At only 19, Kristin Kreuk is set to star in a WB series pegged to be the next cult hit. Who could've predicted? Okay, that's a trick question. Kreuk recently opened a letter she wrote to herself during an 8th grade social studies class that said, "Kristin, I hope you're an actress right now." She doesn't remember making the prediction, but she's pretty sure her 13-year-old self would approve.

As Lana Lang, Kreuk brings the man of steel (Tom Welling) to his knees.

Vancouver-based Kreuk was struggling with college applications when her high school drama teacher sent her out on her first audition. She landed the lead in a Fox Family Channel series called Edgemont. Next came a role as everyone's favorite poisoned princess, Snow White, in an ABC movie airing this fall. Then, on her first visit to Los Angeles, she landed the part of Lana Lang, Clark Kent's high school crush in the new WB series Smallville, premiering October 16.

While college might no longer be in the cards, Kreuk's education isn't over. Smallville's producers wanted her to be well versed in the man-of-steel mythology, so they sent Kreuk a textbook filled with details about the caped crusader to bring her up to speed.

Which got us wondering...

Since she's an expert now, how could Lois Lane never tell the difference between Clark and Superman? "We have to suspend our disbelief. Clark Kent was so dorky it was hard for her to put together that this dork could also be this person she was madly in love with. Your mind can do lots of things when it wants to."

Who would she go for--the mild-mannered reporter or the studly superhero? "Oh, that's hard. I would probably like Lex, because he's so evil."

Is she a bad girl in the making? "No, Lex is just so interesting and always charming. But I don't think you'd want to stay with him long-term."

This doesn't seem to be the same old Superman series, but did she know that when she was auditioning? "I live in Vancouver, where they were casting, and what you get is a breakdown. It tells you about the characters they're auditioning. There's a little blurb about each and a tiny paragraph about the show. All it basically said was that it was about a young Superman, and the character I was trying out for was a popular girl who's a cheerleader dating the star quarterback, Clark loves her, blah, blah, blah.

"And I was like, Huh? She doesn't sound very interesting. But I'll go audition for it and have fun. Then I went down to L.A. and met the writers and producers, and they were so into it; they were so stoked to do the show. That caught on, and when I read the script I thought, This is so different. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. I love it."

She's from Vancouver, she goes to Hollywood, then gets sent straight back to Vancouver. Is she bummed not to be shooting Smallville in L.A.? "I'm so happy I'm in Vancouver. I really don't want to go to L.A. I live with my parents here. I'm sort of looking for a place, but I've never lived on my own, so moving out would be kind of difficult while I'm working on this show. I'm going to wait till I have a nice break and then find a place."

Have her friends dropped by the set? "I hate having people on set. I just don't like it. I've never actually had anyone come and hang out. It makes me uncomfortable. Our studio is out [of the way], none of my friends have cars, and neither do I. It's just a pain. Plus, they're going to school and I'm working, and they don't want to hang out on set. It's boring."

Yeah, kissing that Tom Welling must be a real chore.

--Lia Haberman

Kreuk Pics: (Click to enlarge)