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Tom Welling
Welling in 2024
Born
Thomas Joseph Welling

(1977-04-26) April 26, 1977 (age 47)
Putnam Valley, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
  • model
  • podcaster
Years active1998–present
Television
Spouses
  • Jamie White
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2002; div. 2015)​
  • Jessica Rose Lee
    ​
    (m. 2019)​
Children2

Thomas Joseph Welling[1] (born April 26, 1977)[2] is an American actor, director, producer, podcaster, and model. He is best known for his role as Clark Kent in The WB (now The CW) superhero drama Smallville (2001–2011). He also co-starred in the third season of the Fox fantasy comedy-drama Lucifer as Lt. Marcus Pierce/Cain (2017–2018).

A high school athlete, Welling initially worked in construction and, in 1998, he began modelling men's clothing for several popular brands. In 2000, he transitioned to television. He has been nominated and received several awards for his role as Clark Kent. In 2001, he had a recurring role as Rob "Karate Rob" Meltzer in the second season of the CBS legal drama Judging Amy. His films include Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), The Fog (2005), Draft Day (2014), and The Choice (2016). In 2022, he starred as Samuel Campbell in the dark fantasy series The Winchesters. He has also been involved behind the camera as an executive producer and a director.

Early life

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Welling was born in Putnam Valley, New York.[3][4] His family moved frequently, making stops in Wisconsin, Delaware, and Michigan.[4] 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.[4] Welling is one of four children, with two older sisters, Rebecca and Jamie,[5] and a younger brother, Mark Welling, who is also an actor.[3]

Career

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Early career

[edit]

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.[6] Welling modeled for Louisa Modeling Agency until 2000,[4] when he relocated to Los Angeles. There he modeled for Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Calvin Klein while pursuing an acting career.[3] 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 pursued acting because he wanted to express a range of emotions,[5] but Welling still models occasionally and appeared in the May 2008 issue of Vogue, the so-called Superhero Issue.[7] 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.[4] 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.[4]

Smallville

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Welling in 2009

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!'"[4] The pilot aired in October 2001 and became the highest-rated debut for The WB, with 8.4 million viewers.[8] 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."[9] 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".[10]

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.[11] 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."[12]

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.[13] 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.[14] In August 2009, Welling won another Teen Choice Award as "Choice TV Actor (Action Adventure)" for Smallville.[15]

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.[16][17] 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.[18][19]

Lucifer

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In 2017, Welling made his much-awaited return to television when he 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.[20]

When asked why he suddenly decided to return to television, he told Entertainment weekly: 'Shortly after I got a call from a very dear friend of mine, Greg Beeman, who was our showrunner on Smallville for many years and had directed episodes of Lucifer, and he goes, “I hear that your name’s in the mix to be on Lucifer. I know you, I’ve worked on the show, you’re going to love it, don’t overthink it.” So then I binge-watched about six episodes of the show, because I was familiar with the show, but they were like, “Take a look at these six that we recommend for you to watch, these are our favorites,” and I watched them all, and Wednesday morning the conversation was, “I don’t want to do 10 episodes,” and they said, “Well, you have to do 10, it’s 10 or nothing.” I said, “I want to do more, I want to do 15,” and so we signed on for 15 episodes, because I like it that much, and having met the cast and the crew they’re so much fun. They have a good time, they get their work done, they’re professional, but they’re enjoying themselves. I like the show, the show’s fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but they solve bit crimes and their issues and stuff like that.'[21]

Film

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In December 2003, Welling made his feature film debut as Charlie Baker, the oldest son and second-oldest in the Baker family which had 12 children, in the family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, which is a remake of the 1950 movie starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, based on the 1948 book about the family of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth and written by two of their children.[11] Welling talked about why he was interested in the project in an interview with Paul Fischer: "The top three reasons I decided to do this film were, one, Steve Martin, two, Steve Martin and three, Steve Martin. That was the number one draw for me. Then, after reading the script, I really liked this character, Charlie. I liked what he went through, what he had to go through, and I felt I understood where he was coming from. And I just wanted to be a part of it."[5] Welling had always been a fan of Martin's and said that he "absolutely loved" working with him.[5]

In 2005, Welling co-starred in the horror film The Fog, a remake of John Carpenter's 1980 film of the same name, as Nick Castle (a character originally played by Tom Atkins).[22] At the same time The Fog was in production, Welling was still working on the last few episodes of the fourth season of Smallville. The same year, he reprised his role as Charlie Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

In 2013, Welling was among the all-star cast of the historical drama Parkland, based on the book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by author Vincent Bugliosi. The story centers on the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.[23] In 2014, Welling co-starred in Ivan Reitman's sports drama Draft Day. He played a veteran quarterback whose career is at a crossroads.

Production

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For Smallville's ninth season, Welling served as a co-executive producer.[11] He returned as Clark Kent for the show's tenth and final season in Fall 2010 and became a full executive producer, as credited in a May 20, 2010 press release by the CW.[24]

Welling served as an executive producer of the CW comedy-drama Hellcats based on journalist Kate Torgovnick's book Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders.[25][26] The series first aired on The CW beginning in the fall of 2010,[24] and was canceled on May 17, 2011. According to Welling, the reason of cancellation was because of the change of CW president of entertainment from Dawn Ostroff to Mark Pedowitz.[27]

Directing

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Welling made his directorial debut in 2006 with the Smallville episode "Fragile" (5.18). He also directed "Hydro" (6.10); the show's 150th episode, "Apocalypse" (7.18); "Injustice" (8.21); the second part ("Legends") of the two-hour episode "Absolute Justice" (9.11); and two episodes of Smallville's final season, "Patriot" (10.09) and "Booster" (10.18).

Personal life

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On July 5, 2002, Welling married model Jamie White[3] on Martha's Vineyard with Welling's friends and then-Smallville co-stars Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum in attendance.[28] Welling and White resided in Vancouver, British Columbia,[5] but returned to Los Angeles in March 2011. On October 17, 2013, White filed for divorce from Welling. The divorce was finalized in November 2015.[29]

In 2014, Welling began dating equestrian and Saddle Club founder Jessica Rose Lee. In April 2018, they announced their engagement.[30] The couple has two sons, born in January 2019 and June 2021.[31][32][33] Welling and Lee married on November 30, 2019, at Sunstone Vineyards & Winery in Santa Ynez, California.[34]

Welling plays golf in his spare time.[35][36] Welling has said in YM that he dislikes interviews. He said "I don't want to be a celebrity for the sake of being a celebrity. I want to work and then go home and live in private."[37] Welling has also said he disliked modeling because it was not fulfilling and was not an expressive job.[38]

Filmography

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Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Cheaper by the Dozen Charlie Baker
2005 The Fog Nicholas "Nick" Castle
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Charlie Baker
2013 Parkland Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman
2014 Draft Day Brian Drew
2016 The Choice Dr. Ryan McCarthy
2024 Mafia Wars Terry

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2001-2002 Judging Amy Rob Meltzer 11 episodes
Special Unit 2 Male victim 1 episode
Undeclared Tom 3 episodes
2001–2011 Smallville Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman Main role
2017–2018 Lucifer Lt. Marcus Pierce / Cain 19 episodes
2019 Batwoman Clark Kent / Kal-El 1 Episode
2020 Professionals Vincent Corbo 10 episodes
2022 The Winchesters Samuel Campbell 3 episodes

Crew role

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Year Title Notes
2006–2011 Smallville Director
Episode 5.18 "Fragile"
Episode 6.10 "Hydro"
Episode 7.18 "Apocalypse"
Episode 8.21 "Injustice"
Episode 9.11 "Absolute Justice Part 2"
Episode 10.09 "Patriot"
Episode 10.18 "Booster"
2009–2010 Co-executive producer
22 episodes
2010–2011 Executive producer
22 episodes
Hellcats Executive producer
22 episodes
2020 Professionals Executive producer
10 episodes

Music video

[edit]
Year Title Artist Role
2000 "Picture Perfect" Angela Via Vía's love interest

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Tom Welling awards and nominations
Awards and nominations
Award
Wins
Nominations
Teen Choice 2 10
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films 0 5
Totals[a]
Wins2
Nominations15
Note
  1. ^ Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

The following is a List of awards and nominations received by Tom Welling throughout his acting career.

Nominations

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  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: 5 nominations, 0 wins
    • Saturn Award nomination, (2002), Best Actor in a Television Series (Smallville)
    • Saturn Award nomination, (2003), Best Actor in a Television Series (Smallville)
    • Saturn Award nomination, (2004), Best Actor in a Television Series (Smallville)
    • Saturn Award nomination, (2005), Best Actor in a Television Series (Smallville)
    • Saturn Award nomination, (2006), Best Actor in a Television Series (Smallville)
  • Teen Choice Awards: 10 nominations, 2 wins
    • Teen Choice Award nomination (2002), Choice Actor: Drama/Action Adventure (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award won, (2002), Choice Breakout Star: Male (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award nomination, (2003), Choice Actor: Drama/Action Adventure (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award nomination, (2004), Choice Actor: Drama/Action Adventure (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award nomination, (2004), Choice Breakout Star: Male (Cheaper by the Dozen)
    • Teen Choice Award nomination, (2005), Choice Actor: Drama (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award nomination, (2006), Choice Chemistry (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award nomination, (2006), Choice Actor: Drama/Action Adventure (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award nomination, (2008), Choice Actor: Action (Smallville)
    • Teen Choice Award won, (2009), Choice Actor: Action (Smallville)

Awards

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Year Award Category Film/TV Series Notes
2002 Teen Choice Award Choice Breakout TV Star – Male Smallville
2009 Choice Action TV Actor

References

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  1. ^ "Ep 1: Tom Welling". Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2018 – via Google Podcasts.
  2. ^ Audrey Fine (September 26, 2006). "Getting to Know: Tom Welling". Seventeen. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Tom Welling Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Interview with Smallville's Tom Welling". Teen Magazine. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Paul Fischer Interviews Tom Welling". Filmmonthly.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  6. ^ "Breaking News - Bravo Reveals the 14 Finalists on 'Make Me a Supermodel,' Premiering on Thursday, January 10 at 10 PM ET/PT". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "Tom Welling In Vogue Magazine Photoshoot". The Insider. April 30, 2008. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  8. ^ "The WB Orders More 'Smallville'". tv.zap2it.com. October 24, 2001. Retrieved October 19, 2006.[dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Tom Welling Interview – Cheaper by the Dozen Movie and Smallville". Movies.about.com. October 30, 2009. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  10. ^ "Tom Welling Interview from SV Yearbook". KryptonSite. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  11. ^ a b c "Shows – Smallville – Cast – Tom Welling". The CW. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  12. ^ "Tom Welling Interview". Supermantv.net. Archived from the original on October 21, 2004. Retrieved April 16, 2010.
  13. ^ "Tom Welling on Smallville & Superman Movie". December 25, 2003. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  14. ^ "Alex Ross Draws Tom Welling as Superman!". Alex Ross Art. April 16, 2004. Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "Teen Choice Awards winners". USA Today. August 10, 2009. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  16. ^ "Smallville's Tom Welling to Reprise Superman Role for Arrowverse 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' Crossover". TVLine. September 19, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  17. ^ Agard, Chancellor (November 19, 2019). "New 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' photos reveal Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  18. ^ Spangler, Todd (July 6, 2022). "'Smallville' Rewatch Podcast With Show Stars Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum Gets Premiere Date (Podcast News Roundup)". Variety. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "Talkville". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  20. ^ Birnbaum, Debra (July 22, 2017). "Tom Welling Joins Cast of Lucifer for Season 3". Variety. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  21. ^ Abrams, Natalie. "Tom Welling reveals why he chose Lucifer to make his TV return". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  22. ^ Robert Falconer (April 17, 2005). "Exclusive Interview: Tom Welling". Cinemaspy.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  23. ^ "Tom Welling Heads to Parkland". ComingSoon.net. January 31, 2013. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  24. ^ a b "The CW Announces 2010–2011 Schedule". CWtv.com. May 20, 2010. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  25. ^ Michael Ausiello (February 2, 2010). "Pilot intel: CW orders Tom Welling-produced drama". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  26. ^ "Hellcats (a.a.a. Cheer) (The CW)". The Futon Critic. February 2, 2010.
  27. ^ "'Hellcats' Is Coming Back, Producer Tom Welling Reveals Cancelation Reason". International Business Times. September 12, 2017. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  28. ^ Barron, James; Medina, Jennifer (July 12, 2002). "Super Event for Superman". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  29. ^ "Tom Welling Super Rich Divorce Settlement". TMZ. November 22, 2015. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  30. ^ "Is Smallville's Tom Welling Engaged to Girlfriend Jessica Rose Lee?". People. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  31. ^ Her Instagram page
  32. ^ "Smallville Alum Tom Welling's Fiancee Jessica Rose Lee Is More Than Six Months Pregnant". Us Weekly. November 5, 2018. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  33. ^ Murphy, Helen (January 8, 2019). "Tom Welling and Fiancée Jessica Rose Lee Welcome First Child". People. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  34. ^ Hautman, Nichola (December 2, 2019). "Smallville's Tom Welling Marries Jessica Rose Lee After 5 Years Together". Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  35. ^ "Tom Welling in SAG-AFTRA Foundation 7th Annual L.A. Golf Classic Fundraiser". Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  36. ^ "Tom Welling in MJCI Golf Tournament (March 29, 2012)". Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  37. ^ "Young Superman hates interviews". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. December 26, 2003. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  38. ^ "Paul Fischer Interviews Tom Welling". filmmonthly.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
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