Clark Kent (Smallville) - Portrayal

Portrayal

In October 2000, producers Al Gough and Miles Millar began their search for the three lead roles, and had casting directors in ten different cities looking at actors. After months of scouting, Tom Welling was cast as Clark Kent. Jensen Ackles was the runner up for the role of Clark Kent in the pilot, he would go on to play Jason Teague as a season four regular. Next to Welling, there have been three actors who have portrayed a "young Clark". Malkolm Alburquenque portrayed a three-year-old Clark in the pilot episode, and in the season two episode "Lineage". Brandon Fonseca would pick up the role of "young Clark" in the season five episode "Vengeance", and in the season eight episode "Abyss", Jackson Warris would fill in the role. In an alternate reality, as depicted in the seventh season episode "Apocalypse", the role of a teenage, human Clark Kent is portrayed by Brett Dier.

The pilot director, David Nutter, was looking through pictures of actors and stumbled upon Tom Welling's image. When he asked about Welling, the casting director said Welling's manager did not want him to do the role because it could hurt his feature film career. After a conversation with Welling's manager, Nutter got Welling to read the script for the pilot, which convinced him to do the part. Welling's initial fear, and part of the reason why he did not immediately jump at the chance to play Clark Kent, was that the show as going to be "Superman in High School". After reading the script he realized that the show was not about Clark "being a super hero", but more about the character attempting to live a normal life as a teenager.

When Tom Welling came in to audition for the role he was not sure how to prepare. While waiting for his turn, he realized that the character is one thing above all else – "a high school kid". To Welling, simply acting like he was a "normal kid"—instead of trying to act like a super hero—was the perfect way to embody the character. Welling realized that by doing that, the special effects and other production elements could fill in the holes that would perfect the character on screen. For one of his auditions, he read the graveyard scene with Kristin Kreuk—the first actor to be cast for the show—and the network thought they had "great chemistry".

"Honestly, I don’t really have too much time to worry about the future. It’s almost a blessing in disguise, because in a sense Clark doesn’t know what’s going to happen ."

— Tom Welling on his lack of Superman knowledge.

Welling was generally unfamiliar with the Superman mythology, so much so that when an episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman appeared on television that featured Clark learning about his Kryptonian heritage, Welling immediately turned the show off. According to Welling, he wanted to learn about Clark’s heritage at the same time that Clark was learning about it on Smallville. Welling believes that it is important for him to learn with the character, as it helps him be the Clark Kent that Al Gough and Miles Millar envision. The actor believes his lack of knowledge of the Superman mythology helps his performance, because Gough and Millar have set up the series so that the previous mythology is not as important. Welling also enjoys that he is in the same predicament as Clark with the fact that he does not know the future of his character, beyond the fact that he will be "Superman". When Welling landed the role of Clark Kent he was sent various Superman-related gifts, including books and toys, which Welling plans to leave unopened until the show is over so that he does not influence his decision making with the character. Welling has also been adamant since the beginning that he did not sign on to play Superman, and has no intention of wearing the costume. The actor reiterated this point while filming season four, insisting that he is here to show how the character evolves into what could "potentially" lead him down the path to wearing the tights. While filming, Welling is allowed input into how his character responds to certain situations, including: moving the scene from one room to another, or requesting the director film particular mannerisms he plans to give off to emphasize a specific emotion.