An Interview With Cassidy Freeman (Tess, 'Smallville')

When we learned that Lex Luthor (a.k.a. Michael Rosenbaum) was leaving Smallville, many of us worried that the show might be hard-pressed to produce another nemesis for Clark who would be equally as compelling.

As season eight approached, we learned that the man of steel would get not one, but two dangerous characters to keep him busy. While Doomsday keeps Clark busy in a physical sense, Tess Mercer is proving a challenge to him in many other ways as she digs deep into his darkest secrets.

I had the opportunity to speak with the very lovely, outgoing and highly-likable Cassidy Freeman about her new role on the hit CW show and how she got involved in acting. One thing is for sure, Cassidy is absolutely nothing like her character!

Q: When did you decide to get into acting?

Cassidy: "I was sort of thrown into acting as a young child. Both of my brothers are actors and they had been doing it for a while. My dad is an avid lover of the opera and I grew up in downtown Chicago and he thought 'what could make opera better than having my kids on stage.' So, he would throw us in the operas as the supers, who are the little kids who are in operas. At a very young age I got used to being around actors and make-up and the stage and I just never stopped. It was really fun. I was one of those annoying kids who were always on the stage somewhere."

Q: What do you think you'd be doing career-wise if you hadn't pursued acting?

Cassidy: "I have an absolute obsession with animals, especially my dog. I have a Swiss Mountain dog and she's the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to be a vet for a long time. I was also very interested in marine biology, diving and marine mammal life."

Q: How did the role of Tess come to you?

Cassidy: "I did a pilot for the CW last April (2008) and it didn't go, but it was so much fun to do. I met people at the CW because of that and this audition came up. I went to the first audition and went through all the steps and the call backs. It just worked out I guess, they wanted me."

Q: Were you already a fan of Smallville?

Cassidy: "No, I honestly hadn't seen a lot of it. It was one of those shows that started while I was in college, so I wasn't really at a TV watching point. Once I got out of college and moved to L.A., I started watching all the shows to find out what was hip because I was sort of granoled out from college. I had seen it, but once I got the role, I kept watching it and have now become an avid fan."

Q: Have you now watched every season?

Cassidy: "Yeah, I worked through them all. It was really fun to actually get to know the actors and then get to know their characters as well."

Q: How did TPTB (the powers that be) describe this role to you?

Cassidy: "They gave me a lot of what was given in episode one and three. She came from very little. Unlike Lex, she was not born into a family of power. She's into marine biology and graduated college at a very early age. They gave me the bare bones and told me whatever that does to you, whoever that makes you, go with it. Obviously, she comes out of the gate pretty evil, angry, selfish, confidant and strong. I had to ask myself why she does the things she does. It was really wonderful as an actor, an incredible gift for a show to give me that kind of freedom and creative input."

Q: As a woman, would you say Tess can be a role model for young girls or is she someone they should stay away from?

Cassidy: "As Tess I would say she's a role model because she has had to fight through all this stuff. As Cassidy, I'm not sure I would say the same thing. I think we all have skeletons in the closet, we've all done things we wish we hadn't. There are parts of her that I definitely support -- being strong, being confidant. The parts I don't support are revenge or illegal activity."

Q: What can you tell us about what's ahead on Smallville?

Cassidy: "The relationship and connection with Oliver is growing. My wish to find Lex is growing and this needs to come to a head at some point because that's the reason I came on. That's really all I can tell you at this point."

Q: Do you know how long will Tess be around?

Cassidy: "I don't. I know that I'm on for this season and if the show goes further, they have me, so it's up to the producers and writers."

Q: Any future projects?

Cassidy: "I'm working on a horror movie, but I don't know if I'll in fact be in it. I was just on Cold Case, which was really fun because I got to die - I was shot in the back."

Q: Are there any TV shows you watch on a regular basis?

Cassidy: "I have my guilty pleasures.... I'm not a huge advocate for reality television. I come from a time where Star Search was really the only reality show. I do love to watch Top Chef because I love to cook. In terms of dramatic shows, I love Brothers & Sisters. I think the acting on that show is phenomenal! I have a pretty wacky family, so I think I can relate to their familial controversies quite well."

Q: Anything to say to the fans?

Cassidy: "Thank you! Thank you for watching, thank you for caring. I'm so stoked and I hope you guys get to love Tess as much as I do."