Every Superman Movie Actor That Appeared In Smallville

Through 10 seasons, Superman prequel series Smallville treated fans to guest appearances – and occasionally, major roles – for several actors known for appearing in Superman movies. In fact, three of the stars of the 1978 Superman movie, directed by Richard Donner, crossed paths with Clark Kent (Tom Welling) at some point or another.

Smallville even gave roles to actors from past Superman TV shows, such as the stars of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. In a season 7 episode, former Superman actor Dean Cain portrayed an immortal scientist who killed meteor-infected people to revive his comatose wife, and eventually set his sights on Chloe (Allison Mack). In a stroke of perfect casting, Smallville brought in Lois & Clark‘s Lois Lane actress, Teri Hatcher, to play Lois’ mother.

As for the Superman movie actors, Smallville typically gave them pivotal roles of some kind, even if they were sometimes limited to just one or two episodes out of the whole series. For the most part, they were characters who were somehow involved in Clark’s destiny. Here’s every Superman movie actor who appeared in Smallville.

Annette O’Toole

Though Kristin Kreuk is easily the most recognizable incarnation of Superman’s first love, Lana Lang, she’s far from the first person to play Clark’s high school love interest. In Superman III, Lana (Annette O’Toole) appeared in a large role in Superman III, where she reunites with Clark many years after high school and serves as his main love interest for the movie.

O’Toole also played Clark’s adoptive mother, Martha Kent, on Smallville. O’Toole stands out as the only Superman movie actor to be a series regular on Smallville, but it’s interesting to note that, unlike the others, she wasn’t cast because of her Superman connections. According to O’Toole, the Smallville producers didn’t know about her Superman III role until after she was cast as Martha.

Christopher Reeve

In seasons 2 and 3, Smallville had what may have been its biggest guest star ever: Christopher Reeve. The iconic Superman actor appeared on Smallville as Dr. Virgil Swann, a billionaire astronomer who discovers Clark’s alien origins. Clark gets a big shock when he gets contacted by Dr. Swann, who claims to know all about where Clark came from. In Clark’s meeting with Dr. Swann, he learns about Krypton, its destruction, and his birth parents’ plan to send him to Earth. Also, it was Swann who gave the green meteor rocks the name “Kryptonite”. Smallville killed Dr. Swann off-screen during season 4, shortly after Reeve’s passing in 2004.

It seemed perfectly fitting that the character who introduced Clark to his Kryptonian heritage was played someone as important to the Superman legacy as Christopher Reeve himself. Reeve started the unofficial tradition of key Superman movie actors playing characters in Smallville who were part of Clark’s journey.

Terence Stamp

In Superman II, the Man of Steel went up against classic Superman villain General Zod (Terence Stamp). From Smallville seasons 2 through 10, Stamp voiced a different Kryptonian, Jor-El. Stamp’s Jor-El never appeared in the flesh, and functioned as the artificial memory of Clark’s biological father. Initially set up as an antagonist who wanted to take Clark away from his normal life, Jor-El eventually became a character who Clark often turned to for help and guidance. Clark never would have been able to save the world if it wasn’t for Jor-El’s advice, which was provided throughout nine seasons.

Margot Kidder

In Smallville season 4, Clark was taken over by the Kryptonian side of his personality, due to the machinations of Jor-El. Martha was desperate to bring her son back to her when she was approached by Bridgette Crosby, played by Margot Kidder, who was Lois Lane to Reeve’s Superman in the classic Superman films. Dr. Crosby gave Martha a piece of Black Kryptonite, which was used to restore Clark to his old self. Apparently, Crosby was an associate of Dr. Swann, who told her everything about Clark so that she could help him fulfill his destiny. She was murdered off-screen by Jason Teague (Jensen Ackles).

Reeve and Kidder’s characters never interacted on Smallville, but a romantic history was established in Crosby’s first appearance. Apparently, a scene was planned that would have included both actors, but Reeve died before that could happen.

Helen Slater

The first live-action Supergirl was Helen Slater, who played the character in the 1984 movie, which was a spinoff of the Superman film series. In Smallville, Slater took on the role of Lara-El, Clark’s biological mother. She, liked most Kryptonians, died when the planet was destroyed. A flashback revealed that she and Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort) visited the Kent Farm prior to its destruction so that she could see her son’s future home. Clark was later allowed an opportunity to meet her, when he discovered that her DNA was cloned and placed inside of a crystal.

Mark McClure

Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder were, of course, hard to miss in Smallville, but there was one Superman movie actor who may have gone unnoticed by some: Mark McClure. McClure played Jimmy Olsen in all four Superman movies and Supergirl. In Smallville season 7, McClure portrayed Dax-Ur, a Kryptonian scientist who came to Earth in secret decades ago. Thanks to Blue Kryptonite, he was able to give up his powers and start a family with his human wife (a decision that Clark later made for himself with Gold Kryptonite prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths).

Amy Adams (& Other DCEU Actors)

All of the above actors had existing connections to Superman prior to joining Smallville, but there were a few actors who appeared in Superman films years after Smallville had ended. Among them is Man of Steel star and Lois Lane actress Amy Adams, who was on Smallville at a time when the show still used the “freak of the week” format. In a season 1 episode, Adams’ character was an overweight teenager at Smallville High who drank Kryptonite-infused smoothies in order to lose weight. Sadly, a side effect forced her to feel an intense hunger for body fat.

Other notable DCEU actors to share the distinction of being in Smallville and a Superman movie are Michael Cassidy (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’s Jimmy Olsen), who played Grant Gabriel, Lois’ boss – and love interest – at the Daily Planet as well as a clone of Lex Luthor’s brother. Man of Steel actors Tahmoh Penikett and Alessandro Juliani appeared in Smallville as well, with Juliani playing recurring character and ally Dr. Emil Hamilton. Additionally, Mackenzie Gray also appeared twice on Smallville as both Dr. Alistair Kreig and an aged clone of Lex Luthor, and later played the Kryptonian scientist Jax-Ur in Man of Steel.

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