Justin Hartley opens up about playing Green Arrow on Smallville
By Eric Bartsch
Justin Hartley, star of Smallville and This Is Us, chatted recently about what he liked when it came to playing Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow.
Arrow and the world-building presence of Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen in The CW’s Arrowverse are behind us. The funny thing is, thanks to the show’s largely successful eight-season run, almost everyone forgets a different actor played Queen and the Green Arrow before that on Smallville.
That actor was This Is Us star Justin Hartley, and he talked to Entertainment Weekly at SCAD’s aTVfest. Looking at Oliver Queen as “an essential part of the show,” Hartley reminisced and shared what he loved about playing Queen
Oliver often acted as a voice of reason and direction for Clark (Tom Welling), who was still feeling out being a hero and unsure about his destiny. Hartley said:
"“When you saw that show and you saw when Oliver came on and how he interacted with Clark and what he brought out in Clark and how he moved Clark in a direction where we know he’s going – Superman – it became like an essential part of the show and I’m really proud of it.”"
Hartley played Oliver in 72 episodes, beginning in season six and working all the way up to the series finale. He also directed a few episodes.
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His stint wasn’t meant to last that long at first. The episode count was initially under ten for a single story arc. “It was [originally] four or six episodes, this arc they had written for me,” said Hartley. “And then he was to be gone.”
The actor gives credit to “people that watched the show” and “loved this character” for helping him stick around. Viewers recognized “He had a lot to say,” explained Hartley.
He also was the first to wear a costume regularly which was verboten for the most part, especially in the first few seasons. Hartley reflected on that facet of playing Queen:
"“I remember talking to Al [Gough] and Miles [Millar], the creators of the show, and it was really important to dial that character in in a way that was pretty accurate to the way he was in the comics. And it was the first time — I think — on that show where you had a guy in a costume. He’s wearing the costume. I remember thinking, ‘We have a show about Superman but we don’t really have a character on the show that is in costume,’ so it was kind of cool.”"
He added how much he loved the fact Oliver was mortal and could get hurt and possibly die, similar to Batman, who Green Arrow effectively acted as a placeholder for on Smallville and in the Arrowverse.
Prior to his gig on The CW’s staple Superman show at the time, producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar became acquainted with Hartley on an Aquaman pilot they created that never made it to air. That pilot, for the curious, is currently streamable on DC Universe.
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Having played both Aquaman and Green Arrow, it might surprise you to learn Justin Hartley’s favorite comic character is Superman (according to Fandom). Maybe that isn’t such a shock after starring in Smallville for so many years.
Hartley’s other hit, This Is Us, is in its fourth season on NBC.
What did you think of Smallville and Justin Hartley’s turn as the Green Arrow? Leave a comment below.