Michael Bishop talks joining Superman & Lois as new Jonathan Kent and almost missing his first day

There's a new Jonathan Kent in Smallville — and he apparently needs a new alarm clock.

Michael Bishop joined Superman & Lois season 3, taking over the role previously played by Jordan Elsass as of one of Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois' (Elizabeth Tulloch) twin teen sons. The Australian actor stepped in after Elsass suddenly exited the series after the first two seasons, and the recasting process happened at an extremely accelerated rate. "I'm still wrapping my head around it," Bishop tells EW with a laugh. "I feel like I was learning about him as we were going. A lot of people were telling me I was a little crazy to take the role — I mean, I was filling in the shoes of someone who had done the role before, and done it wonderfully. They needed someone crazy enough to take on the task, and I guess I'm that person."

Below, Bishop talks with EW about taking over the role of Jonathan Kent, why he almost missed his first day of filming, and more.

Shane Harvey/The CW (L-R): Michael Bishop as Jonathan Kent and Alex Garfin as Jordan Kent

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you end up getting cast to take over the role of Jonathan Kent?

MICHAEL BISHOP: I was back home in Australia, and once they started looking for the role again, they asked me to self-tape. I sent that in, and then they called me back and they asked if I'd be able to get on a flight about a week and a half before they started shooting. I found out I had the role five days before they started shooting, and I just jumped straight in.

Only five days?! That is not a lot of time to prepare.

[Laughs] It's not, but I was familiar with the role from two years prior — I'd been watching the show, I loved the show, and I loved Jon just as much as all the fans do. When they called me out for the role, I was like, "Oh my god, I'm going to be part of this show that I've been a fan of for two years." It's pretty cool.

How much freedom did you have in reshaping who you wanted Jonathan to be vs. how much did you try to mimic what Jordan Elsass did previously with the role?

Well, I wasn't trying to copy anything that was done before. I wanted to stay true to the character that had been built by the previous actor, but I also wanted to find what was different about my Jon and just played him how I felt he should be played, with the incredible foundations that was built by Jordan.

When you say you wanted to play Jonathan how you "felt he should be played," what exactly do you mean?

Jon is just an incredible brother and incredible son, and he's not dealt the nicest cards. He doesn't get the best hand, but I think what's so beautiful about him is that he plays those cards he's dealt really well. He's always a supportive brother and he's a really remarkable son and he's a hero in his own way without powers.

When you took over the role, what kinds of conversations did you have with the producers about how to portray Jonathan? 

It was funny, I had one call after I booked the role with the showrunners and it was really simple. I was kind of looking for them to feed me the direction they wanted it to go, like, "How am I going to do this? What do you want to see?" And the message that was relayed back to me was just, "We love what you're doing. We love where your Jon is sitting. Keep it there."

What was your first day like on set?

I was still extremely jet-lagged from coming from Australia, so I was actually in my hotel asleep during my call time. The hotel staff had to come and wake me up, and I showed up to set an hour late on my very first day. I was not the happiest about it. [Laughs] I did my first scene with Alex, and I was incredibly nervous at first, but that quickly melted away. The rest of my cast, the rest of my crew, they just made me feel so comfortable and welcomed. On the first day of shooting, Tyler pulled me aside and said something along the lines of, "This is your role now." And he made me feel very welcomed and that was awesome. After that day, everything was easy.

But my hardest day on set — the actor who plays Coach Gaines, his name's Danny, and he's hilarious but he's also known to be a bit of an improv king. There's a scene with just the two of us, and he decided to rip into me with his improvisation skills. He had me doing improvised pushups, sit-ups, squats, all in the middle of the scene. He had me running laps. It was hilarious. You'll only see one of those takes, but I had to do that 10 times.

The CW Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch on 'Superman & Lois'

Jonathan and Jordan just learned about Lois' breast cancer diagnosis in last week's episode. How are they going to be handling this news going forward?

It's tough for them. My mom in real life was diagnosed with breast cancer about five years ago, and the way that Jonathan deals with finding out his mom has breast cancer is very similar to how I dealt with the whole situation. It was bizarre living through this season because I was reflecting a lot on my own life and how much that's impacted me. It was a bizarre parallel to see how Jon reacted to the whole situation and how I reacted and how similar those reactions actually were.

What was your reaction when you learned the show was tackling a storyline that you had actually experienced in real life?

It's such a important story to tell, and I think it's pretty badass that Superman & Lois, which has some pretty awesome villains on the show, is introducing a villain like cancer. That's what's beautiful about Superman & Lois in general, you take all these superhero elements and you place these super-people in a very grounded world. That's what differs this show from a lot of other supernatural shows, and that's why audience members have fallen in love with it. We've created a really beautifully intertwined story that shows the love between the family and the villains that try to break that love. I'm very lucky to be a part of it.

So far on the show, we've seen Jonathan get sidelined a lot when it comes to the superhero action, but the showrunners have said that's going to change this season. What can you tease about how he gets integrated into that world more?

Jon's always had this element where he tries to be a hero without actually having powers, and we're going to see a lot more of that. He definitely gets a couple hero moments this season, which I think the fans are really waiting on. Episode 3 is one to look out for — he has some badass moments where we really get to see Jon shine. People start to value him a little more and know that Jon does have something to offer. Some unfortunate events lead him to step up, and whereas normally people would just call upon Superman to help them out, Jon decides that he's going to take his own future in his hands.

Will we get to see Jonathan taking on the moniker Superboy this season like he does in the comics?

[Laughs] I don't want to get sued. I'm rooting for it. But I guess we'll just have to see. I promise you, I'm on the edge of my seat waiting just like all the fans are.

Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CW.

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