By Christina Radish
As things heat up in the season finale of The WB’s Smallville, actor John Glover, who plays Lionel Luther, tells MediaBlvd. Magazine that chaos will reign. In a rather unusual move, the day before they were to shoot the episode, the entire script was thrown out and rewritten.
“It was so exciting. Usually, we’re more organized than that. I think it added to the sense of the frenzy and chaos with everybody in Smallville. James Marsters has a lot to do with the chaos. Lionel is still trying to get into Martha Kent’s pants, or get closer to Martha. Martha is interested, but incredibly wary. Clark is realizing that Lionel knows some stuff that, maybe, could be dangerous. Lex is being a total asshole to Lionel, but Lionel is still trying to be a good father, in spite of Lex’s stubbornness. Everything is falling apart because the world goes into chaos.”
Born in Kingston, New York, and raised in Salisbury, Maryland, the 61-year-old Glover got a call just a couple of days before the Smallville pilot was set to begin shooting, asking him to fly to Vancouver, B.C. for a two-day shoot. “Somebody had fallen out, and there was no promise of being a part of the series. They said, ‘You might come back a few more times.’ I said, ‘Sure, I’ll go do it,’ because it looked interesting and fun, and then, they ended up using me eight times.”
{quote_top}“Initially, I had no contract. The next season, they wanted me more, so they offered me a contract, which meant that I, basically, sold my soul to The WB. For the first season, I was just a free agent and, for the last four, I’ve been a contract player, which I have loved immensely. It was kind of a surprise job that I never thought would turn into this. And, I never imagined the things that they’ve come up with for Lionel to play. Their imagination is just mind-boggling to me -- the different things that they’ve had me do. It’s an actor’s dream.”
Admittedly, Glover wasn’t much of a comic book fan growing up, even though he has been involved with various projects that originated with comics, including Smallville. The fact that Lionel is only mentioned in the comic book is something that Glover finds quite freeing.
“I enjoy the complexity of the character, and that he’s struggling so to want to influence his son. He doesn’t always go about it the right way, but he’s trying to get into his son’s life and become a bigger part of what Lex is.”
Having originally been drawn to exploring what it would be like to play such a powerful man, Glover was also interested in the role of Lionel Luther for more personal reasons. “My father who, during that first season died, was ailing at that point. My mother had died several years earlier and I started realizing that he had some Alzheimer’s dementia. I was struggling to get closer to him and make up for lost time, which was very difficult, and I was interested in exploring relationships between fathers and sons. This role was described to me as Lex Luthor’s father, so that father-son relationship was going to be dealt with. That’s one of the things that has made this job so wonderful -- that father-son relationship that Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor) and I get to explore.”
Throughout the show’s five seasons, Lionel Luther has evolved into a more emotional, feeling character than he was in the beginning. But, even before Lionel had such depth, Tony Award winner and five-time Emmy Award nominee Glover was able to identify with the character’s controlling nature.
“I’m trying to work on my need for control and let the forces of the universe guide me. And, the fact that I’m an only child meant that I didn’t have to share. That helps the power thing of Lionel’s needing everything to be his way. It’s interesting this year because Lionel is learning to surrender to the universe, so both he and I are following that path together. He’s become a bit more human.”
Because Lionel has been developing a deeper relationship with Martha Kent, Glover has had the opportunity to spend more time working with Annette O’Toole, whom he truly adores. “Annette and I have just been having such a grand time together. It’s quite a family we have there, in Smallville. Even when I was in college, I’ve never spent such a long time working with the same group of people. It’s quite wonderful, this loving family that Al Gough and Miles Millar have created.”
Currently in Pennsylvania rehearsing a play, Glover expects many of the Smallville actors and crew members to make the trip to Philly to see the show. “It’s called Some Men, by Terrence McNally, who wrote Love! Valour! Compassion! that I was in about 10 years ago, and won a Tony for. It’s at the Philadelphia Theatre Company (www.phillytheatreco.com), through June. Terrence is exploring, and pushing the envelope for, same sex marriage. We all play 6 or 7 characters, and it’s different scenes that deal with that theme. It’s quite exciting, very funny and rather moving.”
{quote_bottom}Although the Smallville cast has yet to receive confirmation that the series will be added to the schedule for the new CW network, the resurgence in popularity this season should assure it a place on the line-up. “Usually shows, in their fifth and sixth years, start to wane, but we have surged up in popularity, which is quite gratifying. I was in New York for four weeks, rehearsing the play, and now I’m in Philadelphia, and they’re both cities where one is out on the street, amongst the people. To have people just stop me and tell me how much they love the show and how excited they are about it, is just wonderful. It happens all the time, now more than ever.”
Considering Los Angeles his home now, Glover has chosen not to make the move to Vancouver, instead deciding to take the constant commute, when he is needed on the set.
“There’s a hotel that I check into, where I leave a couple of bags. I call them when I know I’m coming, and they put the bags in my room. It’s got my electric toothbrush in it, extra socks and underwear, and my ab roller, so I don’t have to bring everything up with me. I can travel pretty lightly, and go back and forth. I’m in an acting class that meets on Saturday mornings, so I can still go to that. I’ve got a lot of frequent flier miles on Alaska Air.”
Glover also manages to still find time to return to his alma mater, Towson University, in Maryland to teach. “I see these students who are where I was when I was first getting my passion and love for the theater, and my love for acting and storytelling. I go there and work with the students, and talk to them. I influence them and they influence me, which is very nice. I look forward to my trips back to Towson, every year.”
Even though he displays such passion for his craft and profession, Glover admits that he went through a period, about five years ago, where acting just wasn’t fun for him anymore. “I was getting so that I was not enjoying my work, and I didn’t know what was happening. It was devastating to me. Then, I entered this class, taught by Milton Katselas, and he changed my life. I just seem to know what I’m doing now. I’m in love with the profession again and I’m very happy to act. That’s why I love Smallville, and that’s why I’ve got to go do a play, every hiatus. I just like acting again, and it feels so good. I have Milton to thank for that.”
