Casting Revealed for New Smallville Villains

Rocked by the mysterious death of Lionel Luthor and the sudden disappearance of his son, Lex, the town of Smallville will be put further on edge this fall with the arrival of two new villains, as Sam Witwer (Battlestar Galactica) and Cassidy Freeman (Finishing the Game) join the cast of Smallville (Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW) as series regulars for the hit show's eighth season.

Witwer will play Davis Bloome, a charismatic Metropolis paramedic who - when he isn't saving people - is forced to confront a burgeoning darkness inside of him that just might be a harbinger of doom. Freeman will play Tess Mercer. Handpicked by Lex Luthor to succeed him before he vanished, Tess arrives in Smallville as acting CEO of LuthorCorp. Beneath her mysterious allure lies a cunning ruthlessness to match her mentor's.

"We're thrilled that Sam and Cassidy will be joining the cast, and we have some very exciting things in store for them, their characters and Smallville fans for this season," said executive producers Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer in a joint statement. "They are both incredibly talented performers, and we cannot wait to begin to work with them."

Best known for his role as Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo on the acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica Witwer is also featured in the forthcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. His previous credits include Stephen King's The Mist (written and directed by Frank Darabont) and guest-starring roles on a number of series, including Dexter, Cold Case, Enterprise, Angel and Dark Angel among many others.

Freeman previously appeared in the feature film Finishing the Game which debuted at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2007. Her other television and motion picture credits include a guest-starring role on Cold Case, the made-for-television movie An Accidental Christmas the independent film Shades of Gray and shorts Clock and Razor Sharp, among others.

From Tollin/Robbins Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Smallville is executive produced by Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.