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‘Dukes of Hazzard’ Star John Schneider Said Why Fans Are ‘Shocked’ to Know He Worked on Superman Show

John Schneider is known for his career acting as Beauregard “Bo” Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard.” He is also a country music singer starting in the early 1980s.

From acting to singing, Schneider has covered a lot of ground during his career. He also had a groundbreaking role in the very popular TV series from 2001 called “Smallville.”

Here he played the adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, of Clark Kent (better known as Superman or The Man of Steel). Smallville was on for a total of 10 seasons and starred Tom Welling as Superman.

The series had earned Emmys and Teen Choice Awards as well as other honors. Former Superman actor, Christopher Reeve, approved of the show and even dropped in for guest appearances.

So, what was “Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider’s overall role in the series?

John Schneider ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ and ‘Smallville’

In an interview with Viral Hare from 2018, Schneider talked about his role in “Smallville,” which was quite different than his roles that came before that. Similar to many people, Schneider was a big fan of Superman growing up.

“I was always a Superman guy, it still fascinates me that I became Jonathan Kent. I did watch Batman but, it may sound kind of odd, but I was convinced that Batman was a fiction, but I’m not sure that I knew that for Superman, and I am still not sure I know that Superman is fiction,” he said.

Schneider’s acting is multi-generational. He has an older generation that has grown up watching Westerns like “Dukes of Hazzard.” Meanwhile, there was a whole new generation, many Millennials specifically, that grew up in superhero culture, very much including “Smallville.”

“I find these parents of those kids who watched ‘Smallville’ say, ‘Hey, you see John Schneider in this show he did before ‘Smallville,’ they are just as shocked, that Jonathan Kent from ‘Smallville’ is Bo Duke in the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ and stars as Bo Duke in this show, so I think it’s just great,” Schneider said.

He has also been in very different roles for shows like “The Haves and the Have Nots” or even the teenage sensation that was “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” Schneider is one of those actors that is recognizable by a wide range of different fan groups and generations.

Schneider starred in about 100 episodes of “Smallville” while it was on. Besides playing Pa to Superman, Schneider also directed several of the episodes. One of which was a season three episode of the show called “Talisman.” The show also references his “Dukes of Hazzard” role. He even gets to star alongside his former co-star Tom Wopat in season five.

Jonathan Schneider on Superman Films Now

Given his role as Jonathan Kent, Schneider has taken it upon himself to criticize future Superman father figures.

According to a SyFy Wire article from 2015, Schneider disagreed with the non-canon interpretation of Jonathan Kent that appeared in Zack Snyder’s 2013 “Man of Steel” movie. Kevin Costner plays the role in the film.

There was one scene in particular that bugged Schneider.

“I love Kevin, and I love what Kevin does. But I didn’t care for one scene in there, where Jonathan was advising Clark to do something that was self-serving, it was tell a lie, I can’t remember exactly what it was. I think Jonathan Kent is the best dad perhaps ever depicted on television. And I don’t mean my work, I just mean the man I was fortunate enough to play.

Schneider continued by saying: “He was a great father, and I don’t think the one in ‘Man of Steel’ was a great father. He had some flaws that don’t belong in a comic book. I really had wished that had been me,” Schneider said during an interview on “The Tony Tone Show.”