Eric Johnson as Whitney Fordman on Smallville. Photo copyright of The WB Network.
In today's Sci-Fi Blast From The Past, Eric Johnson talks about his role of Whitney Fordman on Smallville.
With his blond hair and good looks it is no surprise that Whitney Fordman is one of the most popular teens at Smallville High. The star quarterback is dating the beautiful Lana Lang, whom Clark Kent also secretly admirers from afar. Lana says her feelings for Clark are the same as those she would have for a brother, but Whitney is not so sure. The Fordmans own a sporting goods store in town and would like to see Whitney one day take over the family business. He, on the other hand, is not as keen on the idea. The last thing this golden boy wants is to be stuck in Smallville for the rest of his life. Clearly, there is more to Whitney than meets the eye, which pleases the young man playing him, Smallville’s Eric Johnson.
“Whitney started out as your typical high school jock,” says the actor, “but I knew that there would be other sides to him and so did the writers. It was just a question of how much to reveal and how soon. I was also aware that he was going to be the antagonist on the show when it came to Clark’s [Tom Welling] and Lana’s [Kristin Kruek] relationship. As the season has progressed, the dynamic between Whitney and both those characters has changed. With Clark, he’s gone from utterly despising him, to tolerating him and, finally, understanding the guy. Whitney now knows why Lana likes Clark and enjoys spending time with him; it’s because he’s a good person. So he doesn’t get nearly as jealous,” jokes Johnson, “although he can still sometimes be overprotective of Lana.
“That’s something that had to change, too. Whitney had to realize he couldn’t be as protective of Lana and still be with her. He needed to loosen his grip, figuratively speaking, and allow her to be her own person and live her life. Their relationship has had its share of ups and downs this year, mainly because of some problems that Whitney’s been having. At least it keeps things interesting for the fans. I’ve got to say, though, that Whitney has definitely matured and become more responsible and adult-like in how he deals with situations. I’m not implying he was behaving immaturely, but rather just being a teenager. Now he’s beginning to figure out what life is all about.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, photo copyright of The WB Network, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
Comments