Smallville Star Erica Durance Weighs In on Henry Cavill’s Superman

Regardless of how the DC Universe has moved forward without Henry Cavill, there are still many people who see him as the perfect Superman. One of these individuals is Erica Durance, who knows a thing or two about the Man of Steel, considering she played Lois Lane in the beloved Smallville alongside Tom Welling.

In a recently surfaced interview that the actress did with Adam Lupis in 2024, Durance discussed her time on Smallville, as well as everything Superman. At a point in the conversation, the topic shifted to the actors who played Big Blue onscreen. Durance praised Cavill for how much he actually looked like Superman – or at least the image that everybody has of the character in their mind.

“I thought he [looked] fantastic,” Durance said. “He even has the cleft in the chin. Yeah, he’s gorgeous and he was wonderful for it. I thought his bone structure, everything, I was like, ‘Oh, there’s the guy.’ He doesn’t look like a real human, which is what you want Superman to be.”

During the same interview, Lupis showed Durance the first officially released photo of David Corenswet in his Superman outfit. Durance had the same thought that everybody else did when Corenswet was announced as the character. “They both look like Henry to me,” she said. “That’s how much those actors look the same.”

In terms of Corenswet’s controversial costume, she said, “So, what I can see, I like the color of the S on Henry’s better, but it could just be like the shading.” That being said, she admitted that she was a fan of the red underwear, citing its nostalgic qualities and how it made her think of Christopher Reeve‘s version of the superhero.

Of course, Durance is just one of millions who loved Cavill as Superman. While Man of Steel received a lot of stick about its ending and darker tones when it was released in 2013, it’s a comic book movie that’s aging like a fine wine. In an era in which everything looks and feels the same now, it dared to be different. If anything, there’s no disputing that Cavill looked like someone had pulled Superman straight from the comics and put him onscreen.

Considering all the wobbles at DC Studios right now, one wonders what the state of the franchise would be if Cavill and Co. had continued in their iconic roles. Would it be better or worse? Let’s not put on the rose-tinted glasses about the past just yet, because DC was in major disarray then as well. Nonetheless, there are still those on the internet hoping for the restoration of Zack Snyder’s Snyderverse. If we’re being entirely honest here, the chances of that happening are slim at best – if anything, Snyder may return to do a movie or two – but hey, in the wild world of Hollywood, never say never. Stranger things have happened.

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Smallville is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+.