Many people have an idea in their minds of what Superman should be like, as we grew up with the character in his many decades of existence. For the role of Clark Kent, we’ve seen various different portrayals. The Clark played by Christopher Reeve is very different than the one that Tom Welling played on Smallville, for example. During a recent press tour Q&A, Tyler Hoechlin was asked about his portrayal(s) of Clark Kent and Superman for Superman & Lois — and he revealed that there are actually many ways that he will play Clark Kent.
“I think with Superman, he stands for something; he is so symbolic, and there are things that you come to know that he’s unwavering in, so you kind of feel a responsibility to carry on those things as well,” Tyler said. “But with Clark, there is more leeway with that. You can kind of find those little subtleties; those things that are a little bit more human about him. It’s a little bit more flexible to kind of have some fun with it, because in a way he’s putting on a show when he’s Clark.”
One consideration is what Clark “performs” to appear so no one would never assume Clark Kent is Superman. “I’ve always kind of looked at it like there are at least five different versions of him,” Hoechlin explained. “I played either Superman as the symbol and no one knows who he is, or when he’s closer to people and they know who he is.”
“The other ones are like the extreme version of Clark Kent,” he continued. “Then there’s a Clark Kent where they know he’s Superman, but right now he’s playing Clark. And then there’s the one in the center that I really don’t have a name for. It’s just genuinely who he is. Just as a person it’s who he is, it doesn’t have a name, but it’s when he’s with his most comfortable, like with his family and they know who he is, and he can be himself.”
Superman & Lois premieres Tuesday, February 23 with a two-hour event on The CW. See some photos from the season premiere here!