Smallville fans may be well aware that Tom Welling had his doubts about taking on the starring role of his hit series at first, but may not know the explicit circumstances behind why. Of course, Superman fans may also know of the curse associated with the character, and how bad things have happened to those who have played the Man of Steel or been a part of a Superman-related project.
Some may think the curse may have been why Tom Welling was apprehensive about playing Clark Kent, but the actor has now emphatically denied that was the case. Welling explained the curse had no bearing on his decision, but did talk about the one thing that did make him very unsure of agreeing to be a part of Smallville.
First of all, the whole curse thing never occurred to me. The thing for me at the beginning was they didn’t have a script to show anyone when you auditioned. Which means one of two things: either that they’re not ready and they don’t know what they’re doing, or they do but they don’t trust you with it. So what I did is, I said I’ll sign an NDA form, let me read what you have, and then go in or not for the audition. And what I read was awesome. This was not a show about Superman, it was a show about a kid in high school trying to figure out who he was and what he was supposed to do with his life. It was a show about identity. I was like, ‘This is great! Why don’t you show it to everybody?’ They said, ‘Because everybody’s gonna share it, we want it to be a secret,’ and that sort of thing.
As it turns out, Tom Welling told attendees at Fan Expo Canada (via Comicbook.com) he was just afraid the folks behind Smallville were incompetent and didn't want to latch onto a bad or doomed series. Fortunately the team was trusting enough to let him look at the script, and the rest is history. Many will argue the well-loved superhero series marked a new era in live-action superhero television, and was the start of The CW's current Arrow-verse.
Things could've been different had Tom Welling subscribed to the idea of the Superman Curse, which was first coined following the death of actor George Reeves. Actors before him who played Superman had various issues as well, and then there's the well-known accident of Christopher Reeve which left him quadriplegic afterward. More recently the curse has been linked to Smallville actress Allison Mack, who has been caught up in serious legal trouble over the past couple years.
While a good number of Superman actors befell some form of tragedy or accident following their roles, there are plenty who have not. Beyond Tom Welling, Brandon Routh, Dean Cain, and Henry Cavill have all played the character, all without major incident in their lives following. While some Superman fans may think the curse is real, there's plenty of evidence to suggest the curse is just bad luck or coincidence.
Smallville's Tom Welling Reportedly Said He's Heading To Arrow Season 8, But Is He?
CinemaBlend is the place to be for all news on television new and old. Be sure to stick with us for updates on what's happening with Tom Welling, and whether or not he'll be showing up in the Arrow-verse anytime soon.
