James Marsters

It takes a special guy to rock primary colors. Dick Tracy had the yellow hat and coat. The Tick was deep into the blue. And everyone knows that the red suit belongs now and forever to Santa Claus.

But take yellow, red and blue together, and what have you got? Everyone’s favorite Man of Steel, Superman.

Or in the case of The WB Network’s Thursday-night teen-Superman drama "Smallville," in its fifth season, it’s college-age Kansas farmboy Clark Kent, who was once called "the hottie in primary colors."

In "Lexmas," the episode airing Thursday, Clark (played by Tom Welling) has a Claus encounter and delivers a few presents to good little children. For Welling, getting the role on "Smallville" has been the gift that keeps on giving - but he couldn’t have known that at the time.

"It worked out all right," Welling says, "fifth season. It wasn’t a horrible choice. There are a million reasons why people get to where they are and why they don’t, and some of those are good, and some of those are bad.

"All of these people that I’ve worked with who have had experience in the business and success and even found failure along the way, I ask them things. There’s one common thread. They all just put up their hands and say, `There’s no secret knowledge.’ You don’t get to a certain point, then somebody opens the door and says, `All right, this is how it really works.’

"You try to go in your direction. Sometimes you have to make moves left and right, but you try to keep your head down and keep going. It’s completely a gamble. It’s like Vegas. I don’t know if the odds are better or worse in Vegas, but you’re gambling."

While the move from Wednesday (where it faced off with "Lost" last season) to the very competitive Thursday night has proven unexpectedly beneficial for "Smallville" (and for "Everwood," the show that comes after it), the impending end of its fifth season represents a particular challenge.

"It’s economics," Welling says. "By the time you get to your fifth season you’ve done all the episodes they need for syndication. At that point, they’re just spending more money that they don’t need to. But it’s to be expected. People are saying we’re going to go to season six. It doesn’t feel like the last season, at least on set. But again, you just have to go with it."

This season, Clark and friends Lana (Kristin Kreuk) and Chloe (Allison Mack) have moved out of high school and into college and the working world in Metropolis. Also, other characters from the DC Comics world of Superman have joined the cast along the way, from Lois Lane (Erica Durance) to Professor Fine/Brainiac (James Marsters).

Clark has become increasing involved with his legacy as a son of Krypton, along with discovering new powers. When the show began, executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar promised "no tights and no flights," but that hasn’t stopped the show from dropping in a lot of "Superman" references, coming perilously close to the big "s" word itself.

Can tights and flights be far behind?

"No," Welling says. "I don’t mean to rain on anybody’s parade, but I know for a fact that it won’t happen. So I’m not worried. But Al did say that (a young) Bruce Wayne was coming on the show, and he didn’t show up."

A relative acting newcomer when he began on "Smallville," Welling has branched out to do feature films during the summer hiatus, including "Cheaper by the Dozen," "The Fog" and, most recently, "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," which is due out in theaters Dec. 21.

"I think the second one is even more fun," Welling says of the sequel to the popular comedy about a large family headed by Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt. "The family goes away on vacation to a lake where they used to go when all the kids were younger. There’s a rival family with Eugene Levy as the father, and Carmen Electra as his younger wife.

"I’d always enjoyed watching Eugene Levy, then being able to talk to him and work with him, I was able to really see the genius behind what he does."

On the "Smallville" set, Welling has long observed such veteran actors as John Schneider and Annette O’Toole, who play Clark’s parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent; and John Glover, who plays ruthless tycoon Lionel Luthor, father of future foe Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum).

Schneider directed a third-season "Smallville" episode, and now it’s Welling’s turn, as he directs an episode later in the season, possibly No. 19.

"I’ve, at least, fooled people into thinking I’ve learned enough to do that," Welling says. "I had expressed interest, but it wasn’t anything I demanded - they invited me. To be invited was probably the best sign of support that they could give me."

When Schneider directed, he came to set in a sport coat, to emphasize how serious he was. As the main character in the show, Welling won’t have that option.

"I’ll look a lot like Clark," he says, "because I have to be in the episode. I’ll be doing double duty, so I’ll probably have a blue T-shirt and a red jacket on, and a lot of makeup.

"I wanted to direct a season finale. I actually wanted the series finale, but they didn’t buy that one. But who knows? I figure if everyone in the world watches my episode, then I might have a shot."

While Welling doesn’t feel like "Smallville" will end next May, if it does, he wants the show to go out with a bang.

"We owe it to the people who’ve allowed us to be here for this long. We have to go out big."