Entrevistas a Sam Witwer & Cassidy Freeman (Davis/Doomsday & Tess)

Doom with a View: Sam Witwer Previews Smallville's Return

What will be the fallout of the ultimate wedding-crashing? The CW's Smallville resumes its eighth season this Thursday at 8 pm/ET, and Sam Witwer is here to share a look at what's ahead for mild-mannered David Bloome and his less-mannered alter ego.

TVGuide.com: When Smallville first approached you, how up front were they about who and what they wanted you to play?
Sam Witwer: Oh, they lied. They just lied left and right. No, they were very up front. I walked into a room full of producers, and they started telling me this story about a guy named Davis ... who winds up eventually being Doomsday. [Doomsday] was something that I had just become aware of, because two weeks before I had downloaded on Xbox Live the Superman: Doomsday [animated movie].

TVGuide.com: That was rather fortuitous.
Witwer: Yeah, it was kinda weird. I was like, "Oh, I know who that guy is — a big ugly dude," so of course one of my first questions was, "Um, are you going to have me wear some kind of suit, costume...?" Thankfully, they were like, "No..."

TVGuide.com: That definitely was not you in that costume during "Bride."
Witwer: No. I wish I was 6-foot-8. That guy [playing Doomsday] is huge, and he's really cool. The costume they created is literally that character form the comic book. They did a great job.

TVGuide.com: They were very smart about how to approach the character. We all know how he looks in the comic books, but how do you bring that to the small screen on a Smallville budget? Between the "Cloverfield camera work" and the lights out and the quick cutting, they pulled it off.
Witwer: That was something that we talked about very early on. We brought up Jaws and how that was a better movie because you barely ever saw the shark. It's cooler if you don't see what you're afraid of very clearly. You'll get a few more looks at Doomsday later on, but the lighting is always a certain way, so....

TVGuide.com: We'll never see him walking down the street in broad daylight.
Witwer: Right, he's not going to be out buying a hot dog, or playing Xbox with Clark.

TVGuide.com: That euphoric look on Chloe's face at the end of "Bride" - was she happy to see Davis, or are we looking at a giddy Brainiac?
Witwer: [Laughs] Do you really expect a spoiler on that one?! Either one of those could be true. We know she's being influenced by the whole Brainiac thing, but my feeling on that is that these people are, aside from that, very compatible as friends - and as more than friends.

TVGuide.com: How in the world is Chloe going to move on from this run-in with Davis' nasty alter ego?
Witwer: That's a good question, isn't it? Chloe has her alter ego as well, so that plays into how she is going to progress as a character.

TVGuide.com: Is it safe to say that things are kaput between her and Jimmy?
Witwer: Jimmy.... [Sighs] I'm hoping the guy pulls through. I didn't mean to hurt him. Maybe I'll go offer some moral support at the hospital.

TVGuide.com: What's that part of the Hippocratic oath - "First do no harm, unless you're a giant monster with bony protrusions"?
Witwer: "And at that point, rip their chest out." That's the unspoken part.

TVGuide.com: Do you think Davis' feelings for Chloe are genuine?
Witwer: Absolutely. There are other takes to be had on that, and you'll see those in upcoming episodes. But that's certainly the way I play it.

TVGuide.com: In the Jan. 15 episode, some members of the Legion of Super-Heroes show up. Are they there to help give Doomsday a beat-down, or are they a FEMA-like clean-up crew?
Witwer: [Laughs] It's sort of in between. You'll have to wait and see.

TVGuide.com: Would you like to see the season end with a big cage match between Doomy and not Clark but Superman?
Witwer: That's the thing, man - how are you going to do that? If you follow the mythology, he's got to be Superman first. But it's Doomsday, and his whole purpose is to wipe this guy out. So my take is yeah, they've got to throw down in some way, shape or form. I'm not talking about a chess match, but a real fight. If they don't, why is Doomsday on the show?

TVGuide.com: Is Allison Mack going to be directing you soon?
Witwer: I'm not sure if I'm in the episode that's she's directing; I think I'm not, which is too bad, because I really enjoy working with Allison.

TVGuide.com: You did a few episodes of Dexter during its first season. Did you have a sense that the show would have some legs?
Witwer: Oh yeah. That was a huge deal for me because until then I kept getting cast in the same types of roles, and Dexter wanted me to play this very eccentric computer nerd. I was thankful they believed I could do that! I went in originally for the character of Tony Tucci, who gets sort of disassembled by the Ice Truck Killer but survives. Then I read later for this guy who gives Doakes some trouble — and in the second script he turns into Kevin Spacey from Seven. That was an incredible experience.

TVGuide.com: I'm sure your female fans would say you're not the computer nerd type.
Witwer: Perhaps not! [Laughs] In any case, actors are in theory supposed to be able to inhabit different types of roles, and that's what I enjoy doing. I get to be the villain on Smallville, the space hero in [the videogame] Star Wars[: The Force Unleashed], the strange deviant on Dexter.... Weird, strange roles! The most normal guy I've gotten to play was in [the 2007 movie] The Mist, and look how that turned out for me. Not so good. Killed horribly.

source: TV Guide

When we learned that Lex Luthor (a.k.a. Michael Rosenbaum) was leaving Smallville, many of us worried that the show might be hard-pressed to produce another nemesis for Clark who would be equally as compelling.

As season eight approached, we learned that the man of steel would get not one, but two dangerous characters to keep him busy. While Doomsday keeps Clark busy in a physical sense, Tess Mercer is proving a challenge to him in many other ways as she digs deep into his darkest secrets.

I had the opportunity to speak with the very lovely, outgoing and highly-likable Cassidy Freeman about her new role on the hit CW show and how she got involved in acting. One thing is for sure, Cassidy is absolutely nothing like her character!

Q: When did you decide to get into acting?

Cassidy: "I was sort of thrown into acting as a young child. Both of my brothers are actors and they had been doing it for a while. My dad is an avid lover of the opera and I grew up in downtown Chicago and he thought 'what could make opera better than having my kids on stage.' So, he would throw us in the operas as the supers, who are the little kids who are in operas. At a very young age I got used to being around actors and make-up and the stage and I just never stopped. It was really fun. I was one of those annoying kids who were always on the stage somewhere."

Q: What do you think you'd be doing career-wise if you hadn't pursued acting?

Cassidy: "I have an absolute obsession with animals, especially my dog. I have a Swiss Mountain dog and she's the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to be a vet for a long time. I was also very interested in marine biology, diving and marine mammal life."

Q: How did the role of Tess come to you?

Cassidy: "I did a pilot for the CW last April (2008) and it didn't go, but it was so much fun to do. I met people at the CW because of that and this audition came up. I went to the first audition and went through all the steps and the call backs. It just worked out I guess, they wanted me."

Q: Were you already a fan of Smallville?

Cassidy: "No, I honestly hadn't seen a lot of it. It was one of those shows that started while I was in college, so I wasn't really at a TV watching point. Once I got out of college and moved to L.A., I started watching all the shows to find out what was hip because I was sort of granoled out from college. I had seen it, but once I got the role, I kept watching it and have now become an avid fan."

Q: Have you now watched every season?

Cassidy: "Yeah, I worked through them all. It was really fun to actually get to know the actors and then get to know their characters as well."

Q: How did TPTB (the powers that be) describe this role to you?

Cassidy: "They gave me a lot of what was given in episode one and three. She came from very little. Unlike Lex, she was not born into a family of power. She's into marine biology and graduated college at a very early age. They gave me the bare bones and told me whatever that does to you, whoever that makes you, go with it. Obviously, she comes out of the gate pretty evil, angry, selfish, confidant and strong. I had to ask myself why she does the things she does. It was really wonderful as an actor, an incredible gift for a show to give me that kind of freedom and creative input."

Q: As a woman, would you say Tess can be a role model for young girls or is she someone they should stay away from?

Cassidy: "As Tess I would say she's a role model because she has had to fight through all this stuff. As Cassidy, I'm not sure I would say the same thing. I think we all have skeletons in the closet, we've all done things we wish we hadn't. There are parts of her that I definitely support -- being strong, being confidant. The parts I don't support are revenge or illegal activity."

Q: What can you tell us about what's ahead on Smallville?

Cassidy: "The relationship and connection with Oliver is growing. My wish to find Lex is growing and this needs to come to a head at some point because that's the reason I came on. That's really all I can tell you at this point."

Q: Do you know how long will Tess be around?

Cassidy: "I don't. I know that I'm on for this season and if the show goes further, they have me, so it's up to the producers and writers."

Q: Any future projects?

Cassidy: "I'm working on a horror movie, but I don't know if I'll in fact be in it. I was just on Cold Case, which was really fun because I got to die - I was shot in the back."

Q: Are there any TV shows you watch on a regular basis?

Cassidy: "I have my guilty pleasures.... I'm not a huge advocate for reality television. I come from a time where Star Search was really the only reality show. I do love to watch Top Chef because I love to cook. In terms of dramatic shows, I love Brothers & Sisters. I think the acting on that show is phenomenal! I have a pretty wacky family, so I think I can relate to their familial controversies quite well."

Q: Anything to say to the fans?

Cassidy: "Thank you! Thank you for watching, thank you for caring. I'm so stoked and I hope you guys get to love Tess as much as I do."
fuente http://tvdramas.about.com/od/smallville/a/cassidyfreeman.htm