” Alex on “Secret Diary of a Name Woman,” and Andrew Jacoby, Duke of Kenilworth — Anne Hathaway’s fiancé earlier than she’s swept off her toes by Chris Pine’s Lord Nicholas — in “The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement.” 

Within the years since “Smallville,” Blue was a most important forged member on the supernatural drama “Proof,” the place he performed a author moonlighting as a psychic. Most lately, he had an apparently meta recurring function on “9-1-1” as Brad Torrance, an actor who performs a firefighter on successful tv collection referred to as “Hotshots.” And in 2025, he wrote and directed a brief movie referred to as “Paint” starring Heather Matarazzo, his “Princess Diaries” co-star from means again when.

Jason Teague, performed by Jensen Ackles, turns up within the fourth season of “Smallville” as competitors with Clark for Lana Lang’s affections. Or no less than, that is what it looks as if at first. However like so many characters on “Smallville,” there’s far more to Jason Teague than meets the attention. By the point Ackles was introduced on board for Season 4 (though he initially auditioned for the function of Clark Kent when the present was first being developed), he was already a sizzling commodity within the frothy TV drama world. He appeared as Eric Brady in 469 episodes of the daytime cleaning soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” and had recurring roles on each “Darkish Angel” and “Dawson’s Creek.”

After “Smallville,” after all, Ackles discovered a job that has in the end outlined his profession up to now: Dean Winchester on “Supernatural,” the horror-adjoining CW collection a couple of pair of brothers who make a profession out of looking demons, ghosts, and different otherworldly creatures. He starred on the present alongside Jared Padalecki for an exhausting 15 seasons as the 2 developed a fervently devoted fanbase. Within the years since “Supernatural” went off the air, Ackles has reprised his function for 13 episodes of the spinoff present “The Winchesters” and took on the character of Soldier Boy in Prime Video’s anarchic superhero collection “The Boys.” Ackles is ready to reprise the function for the present’s fifth and last season and likewise in a prequel spin-off titled “Vought Rising.”