What Occurred To The Forged Of Smallville?

It is arduous to think about this now, contemplating the stranglehold that superhero movies and tv collection have had on Hollywood over the previous decade and a half, however within the early 2000s, growing a present a couple of superhero — even a top-tier one like Superman — was not assured to be a slam dunk. It is a testomony to the charming, borderline addictive nature of “Smallville” that it not solely existed on the fledgling CW community, however thrived there for 10 seasons from 2001 to 2011.

In telling the story of Clark Kent’s (Tom Welling) teen and younger grownup years rising up in Smallville, the frothy superhero drama launched audiences to a crop of upcoming actors who made their mark each on “Smallville” and past. Whereas some are nonetheless appearing to at the present time, others have taken attention-grabbing profession — and private life — turns over time which will shock followers of the present. Here is the primary solid of “Smallville,” and every thing they have been as much as since leaving Superman behind.

Again when Tom Welling was solid in “Smallville” in 2001, he was only a child Calvin Klein mannequin with a couple of minor credit to his title. However in taking up the position of a teenage Clark Kent aka Superman, his profession was blown into the stratosphere and just about stayed there all through the 10-season run of “Smallville.” (Funnily sufficient, the showrunners apparently needed to beg Welling to audition within the first place.) After the enduring superhero present went off the air, nevertheless, Welling took the chance to sluggish issues down.

Though Welling remains to be a daily fixture in movie and particularly on tv, he does not appear notably involved with sustaining a star standing. His filmography is nothing to sneeze at, although. Within the years since “Smallville” resulted in 2011, Welling appeared in a recurring position on “Lucifer” as Cain (sure, that Cain), starred in 10 episodes of the motion collection “Professionals,” and performed Samuel Campbell within the “Supernatural” prequel “The Winchesters.” He even briefly reprised his position as Clark Kent in a 2019 episode of “Batwoman” in the course of the CW’s “Disaster on Infinite Earths” saga.

When Kristin Kreuk was solid as Lana Lang in “Smallville,” she had no small process forward of her. Because the woman subsequent door to Welling’s pining Clark Kent, she needed to make audiences neglect in regards to the superhero’s most well-known and enduring love curiosity, Lois Lane. Fortunately, Kreuk was as much as the problem, profitable over viewers virtually instantly and sticking with the present for a powerful 158 episodes.

After leaving “Smallville” as a principal solid member (though she would seem on and off over the course of the collection), Kreuk continued appearing on tv. Her most distinguished TV position after Lana Lang was when she starred in “Magnificence and the Beast,” a modern-day adaptation of the traditional fairy story. (Albeit with a a lot much less beast-y beast — it did air on the CW, in any case, the place good-looking main males are just about a requirement.) It aired for 4 seasons earlier than ending in 2016. Within the years since, she’s made appearances on reveals like “Burden of Reality,” “Ghostwriter,” and “Reacher.” Most not too long ago, she starred in “Homicide in a Small City,” a Canadian crime drama collection that was renewed for a second season in January 2025.

For each superhero, there needs to be a smarmy, superrich villain to behave as his foil, and on “Smallville,” that was Lex Luthor. Generally he acted a pal and confidant to Clark Kent, typically he was an out-and-out unhealthy man, however he was at all times scheming away. Rosenbaum started appearing within the late Nineteen Nineties, and a few of his most distinguished early roles have been in “City Legend,” “Midnight within the Backyard of Good and Evil,” and the 1999 WB sitcom “Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane.” When the creators of “Smallville” introduced the actor in for an audition, nevertheless, Rosenbaum wasn’t instantly satisfied. Fortunately, he ended up taking the job, and caught with it for seven full seasons.

All through the run of “Smallville,” Rosenbaum labored steadily, typically taking up different roles within the DC and Marvel universe, together with voicing the Flash in “Justice League,” “Justice League Limitless,” and “Teen Titans.” Lately, he is had a minor position within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, taking part in the Ravager Martinex T’Naga in final two “Guardians of the Galaxy” motion pictures. Since 2018, Rosenbaum has additionally hosted the wildly profitable “Inside You” podcast, interviewing everybody from former costars like Tom Welling to Hollywood powerhouses like James Gunn.

Chloe Sullivan, one in every of Clark Kent’s closest highschool buddies, was just about a ray of sunshine on “Smallville,” and that is largely due to Allison Mack’s bubbly on-screen disposition. A former little one actor, Mack appeared in movies like “Camp Nowhere” and “Honey We Shrunk Ourselves” earlier than touchdown one of many lead roles on “Smallville” on the age of 19. She was on the present for all 10 seasons, and continued appearing after it went off the air, taking part in supporting roles on “Wilfred,” “The Following,” and “American Odyssey.” However what occurred subsequent in her life is one thing nobody may have predicted.

Starting in 2006 — whereas she was nonetheless appearing on “Smallville” — she turned concerned with NXIVM, a corporation that claimed to supply a spread of self-improvement applications however was, in actuality, a intercourse cult. Mack rose via the ranks of NXIVM, recruiting different girls into the group, and in 2018, she was arrested on prices of “intercourse trafficking, intercourse trafficking conspiracy and compelled labor conspiracy.” To keep away from a prolonged jail sentence, Mack testified towards NXIVM’s chief Keith Raniere, and in 2021, she was sentenced to 3 years in jail. She finally served lower than two years, and was launched in 2023.

At the very least 50% of all comedian guide villains include an entire host of daddy points, and Lex Luthor isn’t any exception. (No, we do not have a supply on that quantity, nevertheless it feels proper.) Enjoying his ultra-rich, very troublesome to please father is John Glover, an actor well-known for his villainous performances, each inside the comedian guide realm and out of doors of it. He was effectively established inside the leisure business lengthy earlier than he took on the position of Lionel Luthor in “Smallville,” with appearances in movies comparable to “Scrooged,” “Robocop 2,” and, curiously sufficient, “Batman & Robin,” the place he performed mad scientist Jason Woodrue.

Within the years after “Smallville,” Glover has labored on a number of the largest reveals on tv, together with “The Good Spouse,” “Agent Carter,” “The Blacklist,” “Worry the Strolling Useless,” and “Lucifer.” You may additionally acknowledge him from 2019’s “Shazam!” the place he performed Mr. Sivana — yet one more father abusive sufficient to show his son (performed by Mark Sturdy) right into a supervillain.

For so long as Superman has been round, there’s been Lois Lane, the love of his life. However in “Smallville,” she did not flip up till the fourth season in 2004, the place she was performed by Erica Durance all through the remainder of the present’s time on the air. Up till that time in her profession, she had largely had one-off tv roles to her title, however her star steadily rose whereas she was on “Smallville” and the years that adopted. From 2012 to 2017, she starred as Dr. Alex Reid on the supernatural medical drama “Saving Hope,” a chief surgical resident whose fiance Charlie (Michael Shanks) develops the power to see lifeless individuals after a critical automotive accident.

Durance by no means shied away from her comedian guide roots, nevertheless. In 2019, she reprised her position as Lois Lane on a multiverse episode of “Batwoman,” and from 2017 to 2019, she performed Alura Zor-El, Supergirl’s organic mom, on “Supergirl,” taking on the position from Laura Benanti, who portrayed the character on the primary two seasons of the present. As of late, you are more than likely to seek out Durance on the TV Christmas film circuit — she’s appeared in movies like “The Christmas Chalet,” “Mrs. Christmas Involves City,” and “Completely satisfied Holidays from Cherry Lane,” amongst many others.

Annette O’Toole was already a distinguished determine in Hollywood by the point she took on the position of Clark Kent’s adoptive mom Martha, a component she performed for the primary six seasons of “Smallville.” And coincidentally, taking part in the Kent household matriarch was not her first foray into the world of Superman. In 1983, she performed none apart from Lana Lang in “Superman III,” a childhood pal who Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) reconnects with when he returns dwelling to Smallville for a highschool reunion. 

Within the years since “Smallville” went off the air, she’s starred in a handful of different tv collection — O’Toole performed Susan Emerson on the criminally underrated “Halt and Catch Hearth,” and is at the moment starring in “Virgin River,” the place she performs the small city’s mayor. “Virgin River” has been streaming on Netflix for six seasons, and in October 2024, it was introduced that the solid could be coming again for a seventh. She additionally obtained essential reward for her work within the tragically underseen 2020 crime dramedy “Blow the Man Down.”

You probably have even a passing familiarity with early Nineteen Eighties tv, you will possible acknowledge John Schneider from his efficiency as Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard.” However he additionally had a profession as a rustic singer (he is had 4 singles attain the No 1 spot on the U.S. Nation charts) and labored persistently on the large and small display earlier than he took up the mantle of Jonathan Kent, Clark Kent’s adoptive father, on “Smallville.” He was on the present for the primary 5 seasons, earlier than leaving in heartbreaking vogue in the course of the a centesimal episode.

Schneider went on to have recurring roles on high-profile tv collection comparable to “Nip/Tuck,” “The Secret Lifetime of the American Teenager,” “Soiled Attractive Cash,” and “Determined Housewives.” In 2023, he drew controversy after publicly advocating for the lynching of then-president Joe Biden on X (previously generally known as Twitter) a remark that sparked an investigation by the Secret Service and was later deleted from the platform. That very same yr, he appeared on “The Masked Singer” as a large donut, coming in second place.

Lengthy earlier than Stephen Amell took on the position of Oliver Queen aka Inexperienced Arrow within the CW’s hit superhero present “Arrow,” Justin Hartley performed the billionaire vigilante on “Smallville,” first showing in Season 6 and changing into a principal solid member for the ultimate three seasons. Earlier than “Smallville,” he had actually solely been in a single factor: The cleaning soap opera “Passions,” the place he performed Fox Crane for 4 years. However after “Smallville” went off the air, boy, did his profession blow up. 

He had key roles in “Emily Owens, M.D.,” “Revenge, “Mistresses,” and “The Younger and the Stressed,” however the undertaking that actually despatched him into the stratosphere was somewhat community drama referred to as “This Is Us.” Perhaps you’ve got heard of it? In it, he performed Kevin, one in every of a set of triplets featured closely within the Pearson household melodrama. “This Is Us” took the U.S. by storm, operating for six seasons and incomes 14 Primetime Emmy nominations over time. After “This Is Us” resulted in 2022, Hartley wasted no time to find his subsequent huge position. In 2024, he took on the lead character of Colter Shaw on the CBS motion drama “Tracker.”

Sam Jones III was one of many authentic solid members of “Smallville” in the course of the present’s highschool years, taking part in Pete Ross, one in every of Clark Kent’s finest buddies. (He was additionally one a part of the Clark-Chloe-Lana-Pete love trapezoid, however fortunately that arc burned out pretty shortly.) Ross was an integral a part of the present till he exited throughout Season 3 — the burden of carrying Clark’s secret turned too nice, and he took the chance to maneuver away from Smallville along with his mom after his mother and father divorced.

Jones labored steadily as an actor after leaving “Smallville” in 2004. He was featured in 16 episodes of “ER,” taking part in medical scholar Chaz Pratt, in addition to showing in “Blue Mountain State,” a university sitcom that ran for 3 seasons on Spike. Through the 2010s, he skilled some authorized troubles, as he was caught in a DEA sting operation and charged with “conspiracy to own unlawful medicine with the intent to distribute”, particularly hundreds of oxycodone tablets. He finally served 10 months in jail. Jones’s most up-to-date credit score was within the horror movie “All Mild Will Finish,” which was launched on VOD in 2018.

On “Smallville,” Tess Mercer is only a lady on the lookout for somebody to consider in. First it is Lex Luthor — the brother she by no means knew she had, actually — however when he inevitably disappoints her, she hitched her wagon to none apart from Clark Kent. Though Cassidy Freeman was solely on “Smallville” for its final three seasons (and arguably the interval the place the present had misplaced a few of its cultural relevance), she made a powerful impression.

Tess Mercer was Freeman’s first main position, and after “Smallville” ended, she jumped proper into her subsequent huge undertaking — taking part in Cady Longmire on “Longmire,” a modern-day Western that ran on A&E for six seasons. She additionally had a recurring position on the authorized drama “Doubt” starring Katherine Heigl, which was sadly canceled after only one season on account of weak scores. However these days, you will possible acknowledge Freeman for her work on “The Righteous Gem stones,” the place she performs Amber, the formidable spouse of Jesse Gemstone (Danny McBride), the oldest son in a household of megachurch royalty.

Though a number of characters on “Smallville” have been on the present from the very starting, Aaron Ashmore was a late addition to the solid, becoming a member of in 2006 as Jimmy Olsen for the final 4 seasons. Clark Kent’s cheerful but often-unlucky colleague on the Day by day Planet, Olsen brings a vivid high quality to the present’s more and more darkish proceedings.

You may really feel as if you’ve got seen Aaron Ashmore in all places, however whereas he is actually had a prolific profession, a part of this confusion possible stems from the truth that he has an similar twin brother Shawn, who can also be an actor. (And curiously sufficient, they’ve each had a foot within the superhero world — Shawn performed Iceman within the “X-Males” franchise and even had a two-part stint in “Smallville,” too.) 

For his half, Aaron has completed a few of his most distinguished work on tv, starring in reveals comparable to “In Plain Sight” and “Warehouse 13.” And he is actually simply getting began — a few of his largest roles have are available simply the previous few years. From 2020 to 2022, he performed Duncan Locke within the Netflix fantasy collection “Locke & Key,” and in 2023, he embraced a really totally different kind of character, taking part in Georgia’s abusive ex on the frothy teen drama “Ginny & Georgia.”

Except for the primary roster of characters on “Smallville,” Zod is without doubt one of the most essential figures in Superman canon, so he casts a protracted shadow despite the fact that he is solely within the ultimate two seasons of the present. Performed by Callum Blue, as soon as Zod recovers his powers, he is as much as his outdated world-conquering tips once more. By the point Blue was solid in “Smallville,” he’d had a number of career-defining roles underneath his belt, together with taking part in the chaotic reaper Mason on “Useless Like Me,” Sir Anthony Knivert on “The Tudors,” Alex on “Secret Diary of a Name Woman,” and Andrew Jacoby, Duke of Kenilworth — Anne Hathaway’s fiancé earlier than she’s swept off her toes by Chris Pine’s Lord Nicholas — in “The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement.” 

Within the years since “Smallville,” Blue was a principal solid member on the supernatural drama “Proof,” the place he performed a author moonlighting as a psychic. Most not too long ago, he had an curiously meta recurring position on “9-1-1” as Brad Torrance, an actor who performs a firefighter on a success tv collection referred to as “Hotshots.” And in 2025, he wrote and directed a brief movie referred to as “Paint” starring Heather Matarazzo, his “Princess Diaries” co-star from means again when.

Jason Teague, performed by Jensen Ackles, turns up within the fourth season of “Smallville” as competitors with Clark for Lana Lang’s affections. Or not less than, that is what it looks like at first. However like so many characters on “Smallville,” there’s rather more to Jason Teague than meets the attention. By the point Ackles was introduced on board for Season 4 (though he initially auditioned for the position of Clark Kent when the present was first being developed), he was already a sizzling commodity within the frothy TV drama world. He appeared as Eric Brady in 469 episodes of the daytime cleaning soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” and had recurring roles on each “Darkish Angel” and “Dawson’s Creek.”

After “Smallville,” after all, Ackles discovered a job that has finally outlined his profession to date: Dean Winchester on “Supernatural,” the horror-adjacent CW collection a couple of pair of brothers who make a profession out of searching demons, ghosts, and different otherworldly creatures. He starred on the present alongside Jared Padalecki for an exhausting 15 seasons as the 2 developed a fervently devoted fanbase. Within the years since “Supernatural” went off the air, Ackles has reprised his position for 13 episodes of the spinoff present “The Winchesters” and took on the character of Soldier Boy in Prime Video’s anarchic superhero collection “The Boys.” Ackles is about to reprise the position for the present’s fifth and ultimate season and in addition in a prequel spin-off titled “Vought Rising.”