Tom Welling

Thomas "Tom" Joseph Welling (born April 26, 1977) is an American actor, director, producer, and model.

A high school athlete, Welling initially worked in construction and, in 1998, he successfully modeled men's clothing for several popular brands.

Originally a construction worker, Welling was discovered in 1998 at a party in Nantucket by casting director Jennifer Starr who was there finding fresh faces for a Tommy Hilfiger campaign and suggested he try modeling.

In 2000, he made a successful transition to television.

He has been nominated and received several awards for his role as Clark Kent.

Welling modeled for Louisa Modeling Agency until 2000, when he relocated to Los Angeles.

There he modeled for Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Calvin Klein while pursuing an acting career.

In 2000, Welling appeared in Angela Via's music video "Picture Perfect" where he played Vía's love interest.

Welling has said that he did not like modeling and that he was not good at it because it was all on the outside or from an external point of view.

He is best known for his role as Clark Kent in The WB/The CW superhero drama Smallville (2001–2011).

In 2001, he had a recurring role as Rob "Karate Rob" Meltzer in the second season of the CBS legal drama Judging Amy.

In his first major acting role, Welling played karate teacher Rob "Karate Rob" Meltzer, a younger love interest of Amy Gray (Amy Brenneman) in the second season of the CBS legal drama Judging Amy, which aired in 2001.

Welling was originally signed for three episodes, but after receiving good feedback, the producers kept him for three more.

Welling also had a small role in the pilot episode of the UPN science fiction sitcom Special Unit 2, and he appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived Fox sitcom Undeclared.

Welling was cast in the WB superhero drama Smallville after a nationwide search for an actor to play Clark Kent.

In an interview with a teen magazine, Welling spoke about the day he auditioned for the role: "I was on my way back from the Warner Bros. studio, and I stopped in a gas station to call my manager and tell him how it went. I called and got him on the phone and he said, 'Can you hold on a second?' Next thing I know, there are literally seven people on the other line and almost in unison they say, 'Tom, you got it!'" The pilot aired in October 2001 and became the highest-rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers.

Welling told TV Guide that he turned down the lead role twice, but after reading the script, decided to take the job.

Like Christopher Reeve, he was not a Superman fan before being cast as Clark Kent.

In fact, he said, he continued to not read Superman comics: "I made a conscious decision to stay away from that material. We're doing something different at a time before all that, I don't want that to affect what I'm doing, even subconsciously."

He did get the chance to meet two previous Superman actors: Christopher Reeve, who appeared in season 2: episode 17 titled "Rosetta", and Dean Cain, who appeared in season 7: episode 4 titled "Cure".

Welling was named one of People magazine's "Breakthrough Stars of 2001", and also won the Teen Choice Award as "Choice Breakout Star (Male)" in 2002 for his role as Clark Kent.

Following the third season, Welling was interviewed by Smallville Magazine and said that if he could play one character on the show that was not Clark Kent, it would be Lex Luthor; "Lex Luthor! I wouldn't mind having my head shaved—as an actor, [it is the ultimate,] getting to play the complete opposite of your character."

His films include Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), The Fog (2005), Draft Day (2014) and The Choice (2016).

He has been cast as Samuel Campbell in the TV series The Winchesters.

He has also been involved behind the camera as an executive producer and a director.

Welling was born in Putnam Valley, New York.

His family moved frequently, making stops in Wisconsin, Delaware, and Michigan.

Welling attended Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan, where he started acting in plays, but then switched to sports.

Welling played baseball and soccer, but his favorite sport is basketball.

Welling is one of four children, with two older sisters, Rebecca and Jamie, and a younger brother, Mark Welling, who is also an actor.

In 2003, Welling said he met with director Brett Ratner about potentially playing Clark Kent/Superman in the superhero film Superman Returns (2006), but scheduling conflicted with Smallville.

Comic book artist Alex Ross even did two sketches of Welling as the "Man of Steel" to see what the actor would look like in the famous costume.

He pursued acting because he wanted to express a range of emotions, but Welling still models occasionally and appeared in the May 2008 issue of Vogue, the so-called Superhero Issue.

In August 2009, Welling won another Teen Choice Award as "Choice TV Actor (Action Adventure)" for Smallville.

He also co-starred in the third season of Fox fantasy comedy-drama Lucifer as Lt. Marcus Pierce/Cain (2017–2018).

In 2017, Welling was cast to co-star in the third season of the Fox fantasy comedy-drama Lucifer.

He played Marcus Pierce, a police lieutenant at the precinct and the main antagonist of the season who is the immortal Cain.

In 2019, Welling reprised his role as Clark Kent in the Batwoman episode of the CW Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths", along with his Smallville co-star Erica Durance as Lois Lane.

Welling's reprisal concluded his incarnation's story where it showed Clark gave up his powers, retired as an average farmer, and has at least two daughters with Lois.

On July 13, 2022, Welling and fellow Smallville actor Michael Rosenbaum launched the podcast Talkville, where the two co-stars comment on every episode of Smallville.