Justin Hartley (Green Arrow) Interview - July 2006
Earlier this summer, KryptonSite.com had the privilege of interviewing Justin Hartley, the actor who plays Oliver Queen (The Green Arrow) on Smallville.

This interview was conducted in July 2006, before Justin began filming Smallville, so some of the things he was not sure about have now been answered and even seen on the show.

To read the full interview, where Justin also talks about the Aquaman pilot, click here.

What was the audition process like for Green Arrow?

They called me, and offered it to me, and wanted me to do it. So that was exciting. That was good, not to have to jump through any hoops. Because usually in acting, you have to go step by step.

Are they [the producers] going to make you grow a goatee?

I don't know. I haven't heard any word of that yet.

So you haven't started filming yet?

I haven't started filming. I start filming, I think, at the beginning of August.

Is your Green Arrow anything like A.C. (Aquaman), or is he more like Fox Crane [from Passions], or any other roles you have played before?

I think there's always going to be some part of me that comes through, in the characters that I play. That's a good question. He might have a little bit in common with A.C., in the cocky area maybe a little bit, you know, and a little bit in common with Fox Crane I guess, but definitely his own guy. I've gotta tell you, man. I am so looking forward to playing this part, because I think it's gonna be so fun to play a guy who's a rogue. It's a great part, you know.

Do you know anything about Ollie's background on Smallville?

I know that they're using some of the original mythology, the CEO, the billionaire, that kind of thing. Obviously with the arrows, the archer, and his talent, with regards to that. He comes to Smallville to unite the Justice League, I know that. And there's going to be a love interest; it's going to be Lois Lane. I wish I could tell you more, but honestly, I haven't seen anything yet. I just had a conversation with Al about it a little bit, and it seems like it's gonna be pretty fun.

Were you familiar with Aquaman or Green Arrow comics before taking the roles?

Before I took the roles, I was more familiar with Aquaman, I think, than I was Green Arrow. I don't know why. Maybe it's just because I have a lot of friends who are really heavy into comic books and stuff, and I think maybe they were Aquaman people. Maybe I was just around it more. But I've been reading up on him, and I've been doing my mythology homework, so, I'll be ready to go.

Why should your legions of fans who know your work from Passions watch Smallville?

I think without me, Smallville's a good show. I think Smallville is worth watching, just because I think that the actors on there do a good job. I'm a big fan of Rosenbaum. He's a great actor, isn't he? And you know, playing Superman is not very easy to do, and the way that it's done on Smallville, I think [Tom] does a good job too. I think it's a good show. I think it's well written. I think it's a fun show. It's a fun hour of television.

I am looking forward to getting on the show, for one reason, is just so that I'm back on television again. Because here I've been doing all this stuff since I left Passions. I've got a couple of movies that I did, I did a pilot, and I've got all this work in, that no one's been able to see. As far as anyone else knows, it's like, you left the show 7 months ago and you're gone. So nobody knows I've been doing all this work. So it'll be fun to get back on the screen.

It's gonna be neat. I think that they should watch it because they've only seen me play one character, essentially, on a soap opera. Which, there's nothing wrong with that, but I'm curious to show them another character, another side. I think that would be fun.

Does Ollie Queen have any history with Lex Luthor, and will they be interacting?

They do. They share a secret, from boarding school. Yeah, so they should be interacting. I hope to work with him. He can show me a couple things. He's very good. Very talented.

Is it difficult to shoot a series out of town, since your wife is still doing Passions in L.A.?

I have experience in it. I shot the pilot in Miami, and I think it was six weeks. My wife's not a big fan of staying away. She came almost every weekend. But this is going to be good, because they're not consecutive episodes, and I'm going to have a chance to go back and forth. I mean, preferably, yeah, I would shoot it in my backyard, and be able to see my daughter whenever I wanted, but that's just not the way it is.

If Al and Miles came to you and asked if you were interested in a Green Arrow spin-off, would you?

I'd be interested. I think those guys are great, and I think if they came to me and said "Hey Justin, we're interested in having--" I would probably say "yeah, okay, fine, sure." And then try to figure out what they were asking me. I'm behind those guys 100 percent. I believe in what they do, and I think they're good at what they do, and I think they're passionate about what they do. You see the product. I like Smallville. I think it's a good show. And that's their baby, so the proof is in the pudding, right?

But if they said "spin-off" I would say, "Where do I sign?"

Your daughter's middle name (Isabella Justice Hartley) - where did she get it? It's interesting, what with you playing a character who's getting together the Justice League...

It's funny that you bring that up, because my mother in law brought it up. She got the name, because Lindsay wanted my name in there somewhere, and it's a girl, so we couldn't really have "Justin" in there, and I didn't want "Justine," because I think Justine's a first name, more than a middle name. And so, we just chose Justice. Which is kind of what my name means, I guess.

Do you find it to be better to be working on a show that's a proven success, over doing a pilot?

Yeah, the thing didn't get picked up! [Laughs] I don't know. I think a good response to that would be, it's less stressful. It's less pressure. Because when you go to work, you're worrying about your work. You're not worrying about the business side of it, which I'm not on the business side of it, but when you're doing a pilot, it kind of creeps into your head a little bit, which I'm just not good at. It's less stress, I would say.

To read the full interview, where Justin also talks about the Aquaman pilot, click here.

Return to KryptonSite - The Web's First Source for Smallville