Smallville Past DC Actor Guest Appearances

Smallville did a wonderful job of integrating the DC Universe into their storyline. They were able to fill the television series with heroes and villains from the rich back stock of DC characters. They also made an effort to cast actors from previous films and television shows based on DC Superheroes. The following is a list of actors who were able to join the Smallville team in bringing their vision of Superman to life.

This was the one time that the casting of a character from a previous film happened by coincidence. Annette O’Toole originally played Lana Lang in the 1983 film Superman III. When auditioning for the role of Martha Kent, the creators were very impressed with her knowledge of the superman mythology. During this discussion they discovered she had played the past love interest of our Man of Steel. Almost 20 years later she would be playing Clark Kent’s mom.

In the Smallville universe Martha Kent is a strong, intelligent and compassionate woman. She started out as the wife of farmer, became the Kansas State Senator and in order to protect her son took on the role of the Red Queen.

Martha Kent was never just the wife of a farmer or the mother to the last son of Kryton. Her intelligence and resourcefulness were instrumental in keeping the Kent Farm financially afloat as well as raising her son with the moral code that would shape him into the Man of Tomorrow. Annette O’Toole played this character perfectly. Whether she was passionately fighting for what she believed in, mourning the loss of a loved one, or nurturing her family, she made those moments real. She made us believe a villainous man like Lionel Luther could fall for her and that she could hold her own against him.

The most exciting casting choice during the entire run of the show was Christopher Reeve. He is the most recognized actor to have ever played Superman. In 1978 this unknown actor made us believe a man could fly. He would star in a total of 4 Superman films. Two of them being universally praised and the other two...well...they tried. Although actors like Joel Nestler and George Reeves have played the Man of Steel decades earlier, it is Christopher Reeve who all future actors will be compared against.

He appeared in two episodes of Smallville. (Season 2, Episode 17: Rosetta & Season 3, Episode 17: Legacy) Although he only appeared in Seasons 2 and 3, his character Dr. Virgil Swann would have far reaching effects on Tom Welling’s character of Clark Kent and be referenced throughout the series.

Dr. Virgil Swann was a brilliant astronomer and extremely wealthy. Believing a “Traveler” from space would soon be visiting earth he formed Veritas, with other powerful people like Lionel Luther and Oliver Queen’s parents. This group’s function was to both study and wait for the Traveler. After the meteor shower struck Smallville, Swann became a recluse and focused his time and energy on searching for life on other planets, especially Krypton.

Dr. Swann is first introduced to the story after he discovered Clark Kent is the Traveler he has been searching for. Clark and Dr. Swan meet in Manhattan where he reveals all that he has learned about Clark’s origins. It was through him that Clark learns of Krypton’s destruction. With Dr. Swann’s translations they work together to try to unravel the mysteries of Kal-El’s (Clark Kent) past and future.

Dr. Swann was named for Curt Swan, an artist for the Superman comics. Swan first penciled Superman #51 back in 1948. He continued working on Superman books until the early 1970s and was part of historic moments such as Superman #199 where Superman and the Flash raced for the first time.

Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation

When Christopher Reeves appeared on Smallville they did a plug at the end of the show for his non-profit organization, Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

Below you will find two You Tube links to the promotions the show used to help bring awareness to this great cause. I originally had the videos but because the contact information to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation was flashed across the screen during the plug Hubpages deemed it "watermarked". I had to remove it but still wanted to give you access so these video in the hopes that you too might support this wonderful foundation.

Tom Welling & Christopher Reeve: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ5lWXnQUz0

Erica Durance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cHQY_KHFc4

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation

• Christopher Reeve Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis Foundation
  The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy.

Superman: Go Forward Tags: This link will take you to the Christopher Reeve Foundation website. If you wish to purchase the Superman Tags, click on the “shop for a cure” link at the top of their home page. Be warned, the tags are sold through the Warner Brothers’ Store and you will be put on their mailing list. Despite requesting to be taken off 3 times I continually get junk mail from them. I do not regret buying the tags and encourage you to support the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. However use a junk e-mail account because Warner Brothers is terrible at spam.

Many actors had played Superboy but Dean Cain was the first actor to take on the role of Superman since Christopher Reeve’s iconic portrayal of the character. The reviews were mixed on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and it lost most of its steam by the time the show ended on season 4. Dean Cain did a good job filling some very big boots. No matter how you feel about his performance, he needs to be given credit for taking on such an iconic role that had the bar set high years earlier.

Dean Cain was cast as Dr. Curtis Knox in season 7, episode 4: Cure. Dr. Knox is an immortal who has been alive for over a thousand years. He made references to battling Mayan warriors, fighting in the Crusades, and being Jack the Ripper. Sadly, his wife was not immortal. In an attempt to remedy this situation Dr. Knox was killing people with high concentrations of kryptonite in their organs and transplanting them into his wife. He may have been a sadistic killer but he was also a romantic.

Helen Slater played Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) in the 1984 movie. It may have been a box office flop but it remains the only attempt to make a feature film starring this female heroine. Despite bad reviews, fans still enjoyed watching Helen Slater change into her Supergirl costume to fly off and save the day.

It is fitting that they would cast the woman who played Superman’s cousin as Kal-El’s mother, Lara-El, 20 years later. There is nothing wrong with being type casted as a female Kryptonian. In season 7, episode 6: Laura and episode 8: Blue she comes back to life as a clone along with Kara-El’s father, Zor-El. Once again we see the family connection with the casting. This storyline ends with Lara sacrificing herself so that her son may live to fulfill his destiny. Lara appears one last time in season 10, episode 8: Abandoned where her and Jor-El leave their son Kal-El a message letting him know how much they love him and are proud of the man they know he will become.

Lynda Carter is best known for her role as Wonder Woman on The New Adventures of Wonder Woman in the late 1970s. The show only lasted 3 seasons but it set the standard for who Wonder Woman was supposed to be. Many artists have used Lynda Carter’s appearance as the model for their Wonder Woman interpretations.

Chloe Sullivan’s mom had a huge impact on her life even though she left when Chloe was only 5 years old. It was not until season 4 when Chloe was a senior in high school that she finds out her mom had been in a mental institution for the past 6 years and at some point had slipped into a catatonic state. When we officially meet her mother 2 years later in season 6 there is a huge expectation from the audience. For episode 18: Progeny they cast Lynda Carter for the role of Chloe’s mom, Moira Sullivan.

Moira Sullivan has the power to control people who have been infected with meteor rock (Kryptonite). It was because of this power and fear for her daughter’s safety that she left. Lex Luther discovered her abilities and developed a medicine that will keep her awake and out of her catatonic condition. He attempted to exploit Moira’s powers for his own personal gain and used Chloe as leverage to get what he wanted. When Chloe and her mom escape, Moira begins slipping back into her catatonic state because the medicine Lex developed only lasts for 24 hours. Moira refused to deal with Lex Luther to obtain more of the drug, so Oliver gets her transferred to a hospital where she will be safe in Star City.

Marc McClure has been associated with more Superman films than any other guest-star on Smallville. He played Jimmy Olsen in all four Christopher Reeve films as well as Supergirl with Helen Slater. This time around he got to play a Kryptonian by the name of Dax-Ur.

We meet Dax-Ur in season 7, episode 10: Persona. He was the original kryptonian scientist who created Brainiac. Realizing the potential dangers of such a machine he abandoned his work, left Krypton and went to Earth to study the yellow sun’s effects on kryptonian minerals. There he fell in love and married an earth woman named Grace. They ended up having a son together. Dax-Ur voluntarily suppressed his super powers by wearing a blue kryptonite bracelet in order to lead a normal human life. Shortly after meeting Clark, Brainiac attacks Dax-Ur and steals the memories and information he needed to repair himself.

As the love interest of Christopher Reeve’s Superman in all four of the films, Smallville casting would not have been complete without including Margot Kidder. Her portrayal of Lois Lane won her a Saturn Award for Best Actress. It is rumored that her less than 5 minutes of screen time in Superman 3 was a result of her public disagreement over Richard Donner being replaced as the director for Superman 2. Never the less she was Lois Lane from 1978 to 1987. For many she is the true Lois Lane.

It makes sense to cast Margot Kidder in a role related to Christopher Reeve’s character of Dr. Virgil Swann. She played Dr. Bridgette Crosby, a colleague of Dr. Swann and much like their former movie characters, it is implied they had a relationship.

Dr. Bridgette Crosby comes in the beginning of season 4 episode 1: Crusade. She gives Martha Kent a chunk of black kryptonite to separate an emotionless Kal-El from Clark so that he can become himself again.

Dr. Crosby returns the same season in episode 6: Transference where she acquired the water stone. The water stone is capable of either healing someone or switching two people’s essences when they are simultaneously touching it. She attempted to set up a meeting with Lex Luther regarding this artifact but gets killed by Jason Teague before they can meet. Thus her storyline comes to a tragic end.

I believe this was the most creative casting choice. Terence Stamp played General Zod in Superman: The Movie and Superman 2. General Zod is one of Superman’s greatest villains. Not only do you have an antagonist with the same powers as Superman but you have the rich history and culture that these two share from a home world that no longer exists.

The classically trained actor and his wonderful voice were cast as Jor-El. It was Julian Sands who played the physical Jor-El in season 10, Episode 8: Abandoned but Terence Stamp has been the disembodied voice of Jor-El for the entire series.Originally playing the villain of Superman, Terence now takes on the roll of loving father. He speaks to Clark through the Fortress of Solitude where he dispenses fatherly advice and tries to prepare Clark for his destiny as the protector of Earth. As in any father son relationship they have their ups and downs. Sometimes Jor-El comes across as cold but he always has Clark’s best interest at heart.

Teri Hatcher played Lois Lane in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. This may not have been the most popular Superman show but it by far had one of the most prominent placements of Lois Lane. To have the title of the show start with Lois and end with Superman says a lot. Teri Hatcher became one of the most recognizable actresses to portray Lois Lanes. In 1995 the promotional picture of her wrapped in Superman’s cape was the most downloaded image on the internet. At one point this photo was averaging 20,000 downloads a month. Keep in mind this was during the dial up age of the internet and the loading of pictures was excruciatingly slow.

Teri Hatcher is only 14 years older than Erica Durance, who is currently playing Lois Lane on Smallville. When they cast her as Lois’ mom, Ella Lane, she appeared in video tapes recorded years earlier. These messages to her daughter were filmed before she died and she requested that Lois not see them till she was ready. In season 10, episode 8: Abandoned Lois plays these tapes. In hearing her mom’s words of loves Lois is more confident in her engagement to Clark Kent. Even beyond the grave a mother’s love is able to help her daughter.

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