Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - SMALLVILLE REUNION: TOM WELLING's Survival Mode Confession, the Creators' One Regret & Untold Casting Stories

Episode Date: October 6, 2026

The band is back together. Tom Welling (Smallville, Lucifer), Kristin Kreuk (Smallville, Murder in a Small Town), Erica Durance (Smallville, Saving Hope) and creators Al Gough and Miles Millar join me to celebrate 25 years of Smallville. We get into the casting stories nobody has heard end to end, the network that flat out said it did not want the show, and the renegotiation that nearly wrote Lex Luthor out. Tom opens up about spending ten years in survival mode, Kristin gets honest about the super stardom she never wanted, and Al and Miles name the one thing they would change about the show. We also cover the secret Spider-Man 2 job, John Glover asking Tom for acting advice, and everything coming to Nashville this November. Thank you to our sponsors: 🧠 Mod: https://mod.com/ ❤️ This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/inside and get on your way to being your best self 🏈 PrizePicks: https://prizepicks.com/inside 💰 Download Cash App today and make your money work for you. Click here to get started: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/5pqyueaa #CashAppPartner Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card (https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement), Sutton debit flex card (https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/debit-flex-card-agreement-sutton), and Bancorp debit flex card (https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/debit-flex-card-agreement-bancorp). Cash App Green features, Savings, Direct deposit, Round ups, Overdraft coverage and Discounts provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. __________________________________________________ 💖 Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/insideofyou⁠⁠ 👕 Inside Of You Merch: ⁠⁠https://store.insideofyoupodcast.com/⁠⁠ __________________________________________________ Watch or listen to more episodes! 📺 ⁠⁠https://www.insideofyoupodcast.com/show⁠⁠ __________________________________________________ Follow us online! 📸 Instagram: ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/insideofyoupodcast/⁠⁠ 🤣 TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@insideofyou_podcast⁠⁠ 📘 Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/insideofyoupodcast/⁠⁠ 🐦 Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/insideofyoupod⁠⁠ 🌐 Website: ⁠⁠https://www.insideofyoupodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I am. You got everybody on a lesser note. No, no. It's the 25th anniversary of Smallville, if he could believe that. And so I got Kristen Krook and Tom Welling, Erica Durant, who played Lois, the creators, Alan Miles. They're here. It's going to be an exciting interview. I can't believe it's been 25 years.

I feel really old. A few things. We are going to be in Nashville for the 25th anniversary con. You'll hear about this on the podcast. November 6th and 7th or something. Also, New York City Comic-Con is this coming weekend. It will be. Also, the inside of you online store is available for amazing merch that you can get signed

at any of these cons. Ship keys. scripts, Tumblr's, lunch boxes. Yeah, we've got it all. And I'm on the Instagram

at the Michael Rosenbaum for cameos and seeing what I'm up to. Hopefully you're following me. Ryan's at Teia's Ryan. T-E-L-E-Z Ryan. Yeah, I'll figure out something to post at some point, but yeah.

Yeah. So yeah, it's a big episode. We're excited about it. And I appreciate you supporting this podcast for so many years now. And it really is like the patrons.

The patrons that help this show and keep it going. And if you want to join Patreon, I'll send you a message back thanking you. And you'll join a wonderful community. So many people have become friends on this. You could be on the show. You get packages from me. There's so many tiers. And patreon.com slash inside of you.

Patreon.com slash inside of you. There aren't quite 96 tiers, but there are a bunch. No. It's only like four tiers, I think. It's like the big one, the same. second big one. But there's a lot of fun things to do. So make sure you look at it.

Go to patreon.com slash inside of you and become a member and support this podcast because we need your help. There's so many podcasts, Ryan. There's so many. And then I'm like, how did they get that person on the podcast? I know that person. It's upsetting when I get through the ones that I normally get through, which are ours and then I have a couple others.

And then once those aren't updated, I'm like, all right, I'll find another one. It's hard. say bless you bless you thank you twice also exciting i went and filmed a movie i wanted to ask my friend bill wordy he's a very dear friend one of my best friends in the world and he directed a movie and very exciting stuff a lot of good people in the movie i i play a good character it's a little horror movie and the important thing for me was do i still like acting because i i've chosen not to act that much and the answer is yeah i actually had fun. It was like riding a bike. I felt like, oh, you can do this. You just took so much,

I took so much time off that I was like, I don't know if I could do this anymore. And then I just jumped right into it. And I was like, you still got it. It was pretty exciting. It was pretty cool. I can't wait for you guys to see it. I can't say anything now, but hopefully it will be out by Christmas. So that was fun. I'm really glad. I'm glad. Yeah. I'm glad too. I'm glad. Sometimes fear gets in the way. Sometimes absence gets in the way. Just let too much time go by. And I think I just was sort of not jaded, but I didn't really like a lot of the stuff that was out there that I was being offered. And I was like, if I don't love something, you're just not doing it. And my buddy wrote this little movie. I thought it was fun, well written. And I liked the part. And so I did it. So there

go. And that's all I have to say. All right, this episode is a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it. Come see us at the cons, all that stuff. Let's get into the Smallville 25th anniversary episode. Let's do it. Where you get nervous for a role. Oh my God. I get panicked. Do you get anxiety? Yeah, I live with anxiety. What are you doing? I just take a lot. I'm just a lot. I get panicked. I get anxiety. What are you doing? I'm just taking a live picture. I always get nervous, but that's fun. I look forward to it.

Let's get everything out of today we can. And how much time do you have left, and how are you going to use it well? So come on now. We would have to do another inside of you. But actually, but that's kind of what you're doing, Michael. I mean, you're going on this road,

this journey of what's inside of you. Inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum was not recorded in front of a live studio audience. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Hi. Hi. Oh, hi. Hello, everybody.

Is this the band getting back together? It is. So, guys, before we get started, Michael, I want to pitch you this new show we have, and I didn't, I'm kidding. So this is really exciting. This is the Smallville 25th anniversary episode. And we've got Erica Durant's, Lois Lane, Tom Welling, Clark, Ken, Kristen Krook, Lana Lang. I mean, you got me, Lex Luthor. And of course, you have, well, Ryan Taz is sitting over there too. He's just sitting there. But you got the creators. Alan Miles, Al-Goff, Miles Miller. How are you guys? We're good. Yeah. I'm so glad you could do this. No, we're excited to get the text. Yeah, it's very excited. Well, it's always a funny thing with these podcasts. Michael, you know this better than I do. Even when you were like, Alan Miles might jump on and whatnot. And there's always this thing of like, we don't want to bother you guys. We know you're busy, but it means so much when you do do this.

Seriously, it's genuinely, thank you. We're excited to do it. For a long time, and it's amazing that's still so beloved is incredible to us. Kristen, you too. I mean, you actually have a job right now. Eric and I are just sort of floating around the world. In planes and saying hi to each other and just like, hey, how's it doing? It's crazy because we get together more often than we ever got together on the show.

You know, everybody has their own lives and they're working. And now with the Talkville podcast, with, you know, this podcast, going to cons, it's like we get to see each other a lot more. We have even a new respect for each other. And there's a lot of love. But I mean, this is kind of surreal. Smallville is turning 25. We're all about to head to Nashville for the creation con to celebrate the anniversary with the fans, November 7th and 8th. Alan Miles will be there.

Erica, Kristen, Tom, myself. And some other actors as well will be there. And I think Glenn Winner, who directed and it was director of photography, he'll be there. He's like, can I come? I'm like, yeah, dude, I don't care. Come. Yeah, first of all. You guys should tell Justin.

He wants to come to these things. You should ask Justin if he wants to come. Well, he's always welcome. I think he's just busy shooting a show. Yeah, but I worked with him. And he said he's like, can I come to one of your guys is cons and crash it? Open invitation. Him, Alan.

Come on. Okay. Listen, before we go, because there's a lot, it's before we go all the way back to the beginning. I want to ask each of you what 25 years of Smallville means to you. So we'll start with Christine who hasn't said a word yet. Yeah, listen, 25 years, I think the show has become part of my life in a way that I didn't expect it to. When we started this show, I was really, in most respects, a child. I was fresh out of high school. I lived with my parents. My dad drove me to work, because transport wasn't allowed to.

I was very much a child, and I had no idea how much this would change the trajectory of my life. And it did, and it was wonderful and awful and so many different things. And I never imagined that I'd be 43 on a call with all of you talking about this show and going to conventions and seeing all these wonderful people. A lot of them we see over and over and over again who've become part of a community.

It's pretty spectacular and completely unexpected. I never thought about this, Lorena. You were closer in age to your character than anybody else. No, me and Sam and Allison are all born in 82. So we were all around the same age. I mean, I have the latest birthday, so I was technically closest. Yeah. All right.

So I'm going to ask Erica. Erica, what does the show mean to you? Well, it was my first entry into anything in this business that I thought would be. I didn't even think this business was viable. So it's like this cozy blanket that I get to take around with me everywhere. It's like a binky that I didn't expect to have, you know. Much to my similarity of getting the job, you know, I came in a couple of years later. It was supposed to be four episodes.

And then all of a sudden I was on it seven years. And now then we're talking about it 25 years later. So it's, to me, it's a gift that keeps giving. It's fun and interesting. And the thing that I'm enjoying the most on these tours that we're doing at the cons is talking to everybody about how much people come up time and time again. And I don't know if you guys get this, Ella Miles, because I don't know if you're getting a lot of people coming up and talk to you in your world. But people just love the show. And they're so attached to it and they're so emotional about it.

and they watch it generationally. And, you know, we've all had really, really wonderful conversations with people. So that is a surprise. So it's been quite surprising, too. And how about you, Thomas? I've said this before. And I agree with what Erica says. I mean, we do these cons.

And even at the grocery store, people will come up and be like, it's such a moment in their lives. There's like a lot of times, especially the cons, because the people who have the determination to wait, line and go through the effort to come into cons, it's somewhat. before Smallville after Smallville. And like Erica said, now they're watching it with their kids. They used to watch it with their parents, and maybe their parents aren't around anymore, but it's a good memory for them. And it's very heartwarming.

I mean, it's nothing I ever would have thought of while we were filming that it would resonate in that way at all. Yeah, you know, for me, I would say all that, plus it is the gift that keeps on giving. It really is. It's like, you know, so many things. You need a T-shirt with that. Yeah, I mean, Smallville.

T-shirt around. Smallville's been a part of our lives for a long time, but most shows, people don't realize this, but most shows don't have a following where, you know, people go to conventions to see them. You have to have the sci-fi element or the superhero element or something genre, you know, heavy. And to go to these cons, I've seen people that are big actors who do other shows that just nobody's at their tables because there's a certain fan base. And we were really lucky, You know, it was like lightning in a bottle. Now it's like we can go to cons, have a good time, and it's just, it's just amazing that we get to do this. And I'll change the question a little bit for Alan Miles.

When you were sitting in the room coming up with this thing, could you possibly have imagined a smallville convention 25 years later? No. I mean, I think you, you know, look, it was our first big kind of TV show. We had done one show prior that we had created that had gone like six episodes. And I remember, you know, we got the call in the summer of 2000 from an executive Warner Brothers who said that, you know, they were getting the rights to, you know, to do Superman on television. And would you guys come in with a pitch? So I would sort of remember it very vividly. And then once we kind of cracked what we wanted to do, it all happened very quickly.

And I remember it was the pilot script we wrote. It was in the fall of 2000 and we were doing like three other things. And we, but that script wrote, it was a couple of things. One was we got a pickup so we could start casting and we had no script. So we wrote sides first, which is something for us as writers we had never done before. Usually as feature writers, he started at the beginning. And so we wrote the Clark Lonna Graveyard scene. We wrote the Clark Lex, do you think, have your, do you believe a man can fly scene?

And then we wrote the Chloe Pete at the school scene where you, where you fall down, you know, statistical fact, that scene. So those three scenes are the ones we wrote first, which actually were great because it actually really helped us dial into the rest of the script. And it's a, and so that script came together very quickly. And I remember we turned it in in December of 2000. You know, it was like right before Christmas. It's like your final exams.

You turn in the script. I go to Hawaii. My daughter, who's 26 now, was one. And we went to Lanai and get off the plane. I get to the, we get to the restaurant. We're there. I turn around and there's Carolyn Bernstein, who's the exec of the WB, who read it on the plane and loved it.

And then I turn around the other way. And there's Peter Roth, who also read it. and loved it. So I was like, well, this will be a good vacation because I know they like the scripts. I think I, you know, I don't know if I could reach miles. This was like before, you know, the internet. So, but, you know, and then, you know, we, it just, it all, that one came together very quickly. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. If you thought about trying therapy with our long-term partner BetterHelp, insurance options may now be available nationwide with an average co-pay for eligible members of just $23 per person. Better help is just simply awesome. And it saves

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to say. And then an hour later, you're like, wow, I had so much that was on my mind. I didn't even realize it. If you've been waiting to start therapy, BetterHelp works with more than 125 health plan networks and eligible members have an average co-pay of just $23 per session with insurance. Don't have insurance or live outside the U.S. You can still get 10% off your first month. Visit BetterHelp.com slash inside to explore your payment options. That's betterhelp.com slash inside. Didn't we actually get, we got people's tapes and we saw Kristen's tape first. We saw Kristen's tape first.

Based on the sides. That's how we cast Kristen. She was, we always said, oh, we're going to, we have to cast Clark first. Yeah. Then we saw Kristen and we were like, nope. And then you came down, Kristen, and you were not even 18 yet because your birthday's in December. And you, you were, I remember that too.

And I was like, and then there's certain, I remember. your audition. Tom, I remember you didn't want to do it. Come in. And then you did. And then I remember, because we were at the ranch, at the WB, when you guys did your chemistry read, and Miles and I were out in the parking lot afterwards and you guys were leaving.

And we thought, if this goes right, we've changed their lives forever. And I hope it's a good thing. Yeah. Remember that conversation. Yeah. There's always the possibility you think this could be something that's really good people or something that's really bad. Yeah.

And it's just because you're. so young. So young as well. We had no idea for the first two seasons. Yeah. You guys never seem young to me in the best in the best sense. No, it's true. You're right. You guys always, you guys always seem like you had your your shit together and like, no, well, we didn't. It was like, it was crazy. It was exhausting. We, we wrote every episode of the first two seasons. And it's like, I look at, I remember looking at those DVD. And I have the scripts because my wife got the, the first seven seasons bound. Like, leather bound so I see them on my shelf sometimes and I'm just like it's exhausting. I mean that's that's what I

remember and then Michael I remember because you were the last person we cast and you would come in once once and then I remember I remember Miles yeah you were sick the first time wasn't a good addition so you beg to come back in well you know that I came in and then I wouldn't not go to test well that was well here's a funny story about that was I was in the room with D.D. Brad our casting director, Miles was in Vancouver with David, also seeing Lex Clives, Lex casting. And I remember David called, and he was always sort of very enthusiastic. And he was, I think we found him in Vancouver. And then I call Miles 10 minutes later, and Miles goes, we have not found him. And then you came in and we recorded it. By the way, this was at a time

when we had to ask, can we like record these things? And then we recorded you. You were great. We literally walked it upstairs to Peter Roth. And Peter saw it. And I remember because he kept going like, where's the danger? And then he literally goes, there it is. I see it. And then we thought we had to have you come to the network. And it was, was it Jordan?

I can't remember Jordan's. Yeah. And Jordan's, yes. And he said, we said, we sent the tape because Michael's like, send them the tape. And Jordan was like, he was approved because you had done shows for them before. So that was weirdly, your approval was the fastest. Like, I think it happened in 24 hours. Wow.

Did anybody think you guys were crazy for making a Superman show where Superman isn't Superman yet? Everybody felt real crazy. Everybody. We thought it was a great idea. And everybody thought it was, we were there like, what are you doing? Because, again, I said many times, this was pre-Marvel. The last iteration of Superman was Lois and Clark. The last iteration of Batman was Batman and Robin.

And the WB didn't want it. I mean, they told us directly they didn't want it. That was always the thing that when they bought it, it was a big surprise. And we always thought we were going to go to Fox because we'd sort of developed it for Fox. And the fact that they loved it and wanted by it in the room was a shock to us and to Peter Roth. It was like never meant to be in the WB. It was meant to be on Fox. Yeah, we had gone to like they, because they pitched the one line to WB Superman in high school.

And they were like in Suzanne Daniels, who was a very good friend of ours now and has bought other shows from us. She brought the Shinar Chronicles at MTV and other things. And she tells this story. I think it's in her book. And she, so we go to Fox in the morning to Gail Berman, who ran the network, and pitch it in the room. She buys it in the room. And so we go to the WB in the afternoon. And Peter goes, we have to go to the WB.

It's a hand stamp. They're not going to buy it. So we go in the room and we're pitching it to Suzanne and to Carolyn Bernstein, who's a friend of ours, who's an executive over there. And you could see in the room, they just turd. like they were like, oh shit, this we really like. I mean, we could see it. And then they asked a ton of questions.

And then afterwards, we're out in the parking lot. And we're like, we think that went really well. Peter goes. At the WB, it seems like. Yeah, who's at the parking lot at the WB? And Peter goes, we're going to sell at the Fox. And then three days later he calls. And then they go like silent, like a like a conclave picking a Pope.

Like we get no news. And then three days later, Peter just calls us and goes, we're going to the WB. 13 on the air. So we're like, great. Well, let me ask you this briefly real quick. You know, things turned, of course, because Peter loved me. And then when I started to renegotiate, Peter did not love me. And you tell the story of when he, he went into your room, right?

Upset. Miles, didn't he like go, go, what is with this guy? Let's get rid of him. Do you remember that? He goes, he goes, Superman has many villains. and we're like, yeah, but this is only like, we're only three seasons into this damn show. Like, we can't get rid of Lex Luther. We're like, no, we're not, you know.

And then I get, however it worked, the negotiations were always. The negotiations are always very fraught. We'd always say, you know, and it would always get to crazy, always get to crazy. And then finally it'd calm down. But it was always very fraught. Did you guys just out of curiosity, when you, was there competition? for other writing teams for this IP? Or was it just you guys?

It was pretty much just us. Oh, good. Okay. It wasn't, it was a situation. It wasn't like we had multiple pitch. They have bakeoffs. It wasn't ever a bakeoff. It was like, we came into it.

We pitched it. They gave it to us. And then we came up with a pitch. And then that was it. It wasn't like, oh, we got to hear three pitches and, you know, the best pitch wins, which often happens in situations. That wasn't this at all. It was like, we just went in and pitched it.

there'd been some other things previously is like a young Batman show that hadn't gone, but it was just, it was just us on this one. Out Miles really quickly, because I want to ask Chris, get the Kristen a little bit. And Erica and Tom, of course,

were you guys, be honest, like, did you think, oh, fuck, man, we're in above our head. Like,

are we going to be able to handle this? This is, this is small. This is Superman. This is, I mean, what was going through your head? You guys are young guys and you're,

you're going to be doing the show. Fathers. Do you remember the feeling you had of being overwhelmed? Never overwhelmed about the actual idea. It was goody about the idea running the show. Once it began and the episodes was so ambitious. We got weird, you know, it was like we had a lot of a steep learning curve in terms of what we could achieve. You know, and we had an episode was the one on the on the gallery.

Jitters. How could you forget jitters? We had jitters, which went on for days and days. and days. The episode never ended. No, it was in that Tony Todd, he was in Vancouver for weeks shooting that thing. But I think because he was so ambitious, the

first two seasons are incredible. I mean, I look at those episodes and I have no idea how they were achieved. No idea. Well, you guys did something what I learned as I got on and I started directing is you guys, in the tone meetings, you only reference movies and films. You would not reference other television shows, and that

set a standard. Like, you weren't allowed to talk about other television shows. You could talk about films. and the other thing I remember is having the idea because you guys would always take a final pass on a script and I remember reaching out a little bit early and be like, can you take a pass a couple days earlier for me, please? And you guys did. And overnight, all the scripts got better.

And you guys, you're so talented, obviously. But I don't know if I've always said, thank you for that. So thank you. Well, you tell them. Yeah. It's great to hear. Hey, Kristen, did you feel the chemistry with Tom immediately? Was that something everybody else started telling

you like, you guys have chemistry and you're like, we do? I mean, did you feel it? There's only one way to answer this, Kristen. No, I, this is an interesting question. Actually, I've never been asked this before, Michael. Good, good. Again, I had never done a chemistry read. I had barely worked. And with Tom, it's like, I don't know, there's a thing when it feels like something works, chemistry-wise, where you can look at each up for me. I can look at another actor in the eyes and hold them there and the world melts away a little bit, that that space between us becomes kind of a magical bubble. And I've had that with a bunch of actors. And yes, I felt that,

I didn't know what to call that in that space, but it felt like, it felt like the world could kind of, we could be in that scene and be those characters together in a very pure way. You were attracted to him. Well, Alan Miles, you were there. I remember it. I'm standing there. I'm looking at Kristen. Her back is to the room. There's people, there's more people. people crammed into this room. They're sitting on, they're just piled in there. Vultures. I'm going to say 100 people in a room that probably fits 20. I'm exaggerating. And there's a, one of my favorite stories is we were doing the, the graveyard scene. And there was a moment where I looked at Kristen and she set her line and I went blank.

I couldn't, I didn't know my next line. And Kristen, with her back to the room, mouthed my line to me and spark my line. And I continued. And after the chemistry read, Peter Roth came out to me, gave me a big hug, and he was like, that moment, that beat that you took. Oh. But it's all because of Kristen saved me. By the way, we would do that constantly with each other, Tom, where we're in a scene. And you're like, I'm like, well, Michael would say, say it again, say it again. I would say it do it again.

Say it again. Well, Alan Miles actually, you know, they, in the beginning, they're like, look, Tom hasn't done a lot. And, you know, you've worked a lot. So if you could work with him and help him out. And I remember just working with you all the time and just like, when you, whenever you wanted to read and just work on scenes and get it going. And we had such a good rapport. And I think, you know, that helped the show of us just working closely together. Well, and Al Miles, you guys were smart to bring up the acting coach. They're just sort of like

be with me all the time. And I see now how helpful that was. At the time, it was helpful and slightly annoying. You know what I mean? Because it's so much. But now I see that was a very mature decision for sure. And Kristen, you, we've talked. talked about this ad nauseum, but like since this is, you know, this big episode with all of us. I mean, I know that you didn't like all the attention and stardom, that super stardom from the get-go. It was like it wasn't something you desired. God, no. I was not suited to that life in any way. I was so, I mean, you guys knew me then. Erica actually didn't know me then, but, you know, I was very shy. I was very shy. And that was not like a, it wasn't like a pretend thing. I was,

I was a very thoughtful, introverted person. I would go to my trailer always and feel all these things I constantly was writing obsessively. I just, I had, and I felt like every, I needed this privacy in my life and this space and it was gone. And I had no idea how to function. inside that. It took me a really long time, years and years and years to come to terms with it. And part of it is that it's not like that anymore. Like, we don't live lives like that. You know, people still come up to me and say hi. And now I have a funny thing because murder in a small town has like kind of an older fan base. And Smallville now has like teenagers again. So I'm getting like the young ins, the Gen Zs or whatever. And then I'm also getting the old people

but it feels okay now. It doesn't feel threatening. It doesn't feel scary. I feel like I can humanize everybody. Not everybody's a threat. They're coming to me sharing something they love and I can see it that way. But when I was 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, I could not. You know, let alone being a woman, you know, and this happening and all these men coming up to you. And, you know, it's, it's, I can't imagine how difficult that was. Well, and we didn't have a lot of women that worked on our show. We didn't. It was a lot of men. Yeah, it was. Yeah. Yeah. You're right. Inside of you is brought to you by Cash App. Download Cash App today and make your money work for you. If you weren't up to speed already, Cash App is way more than just a safe way to send and receive money.

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Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, here's what I remember. We threw, because this is the days before they didn't like throw like an opening party. So, so Miles and I threw one when it was at, oh my God, I can't remember. It was up on sunset. And we had the network there. And, you know, we had come from movies. So we were used to tracking. You know, movies you get tracking. So you get an idea. of how the movie's going to do an opening weekend. And I remember we were at this party and I turned to Bob and Lou, who were the marketing guys. And I said, how's the, how's the tracking? And they're like, the what? I go, the tracking. Like, how do you think we're going to do? It's like, we had no idea. We'll know tomorrow morning. And so then you get the ratings. And Peter Roth would call us at like

7 a.m. And tell us. But the thing is, we didn't understand what the, because they, you have this share and this thing. And it wasn't like, it was like numbers we didn't quite understand. And then, funnily enough, I think it was Carolyn Bernstein called us like that morning at about 10 o'clock and said we had the, because we opened to like 8 million viewers. So it was like the largest number. So we, you know, it was an out of the out of the gate hit, which was fantastic, you know. So it was and we could feel it because then people kind of backed off us. In a way, because there was a lot of, we called it the long hot summer of second guessing.

And then once the show was a hit, they literally were like, okay. And they gave us, you know, they gave us, definitely gave us some breathing room and kind of, you know, we were able to do things. And that's where we have a budget. And then the breathing rooms. Well, no, but here we'll tell you one of those stories. So we were at about episode, probably episode 12 of the first season. And we were massively over budget. We were over a lot.

And so we get called into Peter Roth. And it's Peter and his CFO and the executives. And we're talking about it. And Peter looks at us and he goes, this is not a blank check. I'm not giving you a blank check. But spend what you need to spend to make it great. That is not a blank check. That's great.

And he looks at him like, what the hell are you just? And his CFO was like, what the fuck did you just do? That's awesome. Yeah, because his line, his line was always, there's nothing cheaper than a hit. Yeah, he was right. And he was right. Tom, Kristen, do you think you were having fun back then, or were you too tired and too buried in work to realize how lucky you were? And Erica, you can answer this too.

We're going to get to you coming in season four, but answer this as well. One of the things that there's this term that I've come across in the last couple of years that you can only be in survival mode or creative mode. given point. And I think I was very much in survival mode for most of those 10 years. Wow. Being creative, trying to survive. But as far as joy and happiness, you had moments. You had moments. I mean, I had fun, you know, the stunt days were my favorite because we didn't have to really talk. That was fun. It's a very hard life. That's the thing. It's very hard. Like this is extremely, and the hours, I mean, we do a show where it's, you know, we shoot eight hours a day. I mean, it's nothing compared to what you went through in terms of those Friday nights till 5 a.m.

Yeah. Volume 22 episodes. That volume, that length of time shooting, the intensity of the scripts. I mean, it is a lot for any, any actor to handle. I mean, it's incredible. There's a fun story that I like to tell. Kristen, Michael, you remember this where we had the cover of Rolling Stone. Yeah, I didn't make the cover.

I remember. And I've seen that a few times. And we had shot until five or six in the morning. And then they wanted us to go to this photo shoot. And if you look at that cover picture, the look on my face, I remember them saying, can we get a smile and saying, no. That's amazing. That picture sums it up to me.

It's like being a woman, Tom. Smile. That's not that bad. Oh, that's Eric's thing. Why don't you smile? That's right, Eric. Every man loves to say that to a woman. So there you go.

I mean, Erica, like Kristen in a lot of ways, I guess this was like for her, the biggest show she had done. It was. And for you, it was the biggest show you'd ever done, right, playing Lois Lane. Oh, absolutely. And again, I never really took it as having any level of longevity because it's just a guest star bit. And so my experience with it might have been a slightly, obviously quite different than your guys as you were already on it. You were established. You were the main characters.

and I came in and had a little bit of the anxiety that is attached to somebody coming into to a job that is potentially quite temporary. What I found interesting about being on Smallville or maybe any show is the contradictory nature of it. It's intense in the most intense way, but it's fun, but you can't always have fun because it's really intense. And you know that it's going to end, but you're also exhausted. And it's the juxtaposition of all those emotions, which is amazing because it's so different

than what you experienced in just kind of maybe everyday life. But I always felt like I couldn't quite get my feet under me, you know? And it's most of my thoughts about it now in hindsight or I come to conclusions that I never would have reached while doing it. It just was too much going on. But I loved it. I was very excited to be there. I mean, you were working in casting.

Yeah. And then they put you on tape. They go, oh, you're right for this? No, I was just doing what people do when they try to become actors and don't get found on the street to do it. at 12 and like, I have a role here. So I was doing background and X-Just casting, and I had cast a bunch of people on the show

in the background world. So I knew about the show based in that level of experience. And so to me, the idea they go, oh, they want you to read for Lois for this. I was like, it's not happening. They're gonna go LA. But okay, whatever, I'll give it a go. And I think I just at that point,

fit whatever they were looking for for that lowest at that time. You know, and I was like... You were fantastic. We, it was a very, which you said, it was this very strange thing where somehow the feature side, which hadn't produced a Superman movie in decades, somehow controlled the characters in terms of who we could have on our already hit show going into its fourth season. And so we, we technically had Lois for four episodes, but Peter Roth is like, once we cast her, she's never leaving.

We're just not going to say anything. No, we're just not going to say anything. Never let her feel secure. No, no, it wasn't to you. It was to the network and to the studio. Like, they were just like, and then we, you know, once you were in and then sort of ensconced, we knew. Because we, as a seat, we believe you were, when we were in the writers, when we were in Lois was way more than four episodes.

Yeah. I'm so happy it was Erica, because you guys could have cast it. Because the way this goes normally in Canada is that when it's a, a role like this, it goes to an American actor. We rarely ever get people that hire local. It's such a problem in Vancouver right now where there are so many shows that shoot here and they're huge, but nobody's casting local. And the fact that Erica was perfect for the role and she was local and you didn't choose

someone from L.A. just because they were American because there is some stigma around Canadian actors sometimes. Like, it's just so wonderful because she's so perfect in the role and she's such a wonderful human and I get to have her as a friend. Oh, me and cry. Oh, we always chose the best, the best actress. She was the best actress. She was the best.

And again, I remember because it, it's one of those roles, you know, and you're writing and you're like, it's an iconic role. What's our spin on it? How is it going to snap into this family? And how is it different than like, what's the energy that makes lowest different from Lana? And it was the, you know. And it was. Erica just came in and just could deliver because it's a very, I would describe it as snappy. You know what I mean?

You come in and it's, it's snappy. It's almost screwball. Yeah, it's almost screwball. Yeah, that's me to Rathie. What I noticed about Erica on set. And I know she was like, she'll speak for herself and say, I was insecure. I was, I was nervous. I was like, I wanted to be, you know, perfectionist, you know.

And I saw such a talent. And I've never seen anybody care. so much about what they were doing. I mean, I care a lot and I'm obsessive and I, you know, I'm a perfectionist. But what I saw in Erica was like she worked, she wanted everything to be great. And I don't know where that stems from, but like I said, I was looking at her going, does she know she's great? I don't know if she knows she's great because she's great. And you've grown a lot, Erica, but did you, do you recall that? I recall being very aware that like I was really hard on myself

but I've always been that way but I think it's because to me I came from a place where nobody did this thing you know the enormity of what I was able to do I just was like this is my one shot and I was always in my mind every opportunity that I had is this I want this thing

I want to be able to do this every day because I love it and it's my one shot to do it And if I screw this up, then it's on me. And that level of intensity, obviously, is a bit much. But I think I really had that super focus on being present in that. Like, I didn't think, okay, there's going to be another one around the corner. Yeah. And I know that there are some people that have that wonderful, maybe, I feel like it's this beautiful delusion.

That it's like, I've got a job and then I'm going to get a film and then I'm going to get a series and then I'm going to be here forever. And I'm like, can I live in your world? because wow. And some of the manifest dot, right? They just are there forever. And I think perhaps that's a good energy to have, but I never had it. I will say, Michael, like what you were saying, Erica, what I remember with you is every single millisecond counted to you. There was never once where you were like, ah, they're going to cut this together.

We're going to use another take. It was never that. No. Yeah. I have a lot of work. Well, you know what? You weren't. But I will say, like, I was, I don't think a lot of people knew this.

about me. I don't know. I hit it really well, but I was fucking a nervous wreck too. The second I got on, first of all, I thought I was going to be fired numerous times when I couldn't go under the, in the water tank, uh, when you had to save me. I was so scared. And I was like, they're going to fire me. We were more nervous, Michael, watching that. We were more nervous. Yeah. You were. That was in the pilot going into the into the, into the, you guys got through your nerves of killing people like dunking them under the water by the time I was They're like, she'll be fine. Let's drink us.

Let's make her paralyzed this time where she can't fight back and then we'll try to drown her. I remember being in that car and those weights on me and Tom had to come down and save me. And it was like, Michael, can you hear me? I'm like, oh, here's what I'm hearing. And I'm just like. Yeah. And then I'm like, actually, can I go. Oh, my God.

You remember they got milky? And it was so milky in there. I couldn't see it. And I freaked out. I was like, no! And I swam up to the top. And Tom's like, you're all right, dude. We'll get it.

I was laughing. And another time, talk about insecure, when I shaved my head, I looked in the mirror and I go, okay, you're Lex Luthor. Then I realized I had this big bump on the back of my head. And I was like, oh, man, they're going to fire me. I'm not as pretty as these people on this show, the WB. Oh, my God. I, dude, I felt like that that's how I felt, but I didn't tell anybody.

Michael, you're very pretty. I'll tell you that. You're very pretty, Michael. You're very kind. But I was nervous. I thought I was going to get fired because, you know, somebody at the top was saying he's just not good looking enough for this for this show. You just can't shoot him from behind. That's what they said. Bumpy Head.

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or full concentration and alertness are paramount. It's now available at mod.com to qualifying patients. Visit mod.com. That's mod.com for a free consultation and get temperature. sent off your first order plus free shipping with promo code inside that's promo code inside at mod.com see their website for important safety information and we thank mod for sponsoring the pod by the way what do you think al-miles erika brought that the show needed humor that's what it was in terms of bringing up because the show was very you know it could be very mortal and self-serious and I think it needed an

injection of of laughter and fun and that repartee and I think you know when Erica and Tom got into scenes together was just just gave a different energy and a different feel for you know as a show mature as you want to bring something else to it never want to be complacent that was always our thing never be complacent never settle keep on challenging the show what it can do and what it can't do and I think discovery it was always discovering what show can do and what as you grew as actors what you could do and that felt like a really great you know, compliment when we got going into the latest seasons that you brought Erica. It was a really great, great thing, I think, that changed the vibe of the show.

I agree. And I thought Erica brought that. I mean, I always, very quickly, for me, I saw it as a moonlighting scenario. 100%. And Erica brought that. And I think for Clark, he got to relax and have a little sarcasm and a little bit fun, you know, that before it was the weight of the world, you know, emotionally he wasn't able, you didn't get to see that side. And that's what I saw come out in Clark through the lowest relationship. I think one of the things that people say to me all the time at cons, and they talk about my version of the lowest, but it, and I'm not lying about this,

what I do always say back to them is I was given a character that had funny lines and funny bits, and she could, one episode, I was fighting people in the next one, I was crying, and I was like, it's very rare as an actor to get to play a part, a female part, specifically, that gets to be audacious. Yeah.

And so, yes, I got material and ran with it, but I always go back to, like, I was not really in a very small box. I got to be as crazy as I wanted to be and fun. And, you know, and that's rare. So that came from, you know, it was on the page. I mean, you got to be smart and funny. And all these things, this character, it really popped.

Well, so many times in episodic television, you want a different version of the same thing every week. in the characters. Yeah. I never thought about this either, Erica, but like you were different every week in a sense, a different side of Lois every week. It was fun.

Yeah, I was excited. I felt like every time I opened a script, I was like, ooh, I get to be Roncom. And oh, I'm an action star. And now I get to be, you know, very dramatic this week and have deep feelings, you know? And so, again, it goes back to the character you guys created in your version.

And so I'm always saying that back to people because, you know, you can only do you can do with the words in front of you. So I was very lucky. Kristen, what do you think was as an actress your favorite time on Smallville? Yeah, as an actor, my favorite time is season six. I always say it. It was the time with the Lex Lanna stuff that I got to play.

Like, I got to stretch. I got to not know if I could pull something off. I got to be secretive and devious and emotional and angry. and I got to play. And I always loved working with you, Michael. So it was, that season was really, really fun for me and gratifying as an actor. I never thought that would happen. I never thought that Alan Miles would eventually, it'd be Lex and Lawn.

I was like, no. Because, like, you know, I looked at, well, the reason I thought that was, you know, I was. Well, it was all fake. It was all for Clark's benefit. Well, no, but I was, you know, you're 43. So I was 11, 10 years, I was 10 years older than you. And so I felt like, oh, she's, you know, she's a kid. She's young.

never and then all of a sudden you become this woman and I'm still a boy but but but no but it just be a real boy but it was in there I don't know if you guys meant it Alan Miles I don't know but the Lex Lana thing that that it was weird because yes he's an adult and she's a child but I felt like it was in the text from the beginning a hint of it was always there yeah that's true you had each other's number in a way like I think you you understand stood, you know, Lex was totally intrigued by you. You, I think, knew what he was or had an idea, but then I think what Lana did very well. And it's actually in season one where she goes to him for the coffee shop. She's just, I know how to, I know how to pull this lever. Like, like, everybody

thinks on this and they underestimate me and I'm going to go pull this lever with this guy and get, and then get what I want. So I think, it's one of those things like, I think that, the people underest, and Clark always underestimated Lano. You know what I mean? Like always. So I think the fact that you went to him and did that and then he was like, oh, there's more to her.

And so I think you two, there was a... Different chemistry as well. Yeah, it was different chemistry, yeah. Hold on a second. I don't think Clark underestimated Lana. I think... I was waiting for you to lose your shit. I think Clark didn't know how to estimate.

her, which is a little different. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right. I digress. That's a nice way to let you off the hook, Clark. But sure. I like that dynamic, though, of Lex and Clark where Lex is always like, hey, take her to a concert. Hey, take my car. Hey, go get her. Go get the girl. Go get the girl. And he's like, all right, you're not going to get the girl. I guess I'll get the girl. You know, but you're going to, you know, shit or get off the pot, buddy. Yeah, this is crazy. I have so many other questions.

I could go on for days talking to Al Miles about how... I know, I could too. Let me ask you this. I love those stories. Each individual will start with Miles. Miles, your favorite season. My favorite season, I think season two, because season two was the one that we came back stronger

and was always like, oh, if we get to season two, it was always like, oh, we have sort of one hit one, would we keep going? So that was a big season for us, I think. And we did a lot of fun stuff with the, great kryptonite all those sort of things which was great so i think that was my favorite season and i just lots of great episodes in that season but i mean the first season also is like you know that was such a blur for us yeah it was like you also we were writing the spider-man movie during that

as well um we got called we got called so this was like the yeah it was it was fall of 2001 we got a call from sony and they're like oh you know sony wants to have a general meeting with you And we're like, about what? They're like, just a general. They want you to go down. We're like, we're in Burbank. They're in Culver City. We're literally writing all the time.

They're like, you need to go and take this meeting. So we go down and there's an executive there named Matt Tolmac, who's a producer now who was who was in there. And we're just in there. And what's interesting about Smallville was back in those days, feature writers and TV writers were church and state. So Miles and I had been doing TV and still doing features. And Smallville was the first show that feature people were in. interested in because it was obviously nobody had cracked Superman in many years. The show was critically acclaimed. It was marketed like a movie. So there was a lot of just general interest about it.

It looked like a movie. Yeah. You always try to have visual effects that were movie worthy. And that's why I think even 25 years later, the effects are pretty, you know, it's not much easy. This is pretty good. Yeah. I agree. I agree. Yeah. And so we're in this meeting and then they go, oh, come on, let's take a ride. And they take us over to the Spider-Man set where they're doing reshoots on the first one. And with Sam Rangney and Toby and Laura Ziskin, who's the producer, who we was one of our teachers in film school, and they said, we want you guys to write the sequel, to which we immediately said, yes, because who the, who's turning that down.

That's who we are, people. That's awesome. We are obsessive show business wars. So we couldn't tell anyone obviously at Warner Brothers. But we can say nobody. Yeah. You were writing all those scripts this. We would just, it was literally like, we're absolutely out of her minds.

But yeah. Yeah, you can't turn that time. Erica, what's your favorite season? Season eight. Because selfishly, I got to do more. It was more of like, well, as being at the daily planet and that sort of thing. So I felt like it was taking a turn. And I just had a lot more that I was doing.

So I loved it. Tom? Well, I think there's two answers. One is since we've done the podcast, the ones I, the season I like watching the most, I would say two and five. but from an experience point of view, after I renegotiated and came back, I came to an understanding in my mind

that I was making the choice to come back to the show. And so those last two seasons had a different feeling. I felt more, I chose to come back, so it had a different thought. You're at peace with it.

I was at peace with it. You're like, this is what I'm doing. Yeah. Funnel of I was going to say, I love one as well, but I think five is because five was kind of our go-for-broke season

because we didn't know if there was going to be a six at that point. And that's also the season the show had a resurgence in the ratings of stuff. Yeah. So not that it ever went down. Kristen? I think actually, because I haven't watched all of them.

But the one, the episodes that I think of that I really liked script-wise and shooting, apart from the acting experience, not that there wasn't great acting stuff in it as well, but five. I think five is probably the same for me. I don't really remember one and two very well because of my state of constant. fear but five you know what i i i like five too five i thought was really it really moved a lot of character development um yeah i love that like all the scenes all the episodes counted but like look yeah the pilot episode in season one it was just such a it was just like i've never done anything

of this magnitude and so i have to always go back to the first season of small though it was just such a special moment, special time in my life. So, you know, I would say that. Do you guys have a favorite episode? Mine's easy because it's, it, it, I know what it is. It's transference when Lex, I mean, sorry, when Clark and Lionel switch bodies. Awesome. You guys are great from that. I don't know if it's a perfect episode, but I just remember being like, I got to put my big boy shoes on for this one. Like, this is John Glover's character. That's with the one-oh, right? And the prison? Yeah. That's the one or in the prison. Yeah. I remember Glover came to me and goes, you know, he goes, I don't know how Tom does it.

He goes, because I've been studying it, and there is a stillness to that character that I don't, it is not who I am, and it's been really hard to be still. He said the same thing to Tom, except he's the word, I don't know how to do nothing. He, so here's a really quick story.

I didn't, I wasn't supposed to come in until the afternoon at the prison. And James Marshall called me. He goes, I need you to come to set. It's like 8.30 the morning. I'm like, of course, I'm like, no way I'm coming. I don't need to be there. I'm doing the math in my head, blah, blah. And he goes, John Glover needs your help.

And I said, I mean, okay, so I got in the car, got there. John's in a cell. And I go over to him, I'm going, John, what's going on? And he goes, Tom, Tom, how do you do it? And I go, what did he goes? How do you do nothing? You just stand there. And I had a brief conversation with it.

And obviously, I look up to him as like one of the greatest actors I'll ever be around in my life. And we had a brief conversation. And I don't know if it's what I said, but how, maybe how I said it, that he, my vibe. And he sort of settled into something. But I just remember that being like, this is, this is amazing what we're trying to do here. Yeah. Kristen, favorite episode.

This is selfish. But I loved Lexmas. I don't know what it was about that episode. I just, I love that episode. You know, I have to say that's one of my favorites, too. loved onyx where I split in half and you get to see me explode. And I love the pilot. Of course, pilot's probably my favorite of all time. And the stuff when I was going crazy, I didn't like doing it. But because it was, I really put myself through hell. But like when I was going crazy in

the asylum and all that stuff, that was fun. That was also really good. Yeah. And stuff obviously with Kristen. Yeah. That, uh, yeah, what about you? Um, who's next? Erica. Oh, I am. Yeah. Ryan. Ryan, what's your favorite episode ever? Yeah, Ryan's most enticed. Ryan from Talkville. I'm going to say your last episode, whatever that one was, Arctic. Oh, my last episode, we fight at the thing. That was a, yeah, that was a good episode. I like that episode. I think a lot of things came to ahead. It was fun. What about Miles? Did he say it already? No, I like, I like Ryan. Actually, episode Ryan. That was the big episode for us. Charitz directed that. Oh, Ryan. Oh, I love the one that you directed, too, Miles. Start with an M. Memorial. Memorial. Memorial. That was great.

Yeah. You and the green, the green, the green boss at the end, the tank. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's been so long, we can laugh about it. Still can't get it off my skin. Erica, how about you?

My favorite episodes were I think I liked committed because it was very rom-com. It was really, it felt very, very comedic. And I liked the finale because I had this, there was a wave of the sense of like, oh, people are going to love these little bits. And there was parts that we were putting in there that were. you know, going to be the Superman. And I was so excited. I'm a little bit of a fan still.

So I'm like, oh, my God, people are going to love this piece or this piece. And I get to be inside of the thing that people are loving. So those two were really cool for me. I like those. I think for me, I love the pilot. I still really like, I actually liked Rosetta as well with Christopher Reeve. Just because I got to talk to him for months, just trying to build it out. Yeah.

Yeah, also just to get to figure out the logistics and, you know, who was going to pay for every, you know, it was just all of that. But he was, yeah, he was, he's a fascinating guy. Did anybody, anyone besides me take a lot of shit home from small vets and everything? Anybody else? Did anybody take anything from the small. So, we got a bunch of jobs. So much stuff. I do things.

You have the Nicodemus flower? Yes. How do I get that from you? We have. We have the crystal that's thrown. We have the little box with the, remember that bullshit thing out, the, the boxes and crystal, or whatever it is, remember, that one? Yes.

How did you get them? You just send them emails saying those need to be given to us? Like, give those to us, send them. Yeah, we just said, but we were leaving, oh, could we go visit the prop house? We said, and we're like, put this in boxes and ship it to L.A. We only have one about those lawyers. We also have the letter box. the Kent.

Oh, that's full. Beautiful. Yeah, I know. We more like, like, things. I mean, Lionel gave more, I hope nobody took any Alexander the Great Hist, because all those stories were bullshit. Like, I hope nobody, like, I tried to do a history test with that. We were just make shit up and say it's an Alexander the Great Story.

The breastplate of Alexander the Great. Oh, God. Stone, monstrosity. I have the helmet. I have the helmet from Onyx when he locks me up. You know, the big helmet. that I put on me. Yes.

I have the Zod or I have a Lexus trench. I have, uh, orbs. You donated the suit to your high school. I have Lex Lutzer glasses from the bar that I took the glasses and the decanter or whatever. Oh,

I have so much good shit. All right. Do you have anything that you cook? Uh, I check almost my whole wardrobe. Yes. They wouldn't let me kick any of my costumes, but I had some good wardrobe. And then I took a few things from the daily planet when nobody was there.

Kristen? I have my. vampire teeth. Ah, yes, you've told me that. She has her vampire teeth. Al is dying. He thinks that's the funniest thing ever. Did you guys have to loop every line that you wore those teeth? I feel like I did. I was lisping. Well, you're lipping. I'll bite your faith. You need a faith lift. Oh my God. Inside of you is brought to you by prize picks. Football is heating up, folks, and everyone's pulling up because prize picks has all. your picks in one place. New users, get yourself a head start with prize picks best offer yet.

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You say out the name of the person you think it goes best with. Who do you think remembers the least about making Smallville? Tom. Michael Roosevelt. I agree with Al. I mean, I don't remember a lot, but I was there the whole time. Yeah. Yeah.

I'd say it's a tie between me and Kristen. I think Kristen doesn't remember. Yeah, maybe. I have a lot of members. I have a lot of memories, but man, I can't. Yeah, my memory's not that great. Who will stay at their convention table the longest? It's not Michael.

No, it's probably Tom. I'd say Tom. It might be, I would say Erica. Erica will not walk away. Kristen. Kristen? Okay, Kristen. I see Kristen faithfully being sweet and chatting with people.

So I guess I do that. So do you. I'm quite, I'll chat for a while with people if they want to chat. Who will take the most selfies? Tom. Well, Tom, because he has the most people. Who's going to get asked the weirdest fan question? Erica.

Erica. I've been asked some pretty weird stuff. Who is most likely going to cry during the 25th anniversary panel? I'd say, Al. He's like, no way. It will not be me. I got to say that, you know, somebody saved me always gets me, though. That song is so good.

It's always like, oh. Boys Cats me. There you go. Play that song for Miles. Who's exactly the same person they were 25 years later? In a good way? In any way. Michael.

Yeah. Actually, that is very, that is exactly right. Yes. Yeah. Is that a good thing? No, that you haven't matured some, Michael, but you're still you. No. You're so sweet.

If you could say something to the audience that you don't normally get the chance to say at a convention, what would it be? I'll start with Alan Miles. What would you say to the audience, to the fans that have been, you know, following for 25 years? Well, since we rarely have ever done this, we would say thank you. You know, we can't believe that it's a show that's still resonating with people 25 years later. You know, I think it's, you know, you write something and you hope, you know, we're, we're in the pop culture business, which means you're writing something for the time that it's, you're making it for. And then the fact that it still resonates quarter of a century later.

and as you guys you know we get it all the time too usually from young executives ago i love this show when i was in grade school and you're like great you know what i mean so you know my dad growing up but it is that's what's my dad growing but it is that and it's great generational element of it that is people people watching it together and then sharing it with their kids that's what's happening now it's pretty amazing and it's just something very very right i mean it's on wednesday we had the similar thing People watch it as a family together. Mothers and daughters watch the show together. This is what a lot of dads and daughters

watched the show together, which is interesting. Dads were introduced in their daughters to the world of superheroes. So it's something that's very unique and special and is incredibly touching. There are a lot of kids out there that have been named after characters in the show. And I've met these kids. Oh, wow.

I need a lot of Lanas. You know what's cool is that with Netflix, obviously the show's on Hulu, but now Netflix, it was like number one in Central America and South America and Europe. So this is like a brand new audience. It's like, it is. They go to conventions and they come up and go,

my son's now going through. He's a teenager. He's in season four. And he's, you know, don't say anything. And like, it's really.

We got a ton of questions about it because it started on Netflix in our last press store for Wednesday. We had a lot of small though question. More than we'd ever gotten before because of, because of the Netflix effect. Yeah. Would you guys change anything if you could go back and change one thing or a few things or if you could do something differently, what would you do?

I can tell you one thing. We would give Lana more agency earlier in the show. Yeah. That's the, that is absolutely the one do over that we would do now. As fathers of daughters as well, looking at that character, it's just something that was the character we've always struggled with. And then you can see it. Sorry, Kristen, but it's like it's, I think you did anything job with what you had. And I think that's the one thing that has became very repetitive. And she didn't have her own story. And it was just something that, I mean, I think you will love her. And I think he did an amazing job.

But it's something that we as creators and writers would look at differently now. Yeah. And I feel I wish that I had what I have now so that we could have had conversations about it. Because we could have crafted something together. I just didn't know how to do it. Yeah. And us too. I think that's something.

And it's in the chaos of a situation that you don't know quite what to do. So yeah, that's something that we've done. We talk about together a lot, that character. Yeah, we do. We do. Tom? I don't know. It's such a hard thing because if you change one thing who knows what the butterfly effect is,

I think if I could go back and talk to myself, I would say, hey, have some fun. Yeah. This is, it's okay to have some fun. You know what? Yeah. I mean, look, obviously hindsight's 2020, but I really wouldn't change a thing. But what Tom said kind of resonates with me is, you know, we took things. so seriously, you know, you're young, you're trying to be somebody and be seen and like,

you know, and be great and, and just kind of take a step back to be able to just relax and say, hey, this is really cool and say your gratitude and just be like, hey, I'm on a hit show. Well, you, what you need, and I've talked to some younger actors who've found some quick success and I've been able to find myself being like, wow, I can, I actually have some experience to share, like, check this out. And you don't really have those people. Actually, and I said this on the podcast, Al, I remember sitting in a car with you at one point. We were leaving a set and you said you were, you were being very nice about it, but you were sort of trying to tell me that maybe my managers weren't managing me the right way. And I was like, oh, they were trying to get under my skin or whatnot.

And I know now that wasn't the case. But when you're young, if you don't have that person that you trust that can really go, hey, let me just take you aside, Michael, like you're saying, let's just take a, let's take a. let's take a step back for a second. Let's look at this from a different perspective. But a lot of times as an actor, you don't have those people around until later in life. No, you don't. I mean, that said, for us, as, you know,

having done lots of shows since Smallville, I mean, you guys were the best cast. There was never any drama offscreen. There was never any, like, oh, we're going to go to the trailer because someone's refusing to come out. There was never that. That's true. Or this person's toxic or this, or, you know,

like other shows on the WB with everyone was like in relationships and that turned toxic and all that. sort of like we never had any other than it. It was always like it always felt like a really great amazing family. And some of that was being closeted in Vancouver and, you know, and people like demon who were just such an incredible like, you know, Teddy bad. It was just like it was a very good vibe whenever we went up there.

Beeman. Can't say enough about Beeman. Can't say enough about Beeman. What a, what a gem. He, uh, he gave me a lot of confidence. He taught me a lot. Um, I always.

I just liked how he moved the camera and, you know, he was neurotic like a lot of us, but, you know, Eddie Express those would do that to you. You know, that's sort of like his quote too. Well, he was like a calm neurotic. I mean, he was the first guy I've ever seen on set that he would ask for something and people would be like, yeah, but he goes, no, that's what I want. Do it. Like, that's what I want.

Because he's already had it all figured out. You know, the guys were sending up the lights and stuff were like, yeah, but that's going to be hard. And he's like, this is what I want. And I'm going to be like, oh, he knows what he's. doing yeah um this has been uh remarkable having all of you and and and i thought i don't know how difficult it was but i think it became pretty easy and pretty fluid you know it's hard when you have so many people so kudos to me um i think that the nashville con is going to be the national

no one else no one else could have pulled this off thank you nobody no the national no one would look thank you creation con nashville we're all going november 7th 8th. Tom and I are doing a smallville nights. We're doing a super smallville panel. Eric is going to be there. Tom, myself, Erica Al Miles,

Glenn Winter. Who else is coming? Kristen's coming. I think Aaron's coming. I am. Kristen Kruk, of course. She's here. Is Eric Johnson coming? I think he is. Yeah. We have a lot of people. A lot of people. You guys, Laura's coming, I think. Yeah, Laura.

We went on a cruise, guys. And Eric Johnson came on. dude he was he is the sweetest guy i loved the best being with him he just took he takes things in stride you know he just really i yeah he was he's such he became the mascot yeah whitney yeah whitening he was and he auditioned for uh clark right yep a lot of people audition for clark and lex and he audition for lex that was the guy that dad don't a loved anson anson mount yeah anson mount yeah Zach Levy. Zach Levi.

And Zach Levi. Yeah. He had it. And then he blew it in the audition. And in the, you blew it at the network. He told me that. He speaks openly about it. He goes, I blew it.

It was like a really, Al and I were back in the one of his pocket lot saying, he blew it. It was like one of those really weird situations. And Tom, that's why I said rewind the tape. I'm not going to go test. I knew I wouldn't do. I couldn't do better than. I did in that moment. What you said to me was you, I don't know if this is true enough,

but you said to your Lex wouldn't go back for a second audition. No, I said, I said to my age, and my agent goes, you're going to lose this. I go, just tell them to rewind the tape. I can't do better than what I did. They got to see that in that role. And next thing you know, I'm at Jerry's Deli with Alan Miles talking about stuff. And the rest is history. And it's been an amazing ride and I thank both you guys for believing in me, for believing in us, for giving us careers and taking a chance when a lot of people wouldn't and just having a vision, a clear vision of what you wanted the show to be. And so thank you. Well, thank you guys for being an incredible cause. Thank you. You did everything that anyone could ever have asked you.

You know, we put you in situations. We were insane. We watched you so hard. It was, you know, incredible. So we are incredibly grateful. And, you know, who knew, right? It's an incredible achievement for all of us. Yeah. And I'm glad to call you all friends because you're all amazing human beings. And that's most important to me. It's just being kind and being a good human.

So thanks for being here. Always hold on to Smallville. And we'll see you guys at the con in Nashville. And we'll see you later. Thanks, Michael. Bye. New from Nespresso. Blend wellness into your coffee.

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Discover coffee plus on espresso.com. It's always fun having those guys, but having them all on it once. So cool. It was so cool. And, you know, I think for me, I was like, this is a lot of people to sort of like navigate, but I think it worked itself out.

I think so too. I mean, everyone got like a good tidbit. Everyone got like good fight. They got their moments. Alan Miles had a lot to say too, which was we never really get to hear from. Because I mean, we've had Erica and Kristen and Tom on inside of you a bunch of times.

And they, I mean, they had some new fresh things to say, but also it was good to see Alan Miles and still have like some love. for the show. And it was good that, you know, Al sort of apologized to Kristen. Yeah.

For, you know, her character at a certain point. And it just, you watched it. So it was, it was really cool. And I think everybody had a good time. So thank you. Friends, my friends from Smallville. Congratulations, Tim on the editing feat. Tim, you're the master of disaster.

That's a lot of angles. Yeah. Thank you, Timmy. You're awesome. I always tell you that, so I hope you know it. So thank you. And Bryce, of course, kick-ass job. All right, I couldn't do this show.

I've talked about it ad nauseum without the patrons. So if you want to join patron, p-at-r-e-on.com slash inside of you. I'll send you a message. But give back to the show if you can. We really get by with some sponsorship and really the patrons who support this show. So patreon.com slash inside of you. And I'm going to read out the top tier patrons right now. And here we go.

Nancy D. Little Lisa, Ukiko, Nico P. Rob B. the 4th, Jason W. Raj C. Stacey L. Jamal F. Janelle B. M., L. Dan, Supremo, 99 more. Santiago M. Kendrick F. Belinda N. Dave H. Brad D. Ray H. Tabitha T. Tom N. Talia M. David G. Betsy D. Rian C. Michelle A. Jeremy C. Mr. Milski. Melski. Mr. Melski said Eugene R. Males, Eric H. Kevin E. J. M. J. Lian J. J. J. J. L. J. J. L. M. Jessica. B. Frank B. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. Randa. R. R. S. N. D. D. D. D. D. Stephanie N. Stephanie N. Stephanie Nevin. Charlene A, Don G, Jenny B. 76, NG, Tracy, Heather and Greg. Heather and Greg, brother. Pierre C. Sultan, Dave T. David L. Brian B.

Gary F. Ritzel, Pitzel, Benjamin R. Other brother, Daryl. Cheryl T. Elizabeth R. Eduardo, Eduardo V. Or the fifth, I'll just say. Julie F. Merritt. Dino, you, you Dino's new. Who's your staff? Rocko's new. Who's your staff still pretty new? Merit's still pretty new. LMHC life coach. All my love and Donna V.

Donna V. Oh, Donna. We love you. Can do it without you. I hope you're enjoying the content we provide here on inside of you. A lot of great guests coming up. And I don't know if people know this, but I book all the guests. So I have to book 50 guests a year.

And that is not an easy task. No, it's hard. But, you know, I'm pretty good for this year so far. So hopefully, you know, people still come out to do the podcast. But I'm hoping to get a few people that I'm close on. And we'll see if that happens. I'm pretty sure it will happen. But thank you for listening from the Hollywood Hills and Hollywood, California.

I'm Michael Rosenbaum. He is. I'm Ryan Tejas. I'm also here. Yes. Thank you, Al and Miles and Tommy and Kristen and Erica for being on the podcast. That was a real treat. Maybe we'll do one on the 50th anniversary.

I'm still alive. Could you imagine I'm still doing this podcast? I just want to say. All right. A little wave to the camera. Over there. And thanks for being here. Thanks for supporting us.

We'll see you next week. Be good to yourself. That brought you Wonder Vision. I was an Avenger, but I'm not a hero anymore. On October 14th, the vision returns for the final chapter of the groundbreaking trilogy.

That family wasn't real. You sure about that? I had a father called Vision. How is this possible? Don't miss the two-episode premiere of Marvel Television's Vision Quest. Nothing bonds a family together quite like Mortal Jeopardy. Streaming October 14th, only on Disney Plus.