The DC TV show Smallville tells a sprawling Superman origin story over the course 10 years. Unusual for most Superman adaptations, Smallville is not a Superman TV show, per se, but a saga of the journey Clark Kent (Tom Welling) takes to becoming the Man of Steel. This means that Welling’s Clark Kent is one of the youngest live-action versions of the character ever portrayed, with Smallville first beginning during his freshman year of high school and abiding a “no tights, no flights” rule for most of the show.
As with most movies and TV shows centered on adolescents, the main Smallville cast were all somewhat older than the characters they played on the show. Additionally, the exact ages of the show’s adult characters is not always made clear, but can be inferred from the story, along with where Clark is in developing his powers and his journey to becoming Superman. Here are the ages of the main characters of Smallville, and how close they are to the ages of the actors and actresses playing them.
9 Tom Welling (24) As Clark Kent (14)
While Tom Welling was 24 years old when Smallville first began in 2001, his Clark is about 14 years old and possibly nearly 15 when the story starts. With Smallville covering a decade of Clark’s journey, he’s about 24 to 25 years old in the final episode of Smallville, and then about 32 to 33 in the series finale’s final scene set in 2018 (Welling himself being 34 years old at the conclusion of Smallville). Additionally, Tom Welling also returned at the age of 42 for the Arrowverse’s crossover event Crisis On Infinite Earths, playing a Clark Kent of roughly the same age.
8 Kristin Kreuk (19) As Lana Lang (14)
Kristin Kreuk plays Clark Kent’s teenage love interest Lana Lang on Smallville, with Lana also being a high school freshman when the show begins, making her about 14 in the show’s pilot. Kreuk herself was 19 when Smallville began in 2001, and would remain on the show through the middle of season 8. Kreuk was about 27 years old when her tenure as Lana Lang ended, while Lana would have been about 22 at that point (though Lana later returned in Smallville‘s season 11 comic book continuation).
7 Michael Rosenbaum (27) As Lex Luthor (About 22)
While Michael Rosenbaum himself was 27 years old when Smallville first began, Lex Luthor’s age is not entirely clear, but he is definitely a few years older than Clark. With the young Lex (played by Matthew Munn) in Smallville‘s pilot appearing to be around 9 or 10 years old and the story then picking up 12 years later, Lex seems to be about 22 years old. Following Lex’s death and return in the final season, this would make Lex about 30 when Smallville ends and 38 in the show’s final scene, in which Lex Luthor has finally become a villain as well as President, with Michael Rosenbaum being about 39.
6 Allison Mack (19) As Chloe Sullivan (14)
Clark’s inquisitive friend and budding journalist Chloe Sullivan is a high school freshman like him and Lana at the beginning of Smallville, making her approximately 14 years old. Meanwhile, Allison Mack began on Smallville at the age of 19, with Mack being about 29 in Smallville‘s 2011 conclusion. Given the 10-year story of Smallville, this makes Chloe about 24 when Smallville‘s main story ends, and about Clark’s age of 32 to 33 in its final scene in 2018.
5 Annette O’Toole (49) As Martha Kent (Late-40s)
Kal-El’s adoptive mother Martha Kent was played by Annette O’Toole on Smallville, with O’Toole being 49 when Smallville first kicked off. That said, Smallville does not overtly state Martha’s age, but she seems to be roughly within O’Toole’s own age range. Assuming Martha is about in her mid-30s when Clark’s ship lands and her late-40s when Smallville‘s present day story starts, she is also somewhere in her late-50s in Smallville‘s final season, O’Toole herself being 59 at the time.
4 John Schneider (51) As Jonathan Kent (Early-50s)
John Schneider was about 51 years old when he first debuted as Jonathan Kent on Smallville, but like Martha, Jonathan’s age is never made explicitly clear. Still, Smallville‘s version of Jonathan is likely about the same age as Schneider, placing Jonathan in his early-to-mid-40s during the meteor shower in which Clark arrives to Earth. Jonathan tragically dies in Smallville season 5, specifically in the show’s 100th episode, “Reckoning,” meaning that Jonathan only lived to about his mid-50s. However, with Jonathan playing several spiritual visits to Clark after his death, he still feels tremendous pride in raising the future Superman.
3 Erica Durance (25) As Lois Lane (About 20)
Smallville‘s version of Lois Lane is introduced as Chloe Sullivan’s cousin, and she’s a bit older than Chloe, Clark, and Lana. While Lois’s age is never stated outright, she’s a few years removed from high school when she first debuts in Smallville, so it’s a good guess that Lois is about 20 years old. Erica Durance herself was about 25, and 35 upon Smallville‘s finale, so the show’s 10-season run would make Lois about 30 when Smallville ends, and 38 in the final scene set in 2018. Like Clark, Lois also returned in Crisis On Infinite Earths, Durance about 43 at the time and Lois about in her mid-40s herself.
2 Aaron Ashmore (27) As Jimmy Olsen (Early-20s)
Aaron Ashmore portrays Smallville‘s version of Jimmy Olsen, with Ashmore being 27 at the time and his Jimmy in Lois, Clark, and Chloe’s approximate age group despite his age not being stated. Jimmy is killed by David Bloome (Sam Witwer) in Smallville‘s season 8 finale, “Doomsday,” with the show revealing him to be Henry James Olsen, and his younger brother James Bartholomew Olsen becoming the Daily Planet photographer in the show’s final scene. With the younger Jimmy looking to be around 12 years old at his brother’s funeral, that makes him about 22 in Smallville‘s finale (with the then-32 year old Ashmore returning as the grown version of Jimmy).
1 John Glover (57) As Lionel Luthor (Early-50s)
Lionel Luthor is another Smallville character with a somewhat ambiguous age, but John Glover provides some indication of his age. Glover was 57 in Smallville‘s first season, so Lionel is likely in his early 50s when Smallville begins. After Lionel goes from villain to hero, he is likely around 60 when he is murdered by Lex in season 7 while protecting Clark’s secret. Glover himself was 63 at the time, and would later return as the far more evil Lionel from another universe (and even possessed by Darkseid) in Smallville‘s final season, with John Glover being about 67 in the Smallville finale and the Lionel doppelganger probably about the same age.
