Tom Cavanagh Surprises With Glorious Early Entry Onto 'Superman & Lois'
Apparently all is not Wells with Tom Cavanagh’s face across the Arrowverse multiverse, as the showrunners discuss bringing him on
It’s been a bit since I’ve been able to cover Superman & Lois. Guess I couldn’t keep up week to week. Since covering the episode 3 preview clip, Sam Lane (played by Dylan Walsh) has died, Superman was (inevitably) revived, Jonathan (Michael Bishop)’s powers manifested, Kyle (Erik Valdez) and Chrissy (Sofia Hasmik) slowed down their wedding to better pace themselves, Elizabeth Luthor (Elizabeth Henstridge) showed up pregnant and ultimately disowned her vengeance-blinded father, and biggest of all, Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) revealed he was Superman in a national TV interview after coming clean to Smallville. So with the fallout of that, viewers headed into what seemed to be a Lex-centric eighth episode of the season, called "Sharp Dressed Man". Directed by Lex’s actor, Michael Cudlitz, they were pretty straightaway met with a familiar face earlier than expected.
Back in May, director Tom Cavanagh, better known for his appearances as the multiverse of Harrison Wellses and the Eobard Thawne Reverse Flash that stole his likeness across all nine seasons of The Flash with over six as a series regular, revealed he would have an on-camera role in the series finale. Come Monday, there he is, playing a character rather well-known in the DC canon, Glorious Godfrey, or how he’s known in his human form, G. Gordon Godfrey. A native of Apokolips, the adaptations nail the superhero-smearing propagandist hack sensationalist journalism. Superman & Lois is no different, though they never quite tap into the fact that he is indeed powered. Just hypnotism, but still. Here, he hosts a talk show Godfrey! Which felt very Gutfeld! but extra plugged in to social media because well, he’s not out of touch. He’s hosting a live televised debate between Lex and Lois (Bitsie Tulloch), prefaced with one-on-one interviews though it didn’t look very debatey. Lois nearly won as she was about to bring Elizabeth on (probably remotely) to back her up in exposing his misdeeds on the air. Amanda, played by Yvonne Chapman could see it too, so she had Milton Fine aka Brainiac (Nikolai Witschl) hijack John Henry Irons (Wole Parks)’ suit to draw Clark away from the debate and spring into action. The CW later uploaded this sequence and the start of the ensuing fight scene.
When co-showrunner Brent Fletcher was asked why Cavanagh, he said “He’s hilarious and has more energy than a 10-year-old. [The character is] not like him at all, but he can play that guy perfectly.” Other co-showrunner Todd Helbing added “It was the no-brainer of all time.” If the series finale statement is to be believed, we will see Godfrey again, though to what extent that will be is unclear.
Cudlitz was thrilled to work with Cavanagh on multiple angles, as director and actor, saying “He’s not only a cast favorite but also a crew favorite, and he was wonderful to have on set. He’s a lot of fun, he has a lot of energy, he’s incredibly creative, and he’s not afraid to throw out everything he’s done and come up with something new. He’s also incredibly supportive, so I was grateful to have him on set. He’s a hoot.” The episode also saw Lois learn that she’s officially cancer-free, while Clark learned that his new heart, which he got from Gen. Lane, is being so overworked that it’s affecting his Kryptonian healing abilities and physical strength. Heart failure is inevitable. He tells Jordan and Jonathan so they’re aware that the day they lose him again will likely be coming sooner than they expected. As they dealt with that, Lex and Amanda, after an earlier kiss, held hands as Brainiac’s work upgrading the hijacked Steel suit was well underway. The episode also featured a much higher amount of Jamie Kennedy mentions than a typical show of these times would.
If you’re not a comic reader and engage in DC Comics through its adaptations, you might be most familiar with Godfrey’s most prominent iteration from Young Justice, voiced by Tim Curry, the first to actually acknowledge his Apokolips origins when he’s summoned to Darkseid there. In Outsiders, produced after Curry’s stroke, he’s voiced by James Arnold Taylor. On Justice League, he appeared in the “Eclipsed” story voiced by Just Shoot Me’s Enrico Colantoni. Two episodes of Superman & Lois remain, so with less than a week left until “To Live and Die Again”, their placements are likely solidified, meaning the series finale “It Went By So Fast” will air Monday, December 2 at 8 PM on The CW.
Source: TVLine