According to co-creator Miles Millar, "unlike most shows, which pick up in January and you've got four weeks [...] to do your casting", Millar and co-creator Al Gough had five months to cast their lead characters. In October 2000, the two producers began their search for the three lead roles, and had casting directors in ten different cities. The following is a list of all the characters that are, or at one time were, a main character in the show. During its first season,
Smallville had eight regular characters. Six characters from the original cast left the show, with eight new characters coming in over the course of nine seasons. The following is a list of series regulars who appear in one or more of the series' ten seasons. The characters are listed in the order they were first credited in the series. : =
Main cast (credited) : =
Recurring cast (4+) : =
Guest cast (1–3)
Clark Kent Portrayed by
Tom Welling,
Clark Kent is an alien being from a planet called Krypton with
superhuman abilities, which he uses to help others in danger. Clark is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent in the
series pilot, when he crash lands to Earth as a three-year-old child. Twelve years later, he tries to find his place in life after being told he is an alien by his adoptive father. For most of the series, Clark spends his time running from his
Kryptonian heritage, going as far as leaving Smallville, abandoning a quest his biological father
Jor-El sends him on in search of three Kryptonian stones of knowledge, continuing his training at the
Fortress of Solitude,
Lana Lang Portrayed by
Kristin Kreuk,
Lana Lang is one of Clark Kent's friends and on-again-off-again girlfriend. In the first season, Lana and Clark's friendship is just beginning, as she is dating
Whitney Fordman during this time. In
season seven, Lana leaves Smallville, leaving behind a DVD explaining to Clark that, even though she loves him, the only way for him to help the world to the best of his ability would be if she left him and Smallville for good. Over the course of seven seasons—beginning on the day Clark rescues him from drowning—Lex tries to uncover the secrets that Clark keeps. Lex's curiosity eventually leads to a blowout between him and Clark in the
season three finale. Lex's investigations ultimately lead to him discovering the truth about Clark's alien heritage in the season seven finale. He ultimately loses his football scholarship, and in the episode "Kinetic" he starts ignoring Lana, and begins hanging around with past
high school football stars, who recruit him for their illegal endeavors. He eventually reconciles with Clark and Lana before joining the
Marines in the season one finale and leaving the show. Whitney has made a guest appearance in the season two episode "Visage", where it is revealed he died in combat overseas, and the season four episode "Façade", during a flashback of Clark's freshman year. Eric Johnson auditioned for the roles of Lex and Clark, before finally being cast as Whitney Fordman. When the producers called him in for a third audition, Johnson informed them that if they wanted him then they would bring him in for a screen-test. After the screen-test, Johnson was cast and spent only one day filming his scenes for the pilot. The producers, along with Johnson, wanted to portray Whitney as more than just the "stereotypical jock" that he could have easily become, in an effort to make sure Lana did not look stupid for going out with him. Whitney was given multiple storylines in season one in an effort to get audiences to view the character in a more pleasant light, Johnson realized after reading the script for the pilot episode that his character was not going to be around for the entirety of the series. This became even clearer when his character's storylines began to develop quickly. While filming "Obscura", Johnson was informed that his character would not be returning as a series regular for season two. Initially fearing that he had made some mistake and that they were going to kill his character off, Johnson learned that Whitney would be enlisting into the Marines.
Pete Ross Sam Jones III plays
Pete Ross, another of Clark's best friends. He hates the Luthors for what he sees as their thievery of his family's
creamed corn business, It is established in season three's "Truth", that Pete is in love with Chloe. He kept this truth to himself because of the Clark–Lana–Chloe love triangle already taking place. In season three's "Velocity", Pete, feeling alienated by Clark, begins hanging around a group of street racers. When Pete refuses to throw a race, his life is put in jeopardy, and he forces Clark to abuse his powers in order to help Pete win a race. This leads to a falling out between the two friends. The character was written out of the series at the end of season three, citing the trouble keeping Clark's secret was causing him. Pete returns to Smallville in season seven's "Hero", after gaining superhuman abilities from
kryptonite-enhanced chewing gum, which allow him to stretch his body to extreme lengths. It is revealed that Pete initially blames Clark for his life not turning out the way he intended. Lex learns about Pete's powers and blackmails him into abusing his powers for Lex's personal gain. Clark steps in and saves Pete, and the pair mend their relationship before Pete leaves Smallville again, setting out to get his life in order. Sam Jones III was the last of the
season one series regulars to be cast–being hired just four days before filming for the pilot episode began. Jones, who is
African American, was also cast against the Superman mythology, where Pete Ross is
Caucasian. Jones has stated that he would have understood if the producers had simply created a black character for him to portray, but the fact that they chose to go with him, even though the character has always been white, gave him more honor to be a part of the show. During the first season, Jones felt like he should have more screen time, but later conceded that the show was about Clark's journey and that the other characters are there to help his story move along. Ultimately, Pete's primary story arc in season three became the character's inability to deal with knowing Clark's secret, and his growing feeling of abandonment from Clark, who was spending more time with Chloe, Lana and Lex. Millar explains that they felt that the character was being wasted on
Smallville, and that led to the decision of writing the character off the show with the hope that he could come back in future episodes. There was dissension between the cast and crew over Jones's departure. According to Annette O'Toole (Martha Kent), Clark needs a guy friend in his life, and she feels that the Kents would have taken Pete in when his parents left Smallville.
Chloe Sullivan Allison Mack portrays one of Clark's best friends, Chloe Sullivan. Editor of the school newspaper, her journalistic curiosity—always wanting to "expose falsehoods" and "know the truth"—causes tension with her friends, especially when she is digging into Clark's past. She discovers Clark's secret in the fourth-season episode "Pariah".
Martha Kent Martha Kent, Clark's adopted mother, is portrayed by
Annette O'Toole. Martha, along with her husband Jonathan, gives Clark sage advice about how to cope with his growing abilities. In season two, Martha becomes pregnant with her first child—in the season two episode "Fever", Clark's spaceship heals her body and allows her to have children, something she physically could not do when she adopted Clark This eventually paves the way to a job in
Washington, D.C. in
season six's "Prototype", and the character's exit from the show. Martha would return in the season nine episode "Hostage", where it is revealed that she has been going under the code name "Red Queen" of
Checkmate while she attempts to keep Clark off of the government agency Checkmate's radar. She ultimately leaves Clark with a means to send the season's threat, cloned Kryptonians, to another plane of existence. In the season nine finale, it is revealed that before Martha traveled back to Washington, D.C. she left Clark a new costume to wear while he defends Earth. The role of Martha Kent was originally given to
Cynthia Ettinger, but during filming everyone, including Ettinger, realized that she was not right for the role. Coincidentally, the actress had previously portrayed Lana Lang in
Superman III. O'Toole thinks that the producers wanted someone older for the role of Martha, and when she came in to talk to the producers everyone appeared to be on the same page with what the character and the show should be about. O'Toole characterizes Martha as really intelligent, but believes the character has to hide her intelligence at times "to keep the peace". To the chagrin of O'Toole, Martha's next storyline—the expectation of a new child—tied the character to the farm in a way the actress did not agree with. O'Toole wanted to perform as if the pregnancy was fake—something mentally created by Clark's ship—but the producers insisted that she wear the pregnancy pads to indicate that she was indeed pregnant. Ultimately, that storyline ended with Martha losing the baby to a miscarriage. O'Toole relished the opportunity that came with Jonathan's passing, even though she was saddened to see a friend leave the show. Martha taking the senate seat was a chance to explore more adult stories with her character beginning midway through season five, which was important for the actress since Clark was becoming an adult on the show. It also allowed for O'Toole the chance to depict "strong emotions" over Jonathan's death. Al Gough feels that Jonathan's passing allowed for them to explore more of Martha's smart and strong side, as well as her relationship with Lionel. The idea was to show that there was some form of attraction between Martha and Lionel, but that Martha would never have any romantic relationship with the billionaire, especially after all that he had done to her family. O'Toole likens Martha's interest in Lionel with that of watching a dangerous animal: "It's that attraction you have for a very beautiful, dangerous animal. You know you can't stop watching it, but at the same time you feel, 'Oh my God, he's going to kill me'". The actress believes that Martha's ultimate motivation was to get close enough to Lionel to know what he is planning to do to Clark. When it came time for Martha to leave the show, writer Todd Slavkin contends that they wanted to give the character "more of a send-off" than they achieved on film. Slavkin explains that they could not do anything equivalent to what they gave John Schneider, as there were already so many storylines going on by the season six finale that they could not fit anything else in. The writers also realized that they could not kill off the character, and so chose to send her to the US Senate, creating a parallel to Clark where Martha fights injustice on the political stage.
Jonathan Kent on
The Dukes of Hazzard led to him landing the role of Jonathan Kent. and making a deal to allow Clark's biological father, Jor-El, to take Clark to fulfill his destiny if Jor-El gave Jonathan the power to bring Clark home—Clark had run away after believing his parents blamed him for Martha's miscarriage. As a result, season three's "Hereafter" explains that Jonathan's heart was strained while he was imbued with all of Clark's powers. Millar and Gough loved the idea of casting John Schneider as Jonathan Kent, as they felt he gave the show a recognizable face from his days as
Bo Duke from
The Dukes of Hazzard. Gough felt that Schneider's experience portraying Bo Duke added belief that he could have grown up running a farm. Schneider believes that the season two episode "Suspect"—where Jonathan is arrested, but his sole concern is protecting Clark's secret—summarizes the character well, and shows that the "least important person in Jonathan's life is Jonathan". Schneider admits that occasionally he and Annette O'Toole have to "police" the creative team when it comes to the relationship between Martha, Jonathan, and Clark. According to Schneider, there are moments where they have to make sure that the characters are not taken to a place they would not normally go, specifically where the parents are useless without the "innate intelligence of [their] teenager". Tom Welling feels that the deal Jonathan made with Jor-El at the beginning of season three made Jonathan realize that he will not always be around to protect Clark. Welling believes that it is the repercussions of that deal that allow Jonathan to give Clark more freedom in the choices that he makes during season three. Jonathan realizes that he must help Clark find the confidence in his ability to survive on his own, so that he can leave home one day. One scene that Schneider specifically remembers was at the end of season three's "Forsaken". Here, Jonathan admits to not trusting his own instincts anymore and allowing Clark to rely on his. This "admission of fallibility", but faith in his son's ability to make the right choices, is what Schneider sees as the growing of the family dynamic. A heart condition is not new to the character, as it has been used in previous incarnations, like
Glenn Ford's portrayal of Jonathan Kent in
Richard Donner's
Superman, as well as the comic books. In contrast to those versions, it was
Smallville that tied his heart condition to a deal that he makes with Jor-El. When the moment came for his character to die, Schneider considers the event an "empowering death", which he likens to
John Wayne's character death as Wil Andersen in
The Cowboys.
Lionel Luthor John Glover portrays Lex's father, Lionel Luthor. Lionel initially sends his son to Smallville to run the local fertilizer plant, as a test. After being possessed by Jor-El in the season five episode "Hidden", In season seven, Lionel is murdered by Lex, who realizes that his father has been covering up the truth about an alien visitor.
Jason Teague , who portrayed Jason Teague on the show, at Comic-Con 2011.
Jensen Ackles appears in season four as Jason Teague, a
love interest for Lana. The pair meet in
Paris, while Lana is studying abroad. When she leaves unexpectedly in the season four episode "Gone", Jason follows Lana back to Smallville and takes a position as the school's assistant football coach. In season four's "Transference", Jason is fired from the school when his relationship with Lana comes to light. By the end of the fourth season, it is revealed that he has been working with his mother Genevieve (
Jane Seymour) to locate the three stones of knowledge — three Kryptonian stones that when united form a single crystal that creates Clark's Fortress of Solitude. The Teagues kidnap Lex and Lionel in an effort to discover the location of one of the stones in the episode "Forever", with Lionel claiming that Lana has one of the stones. In the season four finale, Genevieve confronts Lana, and the two women get into a struggle with Genevieve dying by Lana's hand. Jason, who believes that the secret of the stones lies with Clark, heads to the Kent farm where he holds Jonathan and Martha hostage. He is killed during the second meteor shower, when a meteor falls through the Kent home and lands on him. The creation of Jason Teague was something handed down by the network, who wanted Lana to have a new boyfriend—one who was "different from Clark". Gough and Millar were apprehensive because they were already introducing Lois Lane into the series, and introducing two new characters would be difficult. The pair thought about where the relationship between Clark and Lana had left off at the end of season three, and they realized that Clark had turned his back on Lana. Gough and Millar began to like the idea of bringing in a new character, one that would create a new love triangle; eventually they tied him into the larger storyline involving the three Kryptonian stones of knowledge. According to writer Brian Peterson, where Clark brings "angst" and "depth" to his relationship with Lana, Jason is designed to bring "joy", "levity", and "fun". Ackles was Gough and Millar's first choice to play Jason Teague, as the actor had been the runner up for the role of Clark Kent when they were casting for the pilot. Gough contends that
Supernatural did not alter any of their plans, and that Jason Teague was intended to be a single season character. she continues these duties when Martha takes Jonathan's place following his death. This eventually lands her a position at the
Daily Planet.
Jimmy Olsen Jimmy Olsen is first mentioned in season four as the person Chloe lost her virginity to while interning at the
Daily Planet. He makes his official appearance, portrayed by
Aaron Ashmore, in the season six opener. Working as a photographer for the
Daily Planet, Jimmy rekindles his relationship with Chloe in the season six episode "Wither". In the episode "Hydro", Jimmy works with Lois to uncover the true identity of Green Arrow, and in season seven, when Lois is hired by the
Daily Planet, the pair work together on finding stories for the paper. In the season seven episode "Sleeper", Jimmy falls into Lex's debt when Lex, at Jimmy's request, keeps Chloe from being arrested by the Department of Domestic Security for hacking into their government files. In the season seven finale, Lex goes back on his word and has Chloe arrested, just as Jimmy proposes marriage. In "Committed", a deranged jeweler kidnaps Jimmy and Chloe after their engagement party and subjects them to a torturous test to see if they truly love each other—they both pass and are allowed to return to their normal lives. In the season eight episode "Identity", Jimmy begins to suspect that Clark is the "Good Samaritan", an individual who has been stopping crimes and saving people's lives around
Metropolis, until Oliver Queen dresses up as the "Good Samaritan" to help Clark trick Jimmy into believing he was mistaken. In the eighth-season episode "Bride", Jimmy and Chloe are officially married, but
Doomsday crashes their wedding and kidnaps Chloe, leaving Jimmy in the hospital because of injuries sustained from Doomsday. In "Turbulence", Jimmy witnesses
Davis Bloome murdering someone, but when he tries to warn people Davis drugs him and makes it appear as though he is hallucinating. Eventually, Jimmy ends his marriage to Chloe after getting fed up with her always taking Davis's side. In the season eight finale, Davis murders Jimmy after learning that Chloe is still in love with her ex-husband, and was never in love with him. Ashmore indicates that his casting was both a surprise and what he wanted. The actor states: "I auditioned for [the role] and I put myself on tape. I hadn't heard anything, and a couple of weeks later, all of the sudden, I got the call saying, 'You're going to Vancouver to start shooting Smallville.' It's a dream come true, really". Aaron Ashmore's twin,
Shawn, who is better known as Bobby "Iceman" Drake in the
X-Men film series, appeared in two episodes of
Smallville as the power leeching Eric Summers and had been considered for the part of Jimmy Olsen in
Superman Returns. After three seasons with the show, two as a series regular, Ashmore was written out of the series. According to Ashmore, when the producers were first trying to get permission to use the character on
Smallville, DC Comics had qualms over how close Jimmy was in age to Clark and Lois, as the character was supposed to be at least ten years younger. The producers guaranteed the department they would eventually reveal the Jimmy Olsen who appeared on the show was not the Jimmy Olsen who would one day work alongside Clark and Lois. At the character's funeral, his full name is shown to be "Henry James Olsen", In the season seven premiere, Kara is released from suspended animation and saves Lex from drowning. A brief glimpse of Kara flying into the sky results in Lex's new obsession with finding the "angel" that saved his life. Kara eventually finds Clark, in the episode "Kara", who informs her that Krypton was destroyed when the two of them were sent to Earth, and everyone there is dead. In season seven's "Lara", Kara is captured by the Department of Domestic Security and tortured, where she relives one of her early memories of visiting Earth with Clark's mother, Lara. She realizes that her perceptions of her father were wrong and that he was as evil as Clark said. Kara and Clark work together to fight her father,
Zor-El, who was unwittingly released when Clark attempted to create a clone of his biological mother in the episode "Blue". When Zor-El is destroyed at the end of the battle, Kara disappears from the Fortress of Solitude. She awakens in
Detroit with amnesia and none of her abilities. In the episode "Fracture", Kara is discovered and brought home by Lex, who wants to exploit her amnesia to his benefit, with the intent of discovering the truth about Clark. In season seven's "Traveler", Chloe convinces Jor-El to return Kara's memory and powers before Lex can learn her and Clark's secret. When Lana is placed in a catatonic state by
Brainiac in the episode "Veritas", Kara agrees to cooperate with him in the hope that he will not kill Lana. Unknown to Clark, Brainiac is not killed in their fight on Krypton, and he manages to place Kara in the Phantom Zone, while he assumes her identity back on Earth. In the season eight episode "Bloodline", Clark is transported to the Phantom Zone, where he finds Kara. Working together they escape, and Kara leaves Earth to search for
Kandor, a city rumored to hold surviving citizens of Krypton. Vandervoort does not return as a series regular for the eighth season, but returns as a guest star in the season eight episode "Bloodline", and season ten episodes "Supergirl" and "Prophecy".
Tess Mercer .
Cassidy Freeman portrays Tess Mercer, the acting CEO of
LuthorCorp, who is
Lex Luthor's
protégé tasked to run the company should something ever happen to him. The character is loosely based on
Lena Luthor from the comics, and the name "Tess Mercer" is a
homage to two female characters from Superman lore,
Eve Teschmacher and
Mercy Graves, who are both Lex's henchwomen. As Freeman describes her character, Tess Mercer is Lex's handpicked successor; she is "fierce", "fun" and "intelligent". In the episode "Prey", Tess enlists a young man who can turn himself into a shadow. In "Toxic", it is revealed that Tess had a prior romantic relationship with
Oliver Queen after she saved his life while he was stranded on an island, but broke up bitterly when he cheated on her. In the season eight episodes "Instinct" and "Bloodline", Tess learns about Krypton and the name "Kal-El", though she does not attribute any of the information directly to Clark. In "Bulletproof", it is revealed that Tess knows where Lex is. Here, Lana informs Tess that Lex surgically implanted a nano-transmitter into Tess's optic nerve so that he could keep an eye on everything she is doing. Visibly upset by this, Tess places a jamming device into her necklace to disrupt the signal, but not before telling Lex that she will cut him off from the outside world and sell off everything that he owns. In the episode "Requiem", Tess sold controlling interest in LuthorCorp to Queen Industries. In "Turbulence", Tess tries to get Clark to reveal his powers after she read one of Lionel Luthor's journals that identified Clark as "The Traveler", but her effort failed. and in "Injustice" a disembodied voice emanates from the orb revealing that Tess's recent actions to get Clark to reveal his powers and kill Doomsday are because the voice was instructing her to do so. In the season eight finale, the orb activates itself and transports
Zod to Smallville. In the tenth-season episode "Abandoned", it is revealed that Tess was born
Lutessa Lena Luthor and is the illegitimate daughter of Lionel Luthor, conceived with Lex's nanny, Pamela Jenkins. She was brought, by Lionel, to an orphanage run by
Granny Goodness when she was 5 years old. Shortly after Tess arrived at the orphanage, Lionel returned and removed Tess from Granny Goodness's guardianship. Granny Goodness wiped most of Tess's memories before Lionel put Tess up for adoption with the Mercer family. In the season eleven comic, the neurotoxin caused a psychic link between the two, which caused her consciousness to leave her body and enter Lex's brain, when her body died. Eventually, Tess's friends discover this and have her consciousness uploaded into the computer system at the
Watchtower. At the conclusion of season 11, Tess downloads herself into an android body and becomes
Red Tornado.
Davis Bloome .
Sam Witwer portrays Davis Bloome, a paramedic for Metropolis General Hospital. He first appears in the season eight episode "Plastique", assisting Chloe with helping an injured person after a bomb explosion. On Chloe's wedding day, in the episode "Bride", Davis transforms into the monster Doomsday, and travels to Smallville where he injures Jimmy and kidnaps Chloe. He subsequently learns that Chloe's presence will also keep the monster at bay in the episode "Turbulence", In the season eight finale, Chloe uses black kryptonite to separate Davis from Doomsday, leaving him human; when Davis discovers that Chloe does not love him he stabs Jimmy with a pipe. Before Davis can attack Chloe, Jimmy pushes him into a metal rod, which results in Davis's death before Jimmy himself dies.
Brian Peterson explained that he, and the rest of the new executive producers, were looking for a villainous character that was "as great as Lex", with Michael Rosenbaum's departure at the end of the seventh season, and Doomsday fit what they were looking for. Although Witwer portrays Davis Bloome, who becomes the creature known as Doomsday, he does not actually wear the prosthetic body suit that was created for when Davis transforms into his monstrous counterpart. Instead, Doomsday is portrayed by
stunt double Dario Delacio. He later formed the Justice League. Oliver leaves Metropolis in season six, after destroying one of Lex's secret 33.1 facilities, where Lex experiments on meteor-infected individuals against their will, but he returns in season eight where he and the other Justice League members search for Clark, after the latter goes missing when his Fortress of Solitude is destroyed.
Zod Callum Blue portrays
Zod in season nine. Zod is first mentioned in season five's "Arrival", when two of his disciples arrive on Earth attempting to turn the planet into Kryptonian
utopia. Season nine episode "Kandor" reveals that the Kandorians are in fact clones created by
Jor-El—at the orders of the Kryptonian Council—who also corrupted their DNA to prevent them from having powers and subsequently enslaving Earth. Zod subsequently gives the rest of the Kandorians powers, using his blood to renew their lifeforce, and then wages a war on Earth in the season nine finale. Reluctant at first, Clark uses the Book of Rao to send all Kryptonians on Earth to another plane of existence where they can live in peace. In an interview, executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders explained that this version of Zod is different from the one who appeared in prior seasons. The executives classified this incarnation as "Major Zod", as opposed to his typical "General Zod" identifier, and explained that throughout season nine "the venomous side of Zod rises because he experiences a few key betrayals with our beloved characters". == Recurring characters ==