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SupergirlSmallville's Allison Mack shares her thoughts on curvy girls, ice-cream, and being the obstacle
by Tara O'Shea
Allison Mack, who has been in the entertainment industry since she was four years old, is no stranger to interviews. When told that her interviewer, however, is a bit nervous, the actress laughs from her new home in Vancouver where—at the time of this phone call—she is in the midst of preparing to head down to Los Angeles for the weekend.
"Don't be nervous! Oh my God, don't worry about it. I should be nervous. I'm the one who's getting interviewed."
Since Smallville premiered on the WB last fall, a number of fan sites dedicated to Mack and the character she plays, intrepid teenaged reporter Chloe Sullivan, have popped up on the Internet as the fans embraced both the actress and the character. However, Mack originally stayed away from the 'net and was unaware of her online fanbase.
"I've always been taught 'Don't go on the internet!' because if someone says something mean about you—as an actor, we're so neurotic. Our egos are so fragile that someone can say twenty nice things about you, but the one person that says something bad, that's the one you remember. So I hadn't really started even looking at the internet web sites until my agent called and told me, 'You know, you should really check this out. It's so cool. Go look at it.' And wow!
"It's really cool, actually. Really cool. It's hard playing opposite Kristin Kreuk and Tom Welling, because they're such beautiful, wonderful people. So it's like, you almost feel like you need to compensate for that in other things that you do. But to be so embraced by the fans, and to have so many people supporting you kind of shows me that I don't need to prove myself in any other way—that I don't need to compensate. That it doesn't matter—they like me just because I'm me. And that's pretty cool. It always feels good. The biggest compliment for an actor is applause, so it just feels fantastic. It's very encouraging."
As Smallville has headed into its second season to rave reviews and higher ratings that mark it as a bona fide hit, one of the constants for many fans has been the fact that as opposed to crush-next-door Lana Lang, fans could relate more easily to Chloe Sullivan.
"I think that that's because they allow Chloe to have faults," she muses. "Lana is this perfect girl, because it's all seen through—what Clark wants. And it's hard to identify with someone who is perfect, because no one is perfect. Whereas they're allowing Chloe to have faults, and to make mistakes, and to not be very good at certain things, and I think that that makes her more—a little easier to identify with. It's cool. I like playing her," she says with a laugh that makes it easy to picture the actress with her trademark 100 megawatt grin.
"She's also smart—it's so hard to find a character that's intelligent on television. Especially for a young woman. It's nice to have to look through the script with a dictionary sometimes."
Mack brought so much quirky charm to the reporter with a mad crush on her best friend that she quickly won loyal fans, who also enjoy the fact that Mack represents a rarity on the WB Network—a gorgeous girl with curves.
"Curvy girl," Allison repeats with a laugh. "That's a huge, huge thing—a huge step to take in this industry. Being curvy and voluptuous, and not being a twig. I had a lot of problems with it, when I was younger, and just finally accepting yourself and having someone else that loves you for who you are and what you look like really makes a difference. I mean, to come home every day to someone that says 'You're beautiful, and I like you the way you are, so don't change it.' It makes a really big difference. And it was really important to me not to fall into the mold of stick-thin, 'perfect' body girl, because that's not obtainable. That's not realistic. I wanted to represent something that is realistic and is obtainable."
However, fans of Smallville might be curious to note that Mack almost never got the chance to bring intrepid reporter Chloe to life on the small screen.
"Chloe was supposed to be ethnic originally," Mack explains. "So, I walked into the room on my first audition, and thought 'Okay. I think I'm probably in the wrong room,' because I was the only white girl in the room. I read for the part and they didn't ask me back, obviously, because I was the wrong look. Then they couldn't find anybody that they wanted for the character, and they found Sam [Jones III] for Pete and fell in love with him, so they came back and said 'Hey, do you want to come back and read again?'
"I had actually planned to go to Santa Barbara with my boyfriend, and so I kind of went 'Ah, no, it's okay. I'm going to Santa Barbara with my boyfriend, and I don't want to interrupt my vacation...' And my agent called me and told me "Allison? You have to go back on that audition. You have no idea how big this series is.' So I said "Oh! Okay," and I went back, and four days later had the part."
It's Mack's balance of her professional life and her personal life that the actress firmly believes keeps her sane.
"It's very important, because the industry can eat you alive. I know from personal experience that you really can lose who you are and what's important. So you really have to sit down and think about what's important to you. Think about what's going to keep you grounded and what's going to keep you you. You get so many people who try to mold you into so many different things that you have to have a huge—cement. Something in yourself that keeps you authentic. That keeps you real. That keeps you who you were before you became successful. So I think that my personal life does that for me.
"My boyfriend, my family, my friends—they're so important to me not only because I love them, but because they are my cement. They keep me grounded. They keep my feet on the ground. Remind me that I'm just Allison, that I'm not above anyone else. It's important to remember that you have a life outside the industry."
Born in Germany, Allison Mack moved to Los Angeles at the age of six, and has worked steadily ever since. An ardent student of her craft, she attended famed Los Angeles school Young Actors Space and cites the theatre as her favorite medium in which to work.
"It's the immediate reaction. In television and film, everything is so broken up, you have a really hard time placing a story arc and a character because you can go from the beginning of a movie to the end of the movie to the middle of the movie all completely out of sequence over the course of one day. Whereas in theatre, you really get to see the character go from beginning to end—and play the development, and play the early growth through the middle stage, through to the final resolution. And that is a really nice feeling of accomplishment every night, when you finish a show. Plus I think there's nothing like the adrenaline rush [in live theatre] of 'If I make a mistake, I'm screwed! So I'd better not.' There's a relationship you have with the other actors onstage and the audience that you can't capture anywhere else.
"There are great things about film and television, too—you have the ability to make it very small and intimate, and very much about your eyes, and very internal. And that's all great, but I think theatre gives you the license to be a little bit bigger. To explore a little bit more. Not try and be so subtle—it gives you the freedom to go a little bit crazy, and let your energy explode. I have a lot of energy, so that's really a nice feeling."
When asked what the best advice she's ever received as an actor, Mack pauses, pensive.
"When the show first started airing, and I had a bunch of people telling me what to do, I sat down with Michael McKean—who is Annette O'Toole's husband—and was saying 'I don't know what to do. These people are telling me all these different things.'
"And he said 'Don't listen to what everyone else is saying. Just listen to yourself, because in the end, you're the one you have to go to live with. Just follow your intention. Follow your instincts.'
"I think that that was a great piece of advice, because in this industry we have about six different people working for us and telling us what to do and what's best for us, and what's going to "make us stars" and what's going to make our careers last. Everyone is telling you a different thing, and then you go home at night, and think the complete opposite of what everyone else is thinking. So I think it's very important to follow what you your instincts say, and what you think is best for you, because you are going to know what's best."
The move from Los Angeles to Vancouver, B.C. where Smallville is produced was a difficult one for Mack, who is very close to her friends and family.
"The first year was very hard. I was separated from everyone that I love. I mean, I have this boyfriend that I live with in LA, so being pulled away from that, and just all my friend and family. And it really is a different country. It's a different way of life. And meeting people is really hard up here, and things like that. So the first year was really difficult. But this year's getting a lot better—I got a little house up here, and my boyfriend lives up here with me, and I have a dog. So now it's home, here. I've made friends, and it's quite a bit better. It was tough last year, but this year is really great."
One of the friends Mack has made has been Smallville co-star Kristin Kreuk, who plays the object of Clark's—and usually any weekly meteor mutant's—affections.
"Kristin's an amazing individual, and anyone who gets to meet her and know her is very lucky. She's grounded and funny, and she's so smart, trustworthy and honest. She's just a very good friend. I know that if I need something, I can go to her. She's really the first person that I clicked with, on the show other than Sam. We went vacationing together last summer, and we might go again this summer, we're still not sure. She's just a really good person. I'm lucky, because there's so many catty snots out there in the female acting world, so I was very lucky that I didn't get one.
Part of adjusting to life in Canada, and making friends has consisted of an informal "book club" being formed on the set.
"Kristin and I, and our wardrobe guy Steve, and one of our script ladies, Janet... all recommend books to each other, and kind of pass them around. We all try and read the same book at the same time, so we can talk about it. It's nice to have book buddies. I love to read, and it's hard to find people who like to read and discuss what they've read."
Next on her reading list is Fall On Your Knees, the critically acclaimed debut novel of Canadian playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald, which chronicles five generations of a family from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
"Everybody's been recommending it to me. I'm a huge John Irving fan, so I'm dying to read The Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp. But "Fall on Your Knees" is the book everyone else is talking about, so I guess I'll fall into that and read it."
Along with Kreuk, Mack is also good friends with Sam Jones III, who plays Clark and Chloe's best friend, Pete Ross. In addition to working together on Smallville, they appeared in a two-part episode of the WB kid's series The Nightmare Room (also produced by Tollin/Robbins) shot during the break between the Smallville pilot and production starting on the first season.
"I actually auditioned [for Smallville] with Sam. Sam and I went in and read together for the very last audition that we had to go to. I think that the reason I got it was because of him, because our chemistry was really great, and it made me really comfortable in the room. I lost my nervous energy and just fell in to playing Chloe. So I have to give him some credit for that."
When informed of the fans' desire for action figures of Pete and Chloe, Mack likewise expresses a wish for a little plastic replica.
"Sam Jones and I kinda get cut out of that stuff, because we're the sort of the few 'sidekick-y' characters. Michael, Tom and Kristin are all very much the prominent leads. So when they were making action figures, we were, like, 'Well, I bet you they'll see how those figures sell—and if they do well, then maybe the rest of us will get figures.' We can have a little plastic Chloe running around with a little plastic digital camera."
Not much a comic book reader before landing the part on Smallville, Mack nevertheless expresses something akin to glee when asked about fan speculation as to the future of Chloe Sullivan.
"I've had so many questions, you know, fans speculating that [Chloe] could be Supergirl in the future, and stuff like that. And I was just, like, 'Well—as not possible as I think that is, that would be really cool.'
However, the Chloe story arc Mack would love to see involves more wine and roses than capes and super-villains.
"I would like to see Chloe have a relationship with Lex. Because I think they are two of the most intelligent characters on the show. And so I think that them challenging each other's minds would be really interesting, and I think that there is a lot that Lex could do for Chloe. And I think that the whole jealousy aspect of Clark losing one of his best friends to another of his best friends would be very a very interesting thing to see. And I have no scenes with Michael Rosenbaum, and I love Michael Rosenbaum. We had so much fun together [in 'Kinetic']. He's so talented, and so quick. It's such an exercise, working with him. It's so much fun."
She would also love to see Chloe revisit her roots, and go to Metropolis.
"I would really like to see her go to her natural habitat, explore that. Maybe go to the Daily Planet, and work with the some of the editors and the people there. I just think that would be really interesting."
When asked to pick a favorite episode from each of the seasons thus far, Mack has no trouble bring a few to mind.
"I think the most fun I've had this year thus far is the episode I just finished, called 'Rush.' That was my favorite episode to film, just because Chloe kind of goes crazy. So it was fun to do something different than the usual Torch scene. And last year, I think my favorite episode to watch was 'Nicodemus' because I thought Kristin Kreuk rocked. She was awesome, and it was really fun to watch. I can't remember what my favorite one to film would be—I think 'Tempest.' That was really fun, getting all dressed up with Tom.
"I had the tightest corset in the world on underneath that dress—to hold that dress up. I kept telling people 'I feel like a squished sausage. I've got stuff coming out the top—I've got stuff coming out the bottom. I feel like I'm dying in this.' I had marks on my thighs. But I looked good—that was all that matters."
On Smallville, as the other resident Metropolis expatriate (besides that bald rich guy), Chloe's sense of style is very distinctive. The actress has the opportunity to wear a lot of fun jewelry, and very funky and bohemian fashions. But what fans really want to know is, does she ever get to keep the wardrobe?
"Custo is a brand of clothes that I wear a lot—it's a designer from Spain, and he gives us shirts. So when we're done with them I get those. But a lot of the clothes they like to keep, in case we have to do re-shoots. They recycle clothes a lot. I'll wear the same pants quite often, or the same shirt quite often. At the end of the season, when everything's said and done, I can purchase the clothes, which is kind of nice. But they never really just give them to me unless the designers give them to them. It's all about money," she says with a laugh.
When series creators and executive producers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough do interviews, they often refer to the fact that Chloe and Lana represent the ideal woman that Clark will eventually find with Lois Lane—that Lana's the unattainable "pretty" girl and Chloe's the journalist, with the drive.
"It was interesting in the scene in "Dichotic" where Chloe and Lana move in together, there's a shot of us walking into the house after Clark has helped us unpack all these boxes. It's a shot of us from behind walking up the stairs, and then a close-up of Tom—and Tom said 'This is important. Because I'm seeing my ideal woman in the two of you, and recognizing that.' Which I thought was so cool. I had never really thought of it that way before. I had always thought of Chloe as the funny, quirky person that gives information. But I guess that [Chloe] is more than that. That was kind of neat."
What fans also find neat is Chloe's relationship with her father Gabe, played by veteran Canadian actor Robert Wisden. However, fans are clamoring for scenes of the two actors together as so far, Gabe has been sharing the screen with Lex Luthor more often than his daughter.
"He's always just randomly there," Mack agrees with a laugh. "[Robert Wisden]'s great, I like him a lot. He's a funny guy, and we have a lot of fun together. I'm hoping we will get more scenes together. You know, basically my bedroom is the Torch. You don't really see very much of my house. I had thought, since Lana was moving in with me, we would do more. But they've really been focussing a lot on story lines with [the Kents and the Luthors], so the last few episodes we really haven't been doing much at all—Kristin or I. So maybe once the story line picks up again with the two of us, we'll see some scenes in my house with my dad.
"They're sort of unveiling Chloe's backstory. We had a meeting with the writers this summer, all of us, and individually met with Al and Miles. They said 'What would you like to see? What do we need to see more of? What are you happy with, or unhappy with?' And I told them, Chloe is this sort of floating head. You don't really know where she comes from, what her family life is, or why she is the way she is. Which is why in 'Lineage' we had the whole story line of 'What happened to Chloe's mom?' That was something we sort of developed this summer, and we figured out that Chloe's this latch-key kid.
"Her dad works all the time because being home with Chloe reminds him of her mom and her leaving. So, one of the reasons Chloe is so independent is because of the pain between her and her father. That they don't talk or have a relationship because she reminds him so much of her mother, and that hurts him. It's an interesting dynamic, and it really gave depth to Chloe's character . It gave her a reason for her to be out at midnight every night working on stories. And so independent, and so craving Clark's approval, and a man in her life that she cares about and that she loves. It's interesting.
"It's cool, because Chloe isn't from the Superman comics. Chloe is a creation of Al and Miles, so together the three of us really have the ability to create her. We don't have any set paths to follow. We can just do it on our own. See her develop, grow, and have depth. Have a background. Have a future. Things like that. It's really neat—it's a fun process."
During the latter half of the first season, Chloe fans were thrilled to note that the actress' part was expanded. Re-writes of the final four episodes of the season shifted focus from the Clark/Lana/Whitney love triangle—which made the future hero look not particularly heroic by trying to steal another guy's steady—to the Lana/Clark/Chloe triangle, a move which thrilled fans of the character. In the second season, Chloe and Clark's potential for romance has been shifted to the back-burner. However, Mack assures fans that the triangle is alive and well in Smallville.
"It comes back, a little bit. The episode we're about to film—it's very prominent. It's sort of in and out. Chloe never gets over Clark. So I think that love triangle will always be there. It's not always necessarily going to be the focal point of an episode, but it's always going to be there. There are always these obstacles that Lana has to overcome to get to Clark, or that Clark has to overcome to get to Lana. For a while it was Whitney, then it was Clark's secret, then it was Whitney dying. And now it's Chloe—that Lana is my friend, and doesn't want to hurt me to get to Clark. So it's fun being the obstacle."
Before bidding her farewell, the interviewer asks one last question—what is the one question that journalists never ask her in interviews that she wishes they would?
"What's my favorite flavor ice-cream. No one asks me that. It's Mint Biscuit, from Ben & Jerry's. It's so stinkin' good. No one ever asks me that."
So there you have it: an exclusive.
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