Portrayal
Series developer Al Gough contends that it was always the producer’s intention to bring in the iconic Lois Lane, they just needed a good reason to do it—Chloe’s supposed death at the end of season three appeared to be that reason. Gough explains that, when casting for the role, they looked to Margot Kidder—Lois Lane in the Superman film series—for inspiration. They wanted an actress who was "pretty", "smart", and who came with some "wit". Dozens of actresses auditioned for the role of Lois Lane, but it was not until a tape from Erica Durance showed up that everyone felt that they had found the right Lois. As executive producer Greg Beeman describes Durance, "She had a toughness about her. She was tough and sexy and direct." Another plus, according to Beeman, was the chemistry between Durance and Tom Welling. Durance came on set that first afternoon and the two hit it off, becoming friends and developing a brother/sister relationship on the set.
The lateness of her casting forced Durance to start filming only three days after being hired, with no time to prepare for the role. Under the initial agreement, Durance was only to portray the character for a total of four episodes, but, after a discussion with Peter Roth over how they planned to use the character on the show—insisting that she and Clark would not be having a romantic relationship—the feature film division then cleared the character for more episodes. After the character was cleared for more episodes, the creative team decided to plant her in the Kent home so that she could provide a constant annoyance to Clark. To separate the physical appearance of Lana and Lois from each other, the producers had highlights added to Durance’s hair, as she and Kristin Kreuk both shared a similar brunette coloring.
Read more about this topic: Lois Lane (Smallville)
Famous quotes containing the word portrayal:
“From the oyster to the eagle, from the swine to the tiger, all animals are to be found in men and each of them exists in some man, sometimes several at the time. Animals are nothing but the portrayal of our virtues and vices made manifest to our eyes, the visible reflections of our souls. God displays them to us to give us food for thought.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)