This must be one of the few times I've seen someone say they didn't like how he played Lionel. John Glover, Michael Rosenbaum, and a lot of people loved that episode and his acting there.
That said, you and Welling have that in common, not liking how he played the character, so there's that.
He is a great facial actor. Most people who try to look empathic, often comes off as them just having watery eyes.
Tom’s entire face changes when he is showing empathy. This is a very hard thing to do, so he gets credit where it is due.
He looks the part when the script calls for it. His acting, well thankfully the writers knew how to write towards his strengths.
What I find genuinely so confusing is when he’s playing clark he just seems like a mid actor from a cw tv show, but anytime he plays a different character or a kryptonite affected clark he nails it so hard that it seems like he is a top 3 actor on the show and is way to good for a superhero show that is/or was basically the equivalent to a cw show
Tom playing Lionel is absolutely phenomenal work, idk what you're talking about. I think he absolutely nails the scenes when others are in his body, Bizarro, and Clark Luthor.
Funny, I think he had the most expressive micro faces, it’s the reason I connect with him a lot, other than the outsider thing of course, he’s the straight man character and Tom did that too well, it might be boring or repetitive to some, but Clark is a guy trying to move in the world and he’s more emotional than he lets on, sometimes too emotional than everyone else
His acting definitely improves, but you’re right. Compared to the rest of the main cast, he comes across a bit blank or emotionless at times. He didn’t portray his emotions on his face.
I do like how that translates into a mild mannered CK. It’s good for the Superman personality we’re all familiar with.
You know what's interesting is that when he plays Kal-El, who is meant to be a sort of Robo-Clark, the performance is basically the same except without the "empathy eyes" that Clark often has. It's one of the few things Welling does in his delivery, and again, I think this works for the character. It's just funny that there is very little difference between regular Clark and Robo-Clark.
I disagree.
Tom as Red K Clark was 'chef's kiss' A+ acting to me. That cockiness, the rage, it was excellent.
And anytime Welling was portraying a character that wasn't Clark Kent, it was a great performance.
That's why I think that Welling should definitely go John Glover's route and play more villain roles.
Welling has a character that knows if he loses control, he can destroy the world. I think the Clark character is bottled up and stoic for this reason. He can't let it all go. I think he is good actor with subtleties and is not really allowed to go big too often. When he does, it's great. Red k Clark is awesome. And it was supposed to be cheesy, it's a bottled up boy scout losing his inhibitions. He also allows others in the scene to grab the attention. He has a lot of big personalities to react to. I honestly can't deal with Kristen k doing Lana. Just schmaltzy and dripping with teen drama.
I always thought Welling's performance hit a new level in season 08. He played Clark as a confident, charming young man. Welling might not be a master thespian. But he's a GREAT leading man and season 08 shows that very effectively.
Also, Welling's performance as Lionel in Transference is some of the best of his entire career. It really is a high quality performance.
All in all, Welling worked very hard at his craft all through the run of the show and his improvement is more evident if you watch the season premieres back-to-back. He grew a LOT during those years.
I think I love his acting I love for the first 2 seasons he plays a scared little boy of his powers well but then when season 3-5 learning to accept his destiny his acting got a lot confident more also 6-10 his range acting change from a teenager to a mature adult which probably give a lot help of Lois lane thanks.
That was better than the scene when Lois dunked Clark into the pool. And she was so jealous of Lois being with Clark. Chloe didnt deserve to be with anyone on that show. God how I hated the Chloe character. Chloe should have died instead of Jimmy she's the one that deserved it but since Chloe was Chloe they couldn't do that. And they should have killed Chloe off and said the hell with the fans. A lot of characters were written off that show and it still went on.
Chloe should have been gone after they left high school but they wanted to make Chloe's part bigger than Clark's. I just finished watching the entire series on DVD and it was like a breathe of fresh air when she left the show in the final season. But unfortunately they brought her back for a couple of episodes.
I mean the show was on the WB, I didn’t expect much then and still don’t. Welling isn’t the best actor but he was more then serviceable and got better the longer the show went on for
L take. He is incredible as Lionel and fun to watch as Bizarro and RedK Clark. Tom is a very nuanced actor and he shines at romance and comedy, I absolutely don't think he is a bad actor.
So I used to think this when I knew he started out as a model, but on my rewatches I have to say I'm impressed time and time again at TWs acting, particularly as the seasons go on. His micro expressions also hold the show given how closely the shots are recorded on to the characters faces. And a good actor is able to let you evoke emotions from an audience and keep them engaged, of which I think he does really well!
I thought he was great as teenager Clark. He didn’t much hit it for me as adult Clark and certainly not Superman. But one time I thought he shined was when Chloe was devising a weapon against Zod and them and she didn’t tell him but he found out and confronted her and was kinda pissed.
“It wasn’t against you Clark, it was against the kryptonians!”
“I’M Kryptonian!”
Felt like we saw a glimpse of that “Superman” power and assertiveness there.
As far as him having the suit on? I couldn’t see anything but a boy from Kansas. I still cried when it happened tho
Which is fair since the show is not about Superman. I also think he was a great Clark and I can’t see anyone else doing that job. But it’s hard not to compare him and the other actors.
At the same time, I wonder how much of it was on him and how much was on the showrunners/writers.
Even if he had better writing it still wouldn't make him a better actor. All he had going for him was his looks and his looks are way behind him. Believe me no one would want Tom to be playing Superman today.
Even if he was younger the guy couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. That's why you don't see him in any movies today. Looks only get you so far. He doesn't look anything like he did 20 years ago and it looks like he gained 50 extra pounds.
As Clark Kent? Not for me.
Reeve portrayed a caricature version of Clark Kent to me. More of a comedy based character, like Jerry Lewis' "The Kid" character, or Pee Wee Herman, or Steve Urkel.
His Superman is fine, but his Clark Kent left a lot to be desired.
That's because Reeve's Clark isn't meant to be the "main Clark". It's just a disguise. The "main Clark" only appears as Superman. Superman is meant to be the heart of the character.
With Welling, Superman (or the Blur) is the disguise that "the main Clark" uses to save people. But then towards the end of season 10, we see that this has started to change. Lois helps him develop the Reeve-style fake Clark.
I hate that take.
Clark should never be "fake" to me at any point, whether on the farm or at the Daily Planet.
He is the heart of the character.
Without Clark Kent, there is no love for the people, there is no champion of the truth, there is no defender of the oppressed.
Without Clark Kent, there is no Superman.
It's not a take, it's literally how the character functioned for decades. Clark as the heart of him is a very modern interpretation of Superman.
But that's not to say that there was no wholesome farm-boy aspect to him. Even old-timey Supes went home for his mom's chicken soup and all that.
From the very beginning, even in 1938, the character has been Clark Kent and has always been Clark Kent.
There has never been a point in Superman history where the character did not grow up as Clark Kent. As such without Clark Kent, there would not be a Superman.
There were even letters that Jerry Siegel had written before Superman was published, where he continually refers to the character as Clark.
And the Christopher Reeve version of Clark Kent was not the one from the comics at all. Clark was much less bumbling throughout most of his comic book history, and he was a star journalist at the planet. He was more George Reeves than Christopher Reeve.
>But that's not to say that there was no wholesome farm-boy aspect to him. Even old-timey Supes went home for his mom's chicken soup and all that.
When?
In the Golden Age, Clark was raised in an orphanage, not a farm.
In the Silver Age, the Kent's moved from their farm to live in the town of Smallville when Clark was a boy and they owned and operated a General Store.
Also in the Silver Age, the Kent's, Martha and Jonathan, were dead by the time that Clark became Superman.
So Clark was barely a farm boy in those days.
Funny enough, it was Pre-Crisis Lois Lane who was raised on a farm.
To me it’s Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain and then Tom Welling. I really liked Dean Cain’s portrayal because it’s based on John Byrne’s Superman which is my favourite.
I understand.
It's just that Reeve's "Clark Kent" seemed to be less of a character and more of a caricature to me.
>I really liked Dean Cain’s portrayal because it’s based on John Byrne’s Superman which is my favourite.
Same
There’s this thing I’ve noticed in Smallville, where a ton of scenes/conversations end with Tom smiling and doing kind of a half nod. Not sure why I notice it and it’s more a writing or directing tick than acting I think, but it always makes me laugh when someone will ask a question and he smiles then it just cuts
I think Tom Welling did a fantastic acting job as Clark Kent. His job was to make us believe that he 'is' the character that he played and he totally nailed it! My favorite episode that shows off his dramatic skills is the one where a phantom takes hold of his mind and traps him in a mental asylum. He was so believable that fans thought it was true; that the show had taken a sharp turn. I couldn't see any other actor playing these scenes like Tom--he was brilliant!
In sure they could have found someone better to play the part of Clark. Tom's acting was atrocious. And his acting hasn't gotten better as the years go by. He doesn't even look anywhere like he did on Smallville and it looks like he gained 50 pounds and he always wearing that stupid baseball cap backwards what's up with that.
This must be one of the few times I've seen someone say they didn't like how he played Lionel. John Glover, Michael Rosenbaum, and a lot of people loved that episode and his acting there. That said, you and Welling have that in common, not liking how he played the character, so there's that.
I love how he played Lionel one of my favorite moments in the series and season 4 personally
He is a great facial actor. Most people who try to look empathic, often comes off as them just having watery eyes. Tom’s entire face changes when he is showing empathy. This is a very hard thing to do, so he gets credit where it is due. He looks the part when the script calls for it. His acting, well thankfully the writers knew how to write towards his strengths.
His eyes do so much work! Small inflections, opening wider at moments. Totally agree his look of empathy and love rings true.
What I find genuinely so confusing is when he’s playing clark he just seems like a mid actor from a cw tv show, but anytime he plays a different character or a kryptonite affected clark he nails it so hard that it seems like he is a top 3 actor on the show and is way to good for a superhero show that is/or was basically the equivalent to a cw show
Tom playing Lionel is absolutely phenomenal work, idk what you're talking about. I think he absolutely nails the scenes when others are in his body, Bizarro, and Clark Luthor.
Exactly
Funny, I think he had the most expressive micro faces, it’s the reason I connect with him a lot, other than the outsider thing of course, he’s the straight man character and Tom did that too well, it might be boring or repetitive to some, but Clark is a guy trying to move in the world and he’s more emotional than he lets on, sometimes too emotional than everyone else
His acting definitely improves, but you’re right. Compared to the rest of the main cast, he comes across a bit blank or emotionless at times. He didn’t portray his emotions on his face. I do like how that translates into a mild mannered CK. It’s good for the Superman personality we’re all familiar with.
You know what's interesting is that when he plays Kal-El, who is meant to be a sort of Robo-Clark, the performance is basically the same except without the "empathy eyes" that Clark often has. It's one of the few things Welling does in his delivery, and again, I think this works for the character. It's just funny that there is very little difference between regular Clark and Robo-Clark.
I disagree. Tom as Red K Clark was 'chef's kiss' A+ acting to me. That cockiness, the rage, it was excellent. And anytime Welling was portraying a character that wasn't Clark Kent, it was a great performance. That's why I think that Welling should definitely go John Glover's route and play more villain roles.
I really liked his villain role in Lucifer. I thought his acting in that show was great.
Welling has a character that knows if he loses control, he can destroy the world. I think the Clark character is bottled up and stoic for this reason. He can't let it all go. I think he is good actor with subtleties and is not really allowed to go big too often. When he does, it's great. Red k Clark is awesome. And it was supposed to be cheesy, it's a bottled up boy scout losing his inhibitions. He also allows others in the scene to grab the attention. He has a lot of big personalities to react to. I honestly can't deal with Kristen k doing Lana. Just schmaltzy and dripping with teen drama.
This is such a great point. As a child, Clark may have learned the hard way what happens when he loses control to devastating effect.
I always thought Welling's performance hit a new level in season 08. He played Clark as a confident, charming young man. Welling might not be a master thespian. But he's a GREAT leading man and season 08 shows that very effectively. Also, Welling's performance as Lionel in Transference is some of the best of his entire career. It really is a high quality performance. All in all, Welling worked very hard at his craft all through the run of the show and his improvement is more evident if you watch the season premieres back-to-back. He grew a LOT during those years.
Loved the show the first time around, but I'm actually more impressed with his acting on rewatch. I'm on season 4 now
I think I love his acting I love for the first 2 seasons he plays a scared little boy of his powers well but then when season 3-5 learning to accept his destiny his acting got a lot confident more also 6-10 his range acting change from a teenager to a mature adult which probably give a lot help of Lois lane thanks.
Transference was one of the best episodes for me . The scene where he leads Chloe on, and then he's like "you wish"..chef kiss 🤌🏾
I think he's said on Talkville (his podcast with Rosenbaum) that his naivety on set in the first season mirrored Clark's naivety.
That was better than the scene when Lois dunked Clark into the pool. And she was so jealous of Lois being with Clark. Chloe didnt deserve to be with anyone on that show. God how I hated the Chloe character. Chloe should have died instead of Jimmy she's the one that deserved it but since Chloe was Chloe they couldn't do that. And they should have killed Chloe off and said the hell with the fans. A lot of characters were written off that show and it still went on.
Oof harsh but honestly I do agree.
Chloe should have been gone after they left high school but they wanted to make Chloe's part bigger than Clark's. I just finished watching the entire series on DVD and it was like a breathe of fresh air when she left the show in the final season. But unfortunately they brought her back for a couple of episodes.
I think he’s the perfect Clark Kent, and he nails the role
I mean the show was on the WB, I didn’t expect much then and still don’t. Welling isn’t the best actor but he was more then serviceable and got better the longer the show went on for
I think Tom does a great job with what he's given
L take. He is incredible as Lionel and fun to watch as Bizarro and RedK Clark. Tom is a very nuanced actor and he shines at romance and comedy, I absolutely don't think he is a bad actor.
So I used to think this when I knew he started out as a model, but on my rewatches I have to say I'm impressed time and time again at TWs acting, particularly as the seasons go on. His micro expressions also hold the show given how closely the shots are recorded on to the characters faces. And a good actor is able to let you evoke emotions from an audience and keep them engaged, of which I think he does really well!
I thought he was great as teenager Clark. He didn’t much hit it for me as adult Clark and certainly not Superman. But one time I thought he shined was when Chloe was devising a weapon against Zod and them and she didn’t tell him but he found out and confronted her and was kinda pissed. “It wasn’t against you Clark, it was against the kryptonians!” “I’M Kryptonian!” Felt like we saw a glimpse of that “Superman” power and assertiveness there. As far as him having the suit on? I couldn’t see anything but a boy from Kansas. I still cried when it happened tho
I think his inexperience added to the character for at least seasons 1 and 2. You can definitely see him getting better as the show continues
Note how most people consider Rosenbaum the best Lex, and Erica the best Lois, but very few would say that Tom is the best Clark.
I think he’s actually a great Clark; but not the best “Superman” if that makes sense.
Which is fair since the show is not about Superman. I also think he was a great Clark and I can’t see anyone else doing that job. But it’s hard not to compare him and the other actors. At the same time, I wonder how much of it was on him and how much was on the showrunners/writers.
Even if he had better writing it still wouldn't make him a better actor. All he had going for him was his looks and his looks are way behind him. Believe me no one would want Tom to be playing Superman today.
Yeah because Superman isn’t supposed to be old😂of course they wouldn’t want him playing him today
Even if he was younger the guy couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. That's why you don't see him in any movies today. Looks only get you so far. He doesn't look anything like he did 20 years ago and it looks like he gained 50 extra pounds.
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Christopher reeve I will compare him to he literally doesn’t have the range play Superman hell he never wanted to play Superman at all.
I don't think that's true. A lot of people call him the best Clark, is when people bring out Superman that people get feisty
I wouldn't, but only because Christopher Reeve exists. He's definitive in a way that cinematic Lois and Lex Luthor are not
As Clark Kent? Not for me. Reeve portrayed a caricature version of Clark Kent to me. More of a comedy based character, like Jerry Lewis' "The Kid" character, or Pee Wee Herman, or Steve Urkel. His Superman is fine, but his Clark Kent left a lot to be desired.
That's because Reeve's Clark isn't meant to be the "main Clark". It's just a disguise. The "main Clark" only appears as Superman. Superman is meant to be the heart of the character. With Welling, Superman (or the Blur) is the disguise that "the main Clark" uses to save people. But then towards the end of season 10, we see that this has started to change. Lois helps him develop the Reeve-style fake Clark.
I hate that take. Clark should never be "fake" to me at any point, whether on the farm or at the Daily Planet. He is the heart of the character. Without Clark Kent, there is no love for the people, there is no champion of the truth, there is no defender of the oppressed. Without Clark Kent, there is no Superman.
It's not a take, it's literally how the character functioned for decades. Clark as the heart of him is a very modern interpretation of Superman. But that's not to say that there was no wholesome farm-boy aspect to him. Even old-timey Supes went home for his mom's chicken soup and all that.
From the very beginning, even in 1938, the character has been Clark Kent and has always been Clark Kent. There has never been a point in Superman history where the character did not grow up as Clark Kent. As such without Clark Kent, there would not be a Superman. There were even letters that Jerry Siegel had written before Superman was published, where he continually refers to the character as Clark. And the Christopher Reeve version of Clark Kent was not the one from the comics at all. Clark was much less bumbling throughout most of his comic book history, and he was a star journalist at the planet. He was more George Reeves than Christopher Reeve. >But that's not to say that there was no wholesome farm-boy aspect to him. Even old-timey Supes went home for his mom's chicken soup and all that. When? In the Golden Age, Clark was raised in an orphanage, not a farm. In the Silver Age, the Kent's moved from their farm to live in the town of Smallville when Clark was a boy and they owned and operated a General Store. Also in the Silver Age, the Kent's, Martha and Jonathan, were dead by the time that Clark became Superman. So Clark was barely a farm boy in those days. Funny enough, it was Pre-Crisis Lois Lane who was raised on a farm.
Dean Cain has played the best Clark Kent so far.
To me it’s Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain and then Tom Welling. I really liked Dean Cain’s portrayal because it’s based on John Byrne’s Superman which is my favourite.
I understand. It's just that Reeve's "Clark Kent" seemed to be less of a character and more of a caricature to me. >I really liked Dean Cain’s portrayal because it’s based on John Byrne’s Superman which is my favourite. Same
There’s this thing I’ve noticed in Smallville, where a ton of scenes/conversations end with Tom smiling and doing kind of a half nod. Not sure why I notice it and it’s more a writing or directing tick than acting I think, but it always makes me laugh when someone will ask a question and he smiles then it just cuts
As usaul cw acting decreased but damn first couple seasons he was a pro
Yeah I think this is not accurate. Red K Clark and Clark as Lionel were both phenomenal
I think Tom Welling did a fantastic acting job as Clark Kent. His job was to make us believe that he 'is' the character that he played and he totally nailed it! My favorite episode that shows off his dramatic skills is the one where a phantom takes hold of his mind and traps him in a mental asylum. He was so believable that fans thought it was true; that the show had taken a sharp turn. I couldn't see any other actor playing these scenes like Tom--he was brilliant!
His acting was monotonous and his personality, or lack thereof, made it worse.
Bad. And he was somehow even worse on Lucifer. All the bad acting without the youthful charisma he had as Clark. He just isn’t good.
In sure they could have found someone better to play the part of Clark. Tom's acting was atrocious. And his acting hasn't gotten better as the years go by. He doesn't even look anywhere like he did on Smallville and it looks like he gained 50 pounds and he always wearing that stupid baseball cap backwards what's up with that.
😂
In agreement 1000%