After shooting a pilot scheduled for the CW that never took off, Cassidy Freeman, a.k.a. Tess Mercer, the new bad girl of “Smallville,” welcomes the chance to bring a new character to an already-established popular show, now in its eighth season. Freeman plays Mercer, the replacement for the evil iconic villain, Lex Luthor, and is a series regular.

“Smallville” revolves around the story of the young Superman of DC comics, and is basically his story before he became Superman. When the show began, Superman was still in high school; now he works at the Daily Planet. Freeman’s character has naturally evolved as well – she is the CEO of Lutherworld, and her character is a mix of Mercy Graves and Ms. Teschmacher.

In Hollywood, as the forces of good and evil, real and supernatural are forever in conflict and of great intrigue, shows based on superheroes and supervillains bring in strong ratings. Above all else, viewers wish to believe a bit of a superhero is hidden within, waiting to be revealed.

Freeman, however, explains and defends her character: “It’s great to be a villain. You get to do a lot of things that are more complex and different than the basic good guys.”

When asked her opinion of Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker in The Dark Knight, she states, “I think he did incredible work in that role. He went to a really dark place, and it shows.”

As Freeman soon wraps this season of “Smallville,” she shares a closing comment.

“Plenty of villains get their due praise in the end. They always have a seed of redemption in them, and you always want to see them do better!”



“Smallville” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.