Tyler Hoechlin distinctly remembers the day he was cast as The CW’s Superman in June of 2016. While driving back from a road trip to Zion National Park with his brother, Hoechlin received an unexpected phone call from his reps just as the pair was passing through Las Vegas. About a week earlier, he had met with executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg to discuss the idea of introducing the Man of Steel in the second season of Supergirl—but didn’t know what he was walking into until an hour before the meeting.
“One of my agents called me and said, ‘Hey, I think I might know what your meeting’s about.’ And they sent me this article that they were looking to cast Superman, and I was like, ‘Okay, maybe… Who knows?’” Hoechlin says over Zoom in a recent interview. “I went in and we talked for about a half an hour and got to know each other better. They said, ‘We’re looking to do this. Is that something you’d be interested in?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, sure. Let’s talk about it!’ We just talked about the character, what we found interesting about him, and it was just that one meeting.”
“I found out later through them that, apparently, that was the only meeting they took for the character,” he says with a laugh, “so they apparently saw something [in me].”
After making guest appearances on a bevy of Arrowverse shows, including Arrow, The Flash, Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow, Hoechlin, who never planned to sign on for more than a couple of high-stakes crossover episodes, discovered that Berlanti and Todd Helbing were developing a new show about Superman and Lois Lane in late 2018. Nearly a year later, Superman & Lois was announced, tasking the famous power couple with their most relatable challenge yet: parenting two teenage boys (among other things in Smallville).
“I always say that it’s not the role that I ever envisioned myself playing, but I think that’s maybe why I’m able to play it the way that I have been,” Hoechlin admits. “It’s been a lot of fun, and thankfully, it’s worked. I grew up with the idea of playing Batman, and I think if I was playing Batman, I’d be very aware that I was playing Batman. So it almost helps in the sense that, for whatever reason, this wasn’t in the forefront of my mind, and it’s made it easier to take on the role.”
FROM THE TIME he was cast more than five years ago, Hoechlin has worked diligently to emulate the Man of Tomorrow’s trademark physique, which he considers “a huge part of the character.” As a former college baseball player for Arizona State and UC Irvine, the 33-year-old says he’s adopted a similar mentality to prepare for his most physically demanding roles, from his early days as Derek Hale on MTV’s supernatural teen drama Teen Wolf to his current portrayal of Clark Kent (and that legendary alter-ego). [More at Source]
