Television Smallville Acting Shows

Michael Rosenbaum, aka Lex Luthor, is leaving Smallville, which isn’t a surprise, since he said last year that he was probably going to leave. It’s a good example of a departure that is done in a way that avoids any loss of good will for the actor: first he hints at it, allowing the writers to lay the groundwork for his departure while he’s still on the show, then he officially announces he’s leaving when the writers have already figured out how to replace him, and he’ll come back as a guest star. Topher Grace followed a similar pattern on That ’70s Show — his last season on the show was essentially one long set-up for the (impossible, as it turned out) task of doing the show without him. In this way, the actor gets to leave, but he doesn’t get people angry at him for leaving, either the network/studio executives or the fans.