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DAYS Star Boosts SMALLVILLE

Eric Martsolf SMALLVILLE L

DAYS OF OUR LIVES's Eric Martsolf (Brady) gets to play superhero by night when he guests on the April 22 episode of SMALLVILLE.

"I'm portraying Booster Gold, who is a glory-seeking superhero from the future," previews Martsolf. "Historically, Booster Gold is a member of the Justice League. He was quite popular in the '80s. Geoff Johns [chief creative officer of DC Entertainment] wrote the script, and he brings Booster back in a big way — and also revisits his classic relationship with the Blue Beetle."

The episode includes a major fight between Booster and neophyte hero Beetle (Jaren Brandt Bartlett). "It took about 23 hours to film," notes Martsolf. "They take their time on Smallville!"

Series star Tom Welling (Clark) directed the episode. "He did a terrific job," notes Martsolf. "He wasn't afraid to work until 4 o'clock in the morning, if he didn't feel the shot was perfect. It was hard for me to adjust to those kinds of hours, but [Welling] was truly relentless and seriously gave a damn about the character and why [Booster] is the way he is. [Welling] really brought it to life."

Martsolf got the chance to bring Booster to life thanks to a previous audition. "About a year ago, I was considered for the role of Hawkman," Martsolf reveals. "Based upon that audition, they called me for Booster Gold."

Martsolf teases that Booster is pivotal in helping young Clark become Superman. "Booster is a symbol for accepting and embracing your marketability," Martsolf details. "His whole platform is to stick around after you save somebody — as opposed to the classic superhero, whose behavior is to fly away once the crime is stopped. Booster is all about sticking around for the photo-op. He has sponsorships all over his uniform. Whenever he solves crimes, he gets sponsorships." Clark Kent, meanwhile, "prefers to be a hero and then step into the shadows. He refers to himself as the Blur This episode serves as a vehicle for Clark to accept himself as a hero and to embrace the red-and-blue. Booster basically says, 'Clark, man up, and put on the spandex!'"

SMALLVILLE airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

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