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2004 TV News Archives

October 28, 2004: Smallville Magazine #2

Smallville Magazine #2 is now on sale, and to give you a sneak peek of what you can expect to find inside, Titan Magazines have given us these inside quotes from the cast of "Smallville"...

Erica Durance - Lois Lane

Erica admits to an early love of comics:
"I had all the different types of comics - I had Archie comics, all that kind of stuff."

And goes on to explain her love of Superman:
"I was into Superman - it's been something I've always enjoyed and loved the story of. As a little girl, it was quite a romantic idea. Here was a guy who saved your life and flew you around the world and all those fantastic things. He's the perfect guy."

And what she liked about Lois Lane:
"She had a fairly spunky, independent spirit and that kind of intrigued me."

Erica tells us how the Lois Lane that we all know is starting to assert herself:
"She's a real go-getter, but she can look at a situation and go, 'with this person to get what I need, I do this, and with this person I need to do that.' Not that that means that she's not an honest, truthful person, but she knows how to get from A to B with everybody. Because we're seeing her before the 'real' Lois Lane character of the comics, we get to play with that a little bit."

She acknowledges that there might be some challenges ahead:
"There are moments when she's vulnerable and she's a human being and I have to play those carefully," Durance notes. "Then there are the times when she's calculating and she has to gauge a situation and go in and learn what's going on. She has those moments of being assertive, but she also has to need a friend."

Michael Rosenbaum - Lex Luthor

Michael explains how, now that he knows the character better, he is able to understand his actions more. For example, in a scene during the season two episode 'Insurgence', when Jonathan comes to beg a ride to Metropolis...
"Wasn't that a great moment!" he laughs. "Mr. Kent comes in, and I go, 'I'll give you a ride, Mr. Kent.' That was really like, 'Oh man, that's great.' I wanted the director to know that it was important for me, or rather for Lex, to let Mr. Kent squirm' - and they did. They added that especially in the editing."

Michael tells us about the happy working atmosphere on the Smallville set:
"It's great to have everyone there who's in a positive mood and thinking 'How can we make this scene better?' If Tom and I are in the middle of a scene, he'll be doing something and I'll whisper, 'Do it again,' and give him a wink, and he'll say, 'Can I do that line again?' And he'll do the same for me. We all work together. There's no attitude or egos."

On Lex becoming his father:
"I think Lex is doing everything he can not to become his father," Rosenbaum points out, "but there are these little nuances - little moments and little hints - that tell you that he is becoming his father."

Would Michael have any time for Lex in real life?
"I'm the antithesis of a megalomaniacal billionaire genius. I like ice hockey; he'd buy the team. I have an open mind, and I'd probably make fun of all his fancy cars and all his fancy outfits, but ultimately if I met the guy, and found out he's a good person, I'd give him a shot. Go buy him a pair of jeans, see if he wants to come to a Kings game or a Rangers game. Got to give everybody a shot."

He tells of the high jinks on the set...
"We've had fart machines on set, and real farts - and one of the guest stars last year put a whole bowl of chilli in my toilet and took a Polaroid picture of herself on the toilet," Rosenbaum recalls. "I was sort of aggravated because I thought it was real." He laughs and reveals that "it was Emmanuelle Vaugier, who played my wife - and then I threw her off an airplane, so it worked out!"

Annette O'Toole - Martha Kent

Annette expresses her frustration at the secret that is bringing such conflict into the Kent family household.
"We know kryptonite can hurt him, but other than that, no one can actually harm him. Why don't we just forget about the secret? Jonathan is having heart attacks every day! Martha's a nervous wreck! Why don't we just live our lives and whatever happens, happens."

She shares her favorite moment of season three:
"I loved 'Memoria'. That was fun for me to get to really act - I feel like Martha has been in hibernation this year. After losing the baby she was nursing her wounds and hanging around the house, doing a lot of laundry and baking! We were very lucky that we had Miles directing 'Memoria', and I just loved the episode because it was so mothercentric."

And working with John Glover was clearly a highlight as well.
"Just that little moment on the stairs we had - there is that little electric shock that goes through Martha anytime that she sees Lionel."

John Schneider - Jonathan Kent

We hear about the actor's experiences behind the camera, directing the season three episode 'Talisman', and how his experience on the show helped him.
"I really had the opportunity to do a couple of years' worth of prep for that episode. Because I knew the show was coming up, I had the opportunity to talk to the different departments."

And on directing his fellow actors:
"It was fun to direct Allison [Mack, Chloe Sullivan] and Kristin [Kreuk, Lana Lang] because it was the most I've ever got to speak to them. [Michael] Rosenbaum [Lex Luthor] is a good guy, and really funny. I like Lex - and he's an interesting guy to work with."

Not only does John miss Sam Jones III (Pete Ross), he was also sad to see Felicia Bell-Schafer, who played Pete's mother, Judge Abigail Ross, leave.
"She was terrific - it would be great to have her back. I'm always up for more adults in the cast," he points out. "I think when the adults are in it, it's a show that's truly for everybody, not skewed quite as young as it is when it's without it."

John explains what input he has been able to have on the way Jonathan is seen:
"I had spoken about wanting to have a conversation with Lionel about how he could possibly be raising Lex this way, and it showed up in 'Legacy' with Lionel yelling at Jonathan that Clark was weak because I was raising him this way. It really was a great to do - it wasn't quite what I had in mind. I thought it would be a heartfelt conversation, rather than during a fight, but it was much better that what I had in mind."

Jensen Ackles - Jason Teague

Jensen reveals that his involvement in Smallville goes back sometime:
"I knew of it before it made it to air. I was part of the casting process for Clark. Smallville looked like a good show, and when I sat down with Al and Miles at the start of July, and they pitched the role to me, I got excited about it because it seemed like a substantial part and sounded like quite a lot of fun to do."

Was he concerned about coming on to the show as the boyfriend of the heroine?
"I was a bit wary of that, but when they told me a little bit more about the character, and where they were going to take him, that's when I got excited."

Emmanuelle Vaugier - Dr. Helen Bryce

Emmanuelle explains that even until the last she thought her character might turn out to be good.
"I had an idea I was being pushed over to the dark side, and when we were filming the scenes in the plane where I pulled the gun on Lex for the start of the third year, I thought there was a slim chance that she did really love Lex. I said to Greg Beeman, 'Come on, she could still be good', but he walked down the hall yelling back, 'No, she's evil,' laughing."

And she's still defending her character.
"The audience is just waiting for any of Lex's love interests to turn evil and try to kill him - it would just be too easy to fall in to that trap. She was just human - she made mistakes."

Emmanuelle hopes we haven't seen the last of Dr. Bryce.
"I hope I can come back in a really interesting, convoluted way. I don't know what they'll come up with, but I'm really curious to see what it's going to be..."