Welling leaps to ‘Lucifer’ in a single bound
Tom Welling will never get over that final day on Smallville, heading back to Los Angeles from Vancouver, crossing the border for the last time after 10 seasons, and letting out a huge sigh of freedom.
“I didn’t know what it was then, but now I realize it was just a sign of new beginnings and a new chapter,” says the 40-yearold actor.
Returning to the small screen for the first time since Smallville ended in 2011, after a 10-year run on WB and CW, Welling has traded his Superman shield for an L.A. police department badge as Lt. Marcus Pierce on the third season of Fox’s Lucifer (Monday, 8 ET/PT).
The show centers on Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), the devil come to Earth who helps cop Chloe Decker (Lauren German) solve crimes.
Yet even his flamboyant persona stands a bit straighter when Pierce walks in as the new sheriff in town.
For Welling, it’s a chance to be on one of his favorite series.
“It wasn’t like, ‘I’m coming back!’ I was like, ‘Cool, I get to be on that show?’ ” says Welling, who’s done a few movies ( 2014’s Draft Day and 2016’s The Promise) after hanging up his superhero threads.
Welling talks about his Lucifer character, his reintroduction to TV fans and the legacy of Smallville: Q When Pierce arrives, he’s aloof and hard to read — unlike some of the show’s more over-the-top aspects. A That’s by design. What you’ll find out is he’s not exactly who he says he is.
You find out who he is but also why he’s there, and that’s going to be another big reveal that will come out in the season. Q He seems to dislike everybody but has a strange interest in Lucifer. A Pierce knows who Lucifer is, and Lucifer doesn’t know that. It’s a bit of a standoff – like a Western situation in a way (or) a High Noon sort of thing. I don’t know if they like each other, but there’s going to be a respect there. Q What’s changed for you the most since your Smallville days? A The better you know yourself and the more experiences you have, the more that can inform the choices you make as an actor. And I’m older. (Laughs) Q You don’t look it, other than some gray hair. A Well, that’s a character thing. I don’t actually have gray hair. Q So what have you been up to over the past six years?
AI
went to New Zealand for a month, that was a lot of fun. I kind of just tried to do some things I wasn’t able to do while I was on Smallville: traveling and catching up with people who I haven’t seen in a long time. I’ve been busy – it just hasn’t been on camera. Q Do you feel Smallville’s long run paved the way for Lucifer and all the various comic-book shows?
A Very
much so, and I’m proud to say that. I love what this genre says about people, and it really focuses on identity: Characters trying to figure who they are and what their potential is and their place in the world.