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SMALLVILLE PRIMER/PRESS KIT MATERIALS

Note: Press kits are prepared by the publicist and production office, and are sent out to the media for promotional purposes. The production information below may not remain canon. For example, Lana Lang's Aunt Nell is referred to as "Nell Lang" in these press materials, but is canonically "Nell Potter". Bear in mind that only what airs is canon, and all other facts (such as characters ages, history, and other character traits enumerated below) are subject to change as scripts are produced.

NETWORK DEBUT: Premiere[d] October 16, 2001

FORMAT: Action, adventure, and realism blend as classic Superman characters are back in high school with Clark Kent as a teen. "Smallville" explores Clark's life between the boy he thought he was and the Superman he is destined to be.

CAST:
TOM WELLING as Clark Kent
KRISTIN KREUK as Lana Lang
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM as Lex Luthor
JOHN SCHNEIDER as Jonathan Kent
ANNETTE O’TOOLE as Martha Kent
ALLISON MACK as Chloe Sullivan
ERIC JOHNSON as Whitney Fordman
SAM JONES III as Pete Ross

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
Alfred Gough
Miles Millar
Mike Tollin
Brain Robbins
Joe Davola

ORIGINATION: Vancouver, British Columbia

PRODUCED BY:
Warner Bros. Television
Tollin/Robbins Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television

Cast

Clark Kent (Tom Welling) - 15 years old. The adopted son of Jonathan and Martha Kent. The Kents had always dreamed of having a child. They got their wish 12 years ago, when a meteor shower streaked across the Smallville sky. When they raced into their field to investigate, they discovered a strange metallic craft had crash-landed. Even stranger was the three-year-old boy who crawled out of the smoking crater and into Martha's arms, totally unscathed. Unwilling to part with the boy, Martha and Jonathan vowed to tell no-one. If friends asked, they said Martha's sister had passed away and left the child in their care. Jonathan hid the craft in an old storm cellar on the edge of their property. He even ventured to the back alleys of Metropolis, where he commissioned a fake birth certificate. And so Clark Kent came into being. The Kent's hoped to keep the true nature of Clark's origins a secret, but they soon discovered that Clark was not like other boys. As he grew, Clark displayed incredible physical strength. Fearing he would be discovered by the authorities and treated like a science experiment, the Kent's told Clark he was adopted and that he had to keep his special powers a secret.

Although he could have mastered any sport he tried, his superhuman strength would have given him away. So instead, Clark turned to academics, excelling in every subject, absorbing knowledge like a sponge. He was particularly drawn to astronomy, and spent hours in the family barn, peering through a telescope, dreaming of worlds beyond. However, now he's 15, puberty's set in and he's just starting high school. He's also beginning to develop powers that the Kent's can't explain and Clark can't control. Jonathan and Martha realize it's time to share the whole secret with their son. For the first time in his life, Clark begins to feel the burden of his awesome gifts. In the back of his mind, Clark also fears that he is somehow responsible for the weird occurences that have been plaguing Smallville since the meteor shower that brought him to earth. He vows to use his ever-growing powers to put an end to them. Now, the boy who always felt different, knows he's truly alone in the world, with a secret nobody can understand... And this is only his second week of high school...

Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) - 21 years old. Born and raised in Metropolis. He's the only son of pesticide "king" Lionel Luthor. Until the summer of his ninth birthday, Lex had always sported a thick mop of red hair. That summer, Lex's mother encouraged Lionel to spend more time with his son. Lionel finally agreed to take Lex on a business trip but their father-son bonding was cut short when a bizarre accident caused Lex to lose all his hair. Although Lionel spent a fortune on specialists over the years, nothing could restore Lex's hair. Lionel was never able to look at Lex the same way again. Riddled with guilt and shame, he lavished Lex with money and gifts. He sent him away to the best boarding schools.

Although academically brilliant, Lex was a social misfit, who was viciously teased for being bald. It didn't take long for Lex to learn to fight back and he was kicked out of a string of schools. However, he eventually managed to graduate from Metropolis University at the top of his class and he expected to assume his place next to his father at Luthor Corp. Lionel has other plans. He tells Lex he's sending him to Smallville, and promises to bring him to assume the Luthor Corp. crown if he can turn the struggling fertilizer plant around. But Lex is smart enough to know it's a one-way ticket. Lex arrives in Smallville vowing to build his own empire and bring his father to his knees. On Lex's first day in Smallville, an accident of fate brings him face-to-face with a local high school student named Clark Kent. And thus begins a remarkable friendship. Clark looks up to Lex as the big brother he never had and Lex is surprised to find that this small-town boy is someone he can actually trust. Though neither has an inkling of how their destinies will clash... it all begins in Smallville...

MICHAEL ROSENBAUM - Self-assured and possessed with a rapid-fire sense of humor, Rosenbaum shaved his blond locks for the role he seems born to play - a young Lex Luthor in Smallville. Born in Oceanside, N.Y. and raised in Newburgh, Ind., Rosenbaum excelled in high school drama classes. Once hooked, he took on lead roles in college stage productions such as The Heidi Chronicles while attending Western Kentucky University and performing in regional theater during his summers. Upon graduation with a degree in mass communications and theater, he headed for New York to pursue acting. He quickly landed roles in off-Broadway productions and small independent films, and soon segued into regular appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in a sketch called The Amsterdam Kids. He is also doing the voice of Flash in Cartoon Network's Justice League.

Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) - 15 years old. Raised in Smallville by her Aunt Nell. Like Clark, Lana has grown up an orphan. However, she has learned to ward off her loneliness by being outgoing. Added to her beautiful hair and stunning good looks, Lana has always been popular. Lana dates Smallville's heartthrob and high school quaterback Whitney Ellsworth. Although it appears she has everything, Lana dreams of getting out. She fantasizes about flying away to Paris and hopes to someday leave Smallville and make a name for herself in Metropolis. Lana is the untouchable girl-next-door Clark Kent literally worships from afar. Although Lana feels a strange kinship to Clark, he has always acted strangely arond her. There's something about her that makes Clark's heart flutter. He goes weak at the knees, breaks out in a sweat, and once he even passed out. Maybe it's a high school crush, or maybe it's something else... When Lex arrives in Smallville, Lana is instantly intrigued. With his flashy car and cool house, he represents the mystery and danger that have always been missing from her small town life...

KRISTIN KREUK - Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Kreuk began acting in plays in high school, but mostly focused on her schoolwork rather than the stage. Fate came calling at the beginning of her senior year when a casting director looking for new talent for the television series Edgemont tapped Kreuk for a starring role. It was her first professional audition. Since then, she has starred on the series for two seasons and will continue her role while filming Smallville in her hometown of Vancouver. She will star this fall in the title role of the television movie Snow White, opposite Miranda Richardson. Kreuk currently lives with her family in Vancouver and enjoys reading and spending time with friends.

Jonathan Kent (John Schneider)

JOHN SCHNEIDER - Schneider has credits spanning television, film, music and the stage. Schneider starred for six seasons Bo Duke, one of the fast-driving, fun-loving cousins of the Duke clan on the'80s comedy-adventure series The Dukes of Hazzard. He recently reprised his role in the television movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood. Schneider was also a series regular on the family drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and the syndicated drama Heaven Help Us. Schneider has starred in numerous original television movies, including Michael Landon, the Father I Knew, True Women, Night of the Twisters, The Legend of Ruby Silver, Texas and Desperate Journey. This fall, he also will lend his voice to a lead character in Kids' WB!'s new animated series The Mummy. On the big screen, he stars in the upcoming Lightning: Storm of Destruction and also appeared in Snow Day with Chevy Chase, and Garry Marshall's Exit to Eden. Schneider did 487 performances of the Tony Award-winning musical Grand Hotel and has released 11 solo albums, including a No. 1 album and four No. 1 singles. A native of Mount Kisco, N.Y., Schneider currently lives just outside of Los Angeles with his wife Elly, and their three children.

Martha Kent (Annette O'Toole [Pilot Episode - Cynthia Ettinger]) - O'Toole should be familiar to Superman fans as she played "Lana Lang" in the 1983 movie "Superman III".

ANNETTE O'TOOLE - O'Toole played Lana Lang, the girl Clark Kent left behind in his youth, in Superman III. Born in Houston, Texas, O'Toole started dancing at the early age of 3. At 13, her family moved to Los Angeles and she began taking acting lessons. Her first big break came when she starred in the 1975 feature film Smile as a conniving beauty pageant contestant. Since then, O'Toole has appeared on the big screen in 48 Hrs. playing Nick Nolte's character's girlfriend, the 1982 remake of Cat People directed by Paul Schrader, Here on Earth with Chris Klein and Leelee Sobieski, One on One, King of the Gypsies, Cross My Heart and Love at Large. Most recently, O'Toole starred on the cable television series The Huntress and also has been a series regular on Nash Bridges. She has guest-starred on many series, including Law & Order, Boy Meets World and Frasier. She was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of Rose Kennedy in the television miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts. O'Toole has performed in theater productions around the country, including a run in Los Angeles in Vanities and performances of Yankee Wives and Sun Bearing Down at The Globe Theater. Currently living in Los Angeles, O'Toole is married to actor Michael McKean.

Pete Ross (Sam Jones III) - Close friend to both Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan.

SAM JONES III - Having been in Hollywood only two years, Jones is already making quite a name for himself. He recently completed leading roles in two upcoming feature films, Zigzag and Snipes, as well as having guest-starred in several television series. Growing up in Boston, Jones acted in local commercials. After spending a summer vacation with a friend living in Los Angeles, he caught the showbiz bug and decided to pursue a career in acting. Soon after he graduated from high school, Jones moved to Hollywood to follow his dream. His first job was a guest-starring role on NYPD Blue in which he portrayed a troubled teen who stole a gun and hid it in his daughter's crib. From there, his career began to grow. His credits also include C.S.I., Judging Amy and two upcoming episodes of The Kids' WB!'s The Nightmare Room. He currently lives in Los Angeles and will be relocating to Vancouver for the filming of Smallville.

Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) - Friend of Clark's and Pete's. She used to live in Metropolis and dreams of getting out of Smallville to get back to the big city. A nosy little reporter, her father, Gabe, runs LUTHOR CORP's local fertilizer plant that Lionel Luthor (Lex's father) bought from the Ross family when it was a cream corn factory years ago.

ALLISON MACK - Mack was born in Germany but moved with her family to Southern California at age 2, beginning her acting career at 4 with print work and commercials. At 7, she began studying at The Young Actors Space in Los Angeles where she currently attends classes in improvisation and scene study. Most recently, Mack starred in the short-lived television comedy Opposite Sex. Previously, she got the chance to display her comedic flair as a series regular on Hiller and Diller. Mack guest-starred in an episode of The WB family drama 7th Heaven, portraying a teen caught up in the devastating trend of "cutting." She will be featured on two episodes of Kids' WB!'s new R.L. Stine series The Nightmare Room. Mack's movie credits Camp Nowhere" and starred in the video release Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. An accomplished dancer and singer currently living in Los Angeles, Mack enjoys reading, going to movies and plays and spending time with her friends and family.

Other Cast Members

Lionel Luthor (John Glover) - Father of Lex. Owner of Luthor Corp.

Nell Lang (Sarah-Jane Redmond) - Lana Lang's Aunt who became Lana's legal guardian when her parents were killed.

Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson) - Smallville High's star quarterback and all-round golden boy... and boyfriend of Lana Lang.

ERIC JOHNSON - Johnson is making his television series debut. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, he enrolled in a theater school at age 9 and soon began performing in professional theater and landing small film and television roles. At 14, he appeared in the Western drama Legends of the Fall playing Brad Pitt's character Tristan in his youth. On television, Johnson appeared in the movies Atomic Train, Oklahoma City and Children of Fortune. He starred in the leading role in Scorn, an independent film drama based on a true story about a high school student who hired two teens to murder his family. He will be seen opposite James Van Der Beek and Dylan McDermott in Texas Rangers. When not working, Johnson enjoys playing guitar, camping and playing basketball, football and baseball. He is relocating to Vancouver.

Gabe Sullivan - Father of Chloe Sullivan. A burly man in his 50s, who runs Luthor Corp's Smallville Fertilizer plant (which, before being bought by Lionel Luthor, was previously a Cream Corn factory owned by Pete Ross' parents).

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