As Tom Welling’s new movie The Choice is coming out very soon, BuzzFeed caught up with the actor for an extensive interview where Welling looks back on his time as Clark Kent on Smallville (2001-2011), his brief hiatus and the movies that followed, all leading to what will hopefully be a new show on CBS called Section 13.
You can read the entire interview here.
During that conversation, Welling talked a bit about his time on Smallville.
“There was a lot of growing up I needed to do on that show. Fortunately, Clark had no idea what the hell he was doing and I had no idea what the hell I was doing,” Welling said to BuzzFeed with a laugh. “We kind of grew up together.”
In the piece, Tom talked about the humanity of the character — which one might take as an explanation for why we didn’t really see him in the costume “This needed to be a show about Clark Kent, not about Superman,” Tom said. “That was always the rule: No flights, no tights. When we got into Season 5, they started to say, ‘Well… maybe…’ But I always maintained that’s not the show. Thank god Peter Roth [chief executive of Warner Bros. Television, which produced Smallville] knew that and always championed in our favor. … It was an incredibly unique experience.”
And what does Tom think of all of the current crop of superhero TV? “It’s a compliment,” Welling answered. “I’m very proud of shows like Arrow [and] The Flash.… They’re able to ground these characters so that the viewer can relate on a human level to people who used to be only in two dimensions.”
After Smallville, Tom had two goals: “I wanted to play a human and I wanted to be a part of a film whose theme was bigger than whatever character I was playing,” he said to BuzzFeed. “By being on Smallville for 10 years, I was able to make some really fantastic choices with that character, but now I’m drawn to real people trying to live real lives.” In doing so, he’s done some movies including The Choice, and now he’s creating, executive producing, and hopefully starring in a new project, Section 13, for CBS.
“Emotionally, I can’t even think about what I’m going to do if Section 13 doesn’t go, but I also can’t even think about what I’m going to do if it goes. There’s just so many unknowns,” he said. You can read more about the Section 13 concept here.
At the end of the day, Tom sees his notoriety as the proto-Man of Steel “a big compliment.”
“It means people like what I did. … I guess the joke is when people say, ‘Hey, Superman,’ I have a tendency to reply, ‘Well, I’ve been called worse.’”
About the author
Gough & Millar Were Interested in a Wonder Woman Show, Aquaman Crossovers
Smallville creators Alfred Gough & Miles Millar considered a young Wonder Woman TV project if Aquaman had been a success.
Salute to Smallville 25th Anniversary Convention: The Schedule!
A panel-by-panel schedule for Creation's Salute to Smallville 25th Anniversary convention, happening November 7-8 in Nashville
Creation Unveils 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville 2026 Merch Design
Creation has revealed a first look at a merchandise design for the 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville convention.
Creation’s 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville: The Full Guest List
Full guest list for the 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville convention happening November 7-8 in Nashville, Tennessee
Welling & Rosenbaum Talk To Variety To Mark 25 Years… And Talk About A Reboot
Variety spoke with Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum about the 25th anniversary of Smallville, the finale, and potential for a Smallville reboot
10 DC Comics Characters Who Made Their Live-Action Debuts on Smallville
KryptonSite looks back at ten DC Comics characters who made their first live-action appearances on Smallville.
Related
Gough & Millar Were Interested in a Wonder Woman Show, Aquaman Crossovers
Smallville creators Alfred Gough & Miles Millar considered a young Wonder Woman TV project if Aquaman had been a success.
Salute to Smallville 25th Anniversary Convention: The Schedule!
A panel-by-panel schedule for Creation's Salute to Smallville 25th Anniversary convention, happening November 7-8 in Nashville
Creation Unveils 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville 2026 Merch Design
Creation has revealed a first look at a merchandise design for the 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville convention.
Creation’s 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville: The Full Guest List
Full guest list for the 25th Anniversary Salute to Smallville convention happening November 7-8 in Nashville, Tennessee
Welling & Rosenbaum Talk To Variety To Mark 25 Years… And Talk About A Reboot
Variety spoke with Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum about the 25th anniversary of Smallville, the finale, and potential for a Smallville reboot
10 DC Comics Characters Who Made Their Live-Action Debuts on Smallville
KryptonSite looks back at ten DC Comics characters who made their first live-action appearances on Smallville.
Tim Wolfe
January 26, 2016
There should of been more then 10 seasons of Smallville look at Supernatural
Craig Byrne
January 26, 2016
Not really. Smallville, as loved as it was and as much as I loved it too, went on probably 3 seasons too long as it was. Prolonging it even farther would have meant extending the story in an even worse way. We’d keep waiting for him to become Superman and it’d never happen, because Tom doesn’t want to wear the suit.
I think the time also comes when you can’t expect these people to do the same thing for so long. The BuzzFeed article talks a little bit about the toll that doing Smallville put on Tom’s life, and the long hours… sometimes you’ve got to think they want to do something different. That’s a lot of investment to expect from just one person. It works for Jensen and Jared at Supernatural, but that’s also not a show with a set ending. Smallville’s ending, we always knew would be him becoming Superman. Would we have really wanted to watch 15 years and him still not doing it?
This article made me respect Tom and his wishes a whole lot more. I hope others follow suit.
Sarah
January 26, 2016
I am super happy for His return to TV in Section 13! Tom Welling as well as being a beautiful man is above all a wonderful and great man, I hope Tom That Will Be Able to Achieve all its desires
Bob Marshall
February 7, 2016
Although it probably went on a little to long I’m glad it did. Season 9 was THE best season of the show IMO. Infact that season is probably my favourite season of TV ever.
Craig Byrne
February 15, 2016
You’re definitely entitled to your opinion, but I thought a lot of Season 9 was a mess. Didn’t care about the New Kryptonians at all after the premiere, and making Clark so far from being the “Last Son of Krypton” really hurt what makes him special, in my opinion.
Cheryl Meadows
January 27, 2016
Regardless of whether or not Smallville could have been longer or shorter is not as relevent as the influence this show has had over the past decade and beyond. From the technology to the concepts to the underlying themes, Smallville, which also was influenced by Lois and Clark, has set the bar for innovation, idealogy, philosophy and cannon. It’s good that Tom Welling is moving on to other things, but for years to come, this maybe considered he best body of work. He is certainly gifted and charismatic. It also doesn’t hurt that he was a fellow Michigander. with natural hidden talent. Much success to he and the other cast members future. Smaillville live1