INTERVIEW: Tyler Hoechlin on His Amazing Role on The CW’s ‘Superman and Lois,’ Staying Healthy and Motivated, Family, Success and More

Tyler Hoechlin is leaping tall buildings and landing big roles one at a time and doing it effortlessly as ‘The Man of Steel’ in The CW’s Superman and Lois which premiered Feb 23 with a two-hour special event. Best known for his role as Derek Hale on Teen Wolf, as well as roles in Supergirl, Palm Springs, Can You Keep a Secret, The Flash, and Batwoman, this megastar has already confirmed a second season for his role as Clark Kent. Tyler stars opposite Bitsie Tulloch, who plays Lois Lane, and introducing Jordan Elsass (Jonathan Kent) and Alexander Garfin (Jordan Kent), playing the pair’s two sons. Clark and Lois have a new obstacle that is proving more challenging than fighting villains in Metropolis; raising their boys and being parents with the daunting and complex job of finding out if they could inherit their father’s Kryptonian superpowers as they grow older. 

We sat down with Tyler to chat about all things Clark Kent and Superman, as well as a little Teen Wolf trivia. He gave the deets on how he responded to landing the lead role in Superman and Lois, the shows strong family theme, his most challenging scenes to film, what he was up to in isolation, how he stays motivated, a little Superman tease, and his favorite fan moment. Read on to get to know the world’s most famous superhero below.

GLITTER: What was your reaction when you first landed the role as Superman, and how have you made the character your own
TYLER: You know, it’s really weird; I remember I was in the car with my brother and I got a phone call that the offer was there, and we just had like a surreal moment. I remember hanging up the phone, and I said, yeah, “Let’s do it.” My brother was like, “So you’re Superman now, I guess?” So I was like, “Yeah, I guess I have to say, yes, to that question.” It was just so weird. So, it’s still a little bit surreal, and I’m just very, very happy to be doing it. I really enjoyed the whole process and the years we’ve been doing it now, which is crazy. But I’ll say as far as, like, making it my own, I can’t really tell you how I’m making it my own. I don’t really have any exposure to any of the other Superman projects that are out there. I’ve seen like an episode or two of Lois and Clark when I was a kid with my mom, I think, and that was about it. So, for me, I’ve kind of purposefully stayed away from anything just because it’s a lot easier for me to show up to work and have the instinct to do something and not have to run through the big catalog like, “Wait, did so and so do that…” or “…did they not do that?” It’s just way easier for me to just be instinctual and follow that and commit to what feels right.

GLITTER: Superman & Lois has a strong family theme; how do you hope the series resonates with families watching it together?
TYLER: You know, for me, I kind of keep saying this. This last year, if anything’s been thrown into perspective, there’s a lot of things that we tend to place a lot of importance on outside of home, outside of family, that we all kind of felt like we’re never going to go away or could never be delayed. Pretty much all of those things were either delayed or kind of went away. What we were left with were those relationships. If you’ve been neglecting them, I think you probably would have noticed that really quickly. I think it’s been a really reflective year of what really matters and what doesn’t go away when everything else does. It’s family, whether it’s a family you’re born into or the family that you choose to have. I think it’s really great to see someone who what he does is important. I mean, he saves lives on a constant basis. So it’s not that it’s not important. But, you know, my dad’s an emergency room doctor, and he saves lives as well. He also had a family; and was there for his kids. I know I’ve got three siblings, and the four of us are going to be more grateful for the time that he found to be at work and be there for us. I don’t remember him ever missing a baseball game of ours, and he was always there. My mom was always around as well. We always appreciated that because it made for a great home for us, a great place to grow up. It makes me excited about having a family someday. For me, it is paying homage to my parents. So I hope that this show will really be great for people to see it that way.  

GLITTER: The series was renewed for season 2. What would be a dream storyline for you if you could pick any plot for the next season?
TYLER: Honestly, you know, I try not to get to in my own head about that stuff; I really just appreciate watching him come in. That way, I kind of get to be a fan as well. It’s kind of like watching the episodes. You know, you just kind of take whatever they give you. So I try not to dream up too many scenarios in my head. I like to just be surprised by what comes in. We have an incredible, incredible writing team. So it’s always fun. 

GLITTER: Can you give us a little tease about what you’re most excited for fans to see? 
TYLER: I have a little tease. There are quite a few twists and turns in this. There’s a storyline or two in particular that I think everybody will be very excited to see how it turns out. And it’s you know, things are not always as they appear. You’ve got a few more episodes to go, and then things are going to start getting really interesting. 

GLITTER: If you could pick any Teen Wolf character, who would you want to be added to the show for a fun crossover episode?
TYLER: Oh, man. I mean, (laughing) that is so tough. I’m going to get out of this by, like, quickly saying how many of them I’d love to see; Hale and Argent. Obviously, Stiles is running around and just trying to help and probably failing at first that some way, finding a way to come through. I love that whole crew. I had so much fun. Those are all such great guys.  I really couldn’t pick one. Just bring the whole group over. Yeah, it’s this multiverse. 

GLITTER: What are the most challenging scenes for you to do acting-wise? 
TYLER: Probably the ones that involve the harness. You know, there’s going to be those days, which can feel longer. They can feel twice as long as they actually are. Yeah, I would say those are usually the ones. It’s like the day lasts a little bit longer. 

GLITTER: Do you have any special or memorable fan moments?
TYLER: A few. But I say the one relevant to Superman was I was in New York City, and I was having coffee with a buddy, and I stepped out to take a phone call, just on the street. Everybody just walking by, and I’m on the phone. Some guy walked by, and it could not look more New York. He had his backpack on, his headphones on, just walking down the street. He looked over at me, and he had a jacket, and he just looked, and he kind of just like ripped open his shirt a little bit like he didn’t say anything but just like did it like low key. I was like, yeah, and he’s like, “All right.” He kind of just walked in, and he just went to the subway and got on the subway, and it was like the most quintessential New York kind of thing. I absolutely loved it. It always makes me laugh.  

GLITTER: Any hidden talents?
TYLER: I guess it’s like technically hidden, I don’t really do it [a lot], I surf a little bit, which I’m missing, being up here at the moment; but one of these days, I’ll get back to a good little surf spot and get out on the water again.  

GLITTER: Any lines you’ve had to say for a project that stuck with you?
TYLER: Yeah, funny. The first one that comes to mind is the scene in Teen Wolf, where Scott all of a sudden has a beta of his own. He’s kind of like reprimanding him about something, and he sends him out. I remember like I knew I was leaving the show at that point, so I knew I was kind of going to be done. I had a moment where, in the scene, Derek says, “This guy, you’re going to be good at this.” And it was just like for me; it was weird because it meant something different knowing that, like, I was leaving and that we had done the whole Alpha Beta thing, and that was what he was doing now. So that one always stuck with me. I don’t know, just like that. The idea of like passing the torch kind of thing and that whole concept. So that was kind of cool for whatever reason; that one always stuck in my mind. It was really fun; it was just one of those times where it’s like, “Oh, wow, this is like life and art combining in this single moment, and it was really cool. 

GLITTER: How did you spend your time in social isolation?
TYLER: How did I spend my free time in the gym? Definitely in the gym. We still knew we were going to do this show, so I wanted to make sure I didn’t slack there for sure. I’ll say this because I think I think it’s important, and I love that there’s a dialog kind of opening up about it, just paying attention to my financial literacy and really starting to pay attention more to things like that and educating myself a bit more. I think it’s important, and I think it’s to me, it’s kind of incredibly ridiculous that it’s so neglected in our school systems. So, I think taking the opportunity to really follow that for a minute and be aware of what’s going on and how to set yourself up for life ahead of you; I think it’s great. I really, at some point, would love to be able to take that into schools and find some kind of program that raises some awareness around that. I think it’s important for young kids to know that moving into their adult lives that it affects you for a long time.  

GLITTER: Top 5 favorite shows or movies?
TYLER: I don’t watch a lot of TV, maybe Pinky Blinders, Game of Thrones. (laughing) When someone asks me for a list, they just completely disappear. Midnight in Paris is one of my favorite movies. The first Pirates of the Caribbean is still like my like, “So what’s your favorite movie?” Like, “The first Pirates of the Caribbean. I love Jack Sparrow; he’s the man.” I love it. It’s great. Now, you know what I’m going to go with because I just saw a clip of it the other night, and it reminded me of how much I love it. I’m a big performance guy, The Dark Knight. I just thought Heath Ledger in that film was just so unforgettable. It was just, I mean, insane. Absolutely insane. Those are my five. 

GLITTER: Glitter has a celebrity #SelfLoveCampaign; what does self-love mean to you?
TYLER: I think it’s being your most compassionate critic. I mean, I feel like if it’s not an element of holding yourself to a certain standard, then you’re really not loving yourself either. But I do feel like you have to be kind to yourself. So I feel like that idea of like a compassionate critic who’s there and is understanding but is still pushing you to improve and become a better you. However, you can do that. I think that’s it. So it’s not always just being easy on yourself. It’s pushing yourself sometimes when you need to be pushed and not waiting for someone else to do it. Also, when things are going bad, and you don’t have a voice around you to tell you, it’s going to be OK, just reminding yourself, “It’s going to be all right. Slow things down.” So, yeah, I think just continuing to improve yourself in whatever way you feel like you want to do and need to do. 

GLITTER: Do you have any new projects coming up that you can share?
TYLER: I do have a project that I’ve been working on for quite a minute, and we’re making some progress on that. I’m really excited about it; I can’t say anything more than that right now, but eventually, hopefully, that will be a little bit more public. I’m really excited that it’s been a passion thing for a few years, so hopefully, I’ll have something more to share sooner than later. 

GLITTER: What are the best social media platforms for fans to follow you on?
TYLER: None. I’m horrible. (laughing) The honest answer? None. If you want to get anything from me, you can take your chances on Instagram. I think one of my last captions was like in my attempt to solidify my bid as the world’s worst Instagrammer, I think I posted our original trailer about a week after our second trailer, and I think three weeks after it came out. So I just saw that I’m not good with that kind of stuff. 

GLITTER: Favorite superhero?
TYLER: I grew up playing baseball really competitively and working as a kid when I was really young. So I didn’t really have too many things outside those two things and school, obviously. But I will say, you know, the superhero that I grew up with, the movies I grew up with were the Batman movies. I was always a big Batman fan. So that was definitely mine growing up.  

GLITTER: Favorite song?
TYLER: There’s a few of those; there’s definitely a few of those. I mean, there are some like old-school ones. There are like some old Dave Matthews Band songs that are still like, I’ll get them on, and I’ll be very, very vocal. I’m in the car by myself with those. I’m trying to think, you know, some Otis Redding, some Ray Charles. Definitely. I always love those. I’m very eclectic with my music musical taste.

GLITTER: How do you stay motivated?
TYLER: I’m always motivated. To your question, I don’t know that I know how to put that into words. I think it’s just my parents, you know, how they raised us. My older brother always inspired us to have a great work ethic. All my baseball coaches always pushed us really hard. I think it’s one of those things. There’s a difference between complacency and being content, and I think those are very important to distinguish. So I always try to be content while never being complacent. I think that’s where, if I’m in a moment, where I’m doing this because I’m content, or am I doing this because I want to be complacent? Then depending on that answer, then that kind of tells me what I need to do. Do I need to get out of being complacent? Then that’s my motivation. I just don’t want to fall into that place of ever just settling to settle and stop. So there are always things to be done; there are always ways to improve. Enjoy your life, enjoy your time. But you’ll find things, find things that you can keep making progress in.