In speaking with Smallville‘s erstwhile Emerald Archer, Justin Hartley — who is now playing doctor on the new CW drama Emily Owens, M.D. — and Stephen Amell, star of the network’s upcoming Arrow, it became clear that neither of the actors has placed a bullseye on the other.
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When I asked Hartley if he has even jokingly offered Amell any points on, say, drawing an arrow back, he said no, adding, “[Stephen] doesn’t need any tips from me. I wouldn’t even begin to do that… He’s going to be great.”
Amell in turn told me that while he and Hartley have become “buddies,” they “haven’t talked that much” about their respective Oliver Queens.
After all, he contended, “People will realize within five minutes of watching the [Arrow] pilot that other than in name, the characters don’t have anything in common.” (That’s why Arrow was developed as a distinct property and in no way a Smallville spin-off, thus ruling out Hartley as the new series’ lead.)
“They’re both in DC universes,” Amell explained, “but those universes are very, very different. [Arrow is] sort of like [The Dark Knight director] Chris Nolan’s DC universe, where nobody has superpowers, while in Smallville a lot of people had powers. That’s a fundamental difference.”
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There’s also the matter of the name the fellas’ bow-wielding alter egos go by.
Whereas Hartley’s crimefighter bore the full Green Arrow name, Amell says his archer goes by just Arrow, as he patrols Starling (not Star) City and conceals his identity from ex-flame Dinah Lauren Lance (Gossip Girl alum Katie Cassidy).
“He’s actually called ‘the hood guy’ a couples times in the pilot,” Amell says with a chuckle. “But for now he’s just Arrow.”
Watch an Arrow preview here:
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