Smallville “Jitters” guest Tony Todd has died at the age of 69

Creation Entertainments “Greetings to Smallville” The convention is taking place this weekend in Parsnippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey (read more about it here), and KryptonSite’s Craig Byrne will be there and a part of it, along with a host of guests from the series, including Tom Welling , Kristin Kreuk and Erica Durance, Michael Rosenbaum, John Glover, Laura Vandervoort and Aaron Ashmore. In anticipation of the event on October 5th and 6th, we were able to interview Erica – our first conversation since Smallville was on air! – to learn more about the convention experience and her return as Lois Lane Crisis, The Smallville animation project and more. Enjoy!

CRAIG BYRNE from KRYPTONSITE: I know you’ve attended conventions before, but how does it feel to host the first one dedicated entirely to the topic? Smallville Convention?

ERICA DURANCE: A little nerve-wracking and also fantastic. I look forward to it. I’m looking forward to spending more time with the fans. Creation hosts these really great events. They have a good schedule and such good ideas about what we can do and how we can interact. I’m really looking forward to being a part of it and seeing everyone.

What can fans look forward to at this event?

I know we’ll be doing panels. I know the guys have their “Smallville Nights” which are super, super fun. I think the fans really enjoy us sitting around the table and chatting. Many of us spend a lot of time there talking to people. And photo ops! I’m not sure what else they accuse us of, but I know we spend a lot more time with the fans, which is why we do it!

When you got the call to play Lois Lane again Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover, was that something you ever expected or did you just think you were already Alura and that’s it?

I just thought I was Alura and that was it and I moved on to other things. Then I was working on a movie for a friend and in the middle of the show I got a text and I was just so excited. I couldn’t believe it! I was really excited. I was very excited.

They wrote a really fun little scene for me and Welling is so easy to work with. We have a really good repartee and I felt like we had seen each other the day before and I hadn’t seen him in 10 years. It was great.

Would you have liked to have spent more time seeing what Lois was up to these days?

Oh, sure! I enjoyed playing her. I was very lucky to be able to do it. I always know that the people behind all of this, who write these different versions, these different scenes and these different shows, are so good that I don’t worry about that part as much. I know I’m going to do something fun and different, and every scene is unique. So, yes, I would have liked to have done a little more.

At this convention you’ll reunite with some of your castmates, but you’ll also have an episode of Murder in a small town That’s what you did with Kristin. Were there any scenes together and did you know it was Kristin’s show when you booked her?

Oh yes. She called me! And we had a lot together and it was great fun. You know, except for a few times we worked together Smallville, We didn’t work that much [together] professional. We’ve been really good friends for years and have done other things but not worked together.

I remember feeling like I was about 20 years old again. I started looking at her and we were at the circus and I looked down and we were both just screaming. People don’t know we’ve known each other for so long, right? It was so cool.

Fans also loved when you appeared on the Tom and Michael podcast. Could it be that you will appear more often in the future?

I don’t know. It depends on the schedule and the timing and what they’re doing and what I’m doing, but it’s always nice to come back and chat about certain episodes and how we felt doing different things.

Does your impression of Smallville What changed after you started hosting conventions?

I wouldn’t say that much because I came into this show knowing that it was successful. I knew it was special. I was thrilled to be a part of it. I wasn’t as ingrained in it as Welling in the sense that he was there the whole time, and I had a little bit of that objective bird’s eye view of, “Hey, you know, I know what the fans are thinking.” I know that I do excited because I know they will like it. And I would say I’m surprised at how long it’s been since we’re talking about it again, but not in a negative way. It’s wonderful.

What do you think is the magical chemistry between Lois and Clark, if it’s true? Smallville or other projects? Why do they work so well?

I think they balance each other’s strengths and weaknesses, regardless of the incarnation you see. There are moments where Clark is very, very strong and a hero and can do whatever he needs to do and help Lois, who is a strong woman but needs help. And then you’ll see the flip side of that, where it’s in their humanity that he feels a certain connection. I think it’s the balance between both sides or parts of yourself and it just seems to work.

I know meeting Margot Kidder at a convention was an unforgettable experience for you, but is there another Lois Lane actor you’d like to meet one day?

I would like to meet Teri Hatcher. I’ve never met her!

What other projects do you have coming up?

I did the show for Kristin [Murder in a Small Town]and then two Christmas movies come out on Hallmark. They are a small departure for me and I am thrilled with them. In one I play a 1960s housewife, and in the next one, which I’m currently filming, I’m the queen mother of – it’s not a fantasy land, but it’s not a real country either [either]. She cares about her daughter and tries to put her on the right path. For me, these are really different roles, but I really enjoy them because they’re pretty far removed from the person I really am. It actually felt quite good.

Do you want to do the animation project that Tom and Michael want to get started?

Absolutely. I think it would be great. Especially when they have Al and Miles [Gough and Millar, the creators of Smallville] There’s something behind it that they seem to be talking about…then you know there’s going to be some level of consistency in the characters, the dialogue, all that kind of stuff.

Have your kids found out you played Lois Lane yet?

You don’t really know what that means yet. They don’t think it’s that cool. They think Superman’s pretty cool, but I think that in real life I’m just so different from what they see up there that it’s really hard for them to understand that as if their mother was in any way a reasonable one would have played a cool character.

They just think I’m the biggest nerd and find it strange that Mommy is considered cool.

One time they didn’t think I was tough, so I was like, “Let me show you a few things.” I just uploaded a lot of my fights to YouTube [as Lois]and they said, “Mommy, you were mad!” And I was like, “Don’t mess with me, is all I’m saying.” Now they call me Big Mama. “Don’t mess with Big Mama!”

What do you hope fans get out of this convention experience?

I hope that their interactions are positive enough for them and they are able to say the things they have wanted to say for a long time. I know many people travel with family and friends. I just hope it’s a really fun, good, positive weekend for them.

Tickets for “Salute to Smallville” are still available! Get your photo ops, autographs and event tickets HERE! Many thanks to Erica Durance for taking the time to speak with us.