Smallville‘s Clark Kent star, Tom Welling, shared a deeply moving encounter with a fan who visited the set through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, underscoring the unexpected emotional impact of the beloved superhero series, per parade.com.
Speaking at the 2025 Fan Expo Canada in August, Welling, who played Clark Kent throughout the show’s decade-long run, detailed the recent encounter at a convention in Denver.
A former Smallville viewer, now grown, approached Welling alongside his wife and children. The man presented Welling with a photograph: a picture of his younger self on the show’s set with Welling and co-star Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang).
The fan then revealed that the visit to the set during his childhood had been his Make-A-Wish gift while he was battling an unnamed illness.
“I get chills,” Welling said, pausing as emotion caught in his voice during the panel discussion. “And he’s like, ‘I just want you to know that I survived it. I had a family and it really meant a lot,'” Welling recounted.
The unexpected depth of the show’s influence was echoed by Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor.
“It’s amazing how like you don’t think this. You don’t think, ‘Wow, we’re going to touch people’s lives making a superhero show,'” Rosenbaum remarked. Both actors noted that they are frequently approached by fans who share how much Smallville, which aired from 2000 to 2010, means to them and their families.
The renewed appreciation Welling has for the series follows his earlier reflections. In a July 2025 appearance on Rosenbaum’s podcast, Inside of You, Welling admitted he struggled with the demanding schedule during filming and, at the time, wasn’t entirely proud of his work.
“I’m proud of it now. Where I don’t think I was proud of it when we were doing it,” Welling clarified in the podcast interview.
•Featured image: Tom Welling in 2010/Getty Images
