erica-durance-smallville-slice

In its 10th and final season, the CW drama series Smallville is pulling out all the stops, as it concludes its modern retelling of a hero’s legendary origins. Throughout its popular run, it has continued to blend realism, action, heart and humor as Clark Kent (Tom Welling) soars toward claiming his birthright as Superman. With just half of the season remaining, fans of the show and its lead actors are starting to speculate about what they will get to see their beloved characters do before the show’s conclusion.

During a recent interview to promote the February 4th return of all-new episodes, actress Erica Durance talked about what she would like to see Lois Lane do before the end of the season, what she’s brought to the iconic role, the feedback she’s gotten from fellow Lois Lane actress Margot Kidder, what she loves most about Lois, the storylines and the superheroes she’s most enjoyed seeing on the show, being directed by Tom Welling, and what she’d like to keep from the set. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

Question: When do you shoot the finale?

ERICA DURANCE: I don’t have the exact dates, but it’s probably in the next month or so. We’re done on March 22nd.

Do you have any idea what it’s going to be yet?

DURANCE: I have no idea what’s in the finale.

What would you like to see happen?

DURANCE: I’ve thought about this a lot, but they surprise me, all the time. I would love to see Lois fly. Not her, herself, but with Clark. This is my wish list. This is not what the producers have told me. I would love to see her get married to Clark. I’d love to see her really find herself and find her grounding and go, “Okay, this is who I am,” and settle down.

What do you bring to Lois Lane that other actresses haven’t?

DURANCE: That’s an interesting question because it forces me to answer it in a way that makes me feel like I’m being conceited. I think that you can’t help but bring pieces of who you are. No matter what you do, it comes through you, as a vessel. So, I suppose that some of the things that you see in this particular Lois – with her spunkiness, or certain moments of neuroses, or that high energy perkiness, or the laughing, or the klutziness – are definitely me. I am not a particularly aggressive person. That’s not Erica. I play a kick-ass woman.

 

Have you gotten feedback from any of the other women who have played Lois Lane?

DURANCE: Yeah, Margot Kidder told me that I hit it out of the park. But, I have not heard from Teri Hatcher at all.

What do you most love about Lois, and is there anything about her that you wish you could change?

DURANCE: I don’t feel that I want to change anything about her. I think she just happened the way she was supposed to. I can’t go back and change it. But, I love that she’s flawed. I love that she’s human. You need that juxtaposed to the perfection of Superman. I think that’s part of why she’s written the way she’s written, and why she’s there. She just has this absolute loyalty for what is good and right and just, and it parallels what Superman is and what he embodies. I think that that’s why it works so well.

 

Have there been any storylines that you’ve particularly enjoyed doing, over the years?

DURANCE: I have always enjoyed the episodes where Lois and Clark are investigating something, and they’re together and there’s a lot of stuff going on, and there’s a lot of banter, and there’s a bit of humor, and they spice it up with a little bit of everything. Those are my personal favorites, when I’m doing it, as an actress. Now, to sit back and watch it – because I also love the Superman mythology – I like to see him be so iconic. I love to see some of the other superheroes come in, and the Justice League, and all that kind of stuff. A prime example is in our 200th episode, when Clark is in the elevator with his Superman self. I freaked out. I went up to him and I was like, “Oh, my god!” It was fantastic! He had the phrasing down, and it almost sound old-fashioned. He just flawlessly went into this thing and I got excited, as a fan.

Which other heroes have you particularly enjoyed having on the show?

DURANCE: I can’t help but say that I love Green Arrow. I really enjoyed the Hawkman character. I love his huge wings and the whole graveliness of his voice. I loved the Martian Manhunter. Phil Morris is a really cool human being, and it was such a neat character for Clark to have in his life. He was cool, too.

If Clark Kent weren’t around, do you think Lois would get together with Oliver Queen?

DURANCE: In the episode that we did where there were the two universes, you do see that she does end up with Oliver, but when Clark was in that universe, you could see that it wasn’t her true love. I think that is representative of what would be the reality.

What’s it been like to have some of the show’s long-time producers, along with Tom Welling, direct episodes in this last season? Has it been nice to have people who are so familiar with the characters directing some of the episodes?

DURANCE: Yeah, absolutely. It’s fun to work with some of our executives, who are writers, in that way, because we don’t really get to see them very much since they’re in L.A. To have them come to Vancouver and fulfill the role of being a director with you is a really fun experiment. And, it is Clark’s show, so having Tom in there, doing the directing, it brings a totally different vibe to it. He has a lot of respect and treats people with respect. He’s an incredible director.

Is it any more stressful to have him as the boss, instead of just the co-star?

DURANCE: No, because he’s the most unassuming person you’d ever meet. He has no ego. You’d have no idea. He’s just in there to be a part of the team, and he fulfills that role.

Is there something that you hope you can take home from the set, once the series is finished?

DURANCE: I’d like to keep a couple of my costumes. I’d like to take my Daily Planet nameplate. And, I’d like to steal one of the Blur’s jackets. I like the jackets that he has.

Do you dread the last day of filming?

DURANCE: I look forward to change, but there is a part of me that absolutely dreads it.

Have you thought about what type of roles and projects you want to look for, once you’re done with the show?

DURANCE: Yes and no. I am a little bit like Lois, in the way that I fly by the seat of my pants a little bit. Of course, there’s some intellect given to it. I really enjoy comedy, but I also still really enjoy the drama aspect. So, I don’t like to narrow my possible chances out there. I have seen a couple of scripts and I just go with my gut. My gut will go, “You know what? That one’s not me, but that one would be interesting.” Maybe just something else that shows another aspect of females and tries to keep us more well-rounded.

Are you looking more for film, instead of signing on to do another television series?

DURANCE: No, I’m open to whatever.

Do you have anything set yet?

DURANCE: I have a break. That’s it. I might do my own independent film, that my husband wrote for me, if all the ducks are in a row. It would be very, very fun to team up on that. Other than that, I’m just going to wait and see.