He comes from a family of six members, comprising of his
father, a retired executive for General Motors; his mother, a "home
engineer"; a younger brother named Mark Welling, who is also an actor; and two other older sisters...
Thomas John Patrick Welling, or Tom Welling as he has always been referred to, is probably best known as Clark Kent from the hit television series Smallville (2001). Welling graduated from Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan, when he was 18 years old. Before that, he spent his freshman year in the Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware. He played a lot of varsity soccer in his high school and received "fair" grades in his exams. But even so, Tom did not want to go to college. He wanted to be a construction worker and therefore, after graduating, he worked in a construction service site.
Tom eventually moved on to modeling
after spending a period of time working in the construction business.
While modeling, he met fellow celebrity and model Ashton Kutcher
while they were booked for a project together. The two eventually
become good friends. Even though both Ashton and Tom were famous models,
Tom decided to be an actor. He had an offer from a guy who worked in
the agency he was signed with to be an actor. Tom attended a few casting
calls and not too long later, became an actor.
The acting gigs
that he received eventually made directors take more notice of him. Tom
Welling was asked to play the role of Clark Kent in the hit series Smallville
(2001). What many people probably don't know is that Tom turned down
the role twice. He said that the reason he turned down the role wasn't
because the story wasn't good, but it was because he thought the role
was bigger than he was and he didn't want people to think that he wasn't
a good enough actor.
Even so, Tom ended up taking the role
because he had the feeling that the show was going to be a great hit and
he would be a fool not to take it. Tom even said he felt some sort of
connection between himself and his character, Clark Kent. Therefore, Tom
made himself a household name.
Other than only becoming a face
on television, Welling also acts in other movies. The movie with which
he is probably most associated is Doce en casa (2003), in which he starred with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, and its sequel, Doce fuera de casa (2005), in which he repeated his prior role. Tom has also starred in a B-grade horror flick, Terror en la niebla (2005), together with Perdidos (2004)'s star, Maggie Grace.
Although that movie didn't really achieve box-office success, Tom's
acting talents still got noticed by the critics. More recently, he
co-starred in the fictional historical drama Parkland (2013) with Zac Efron, whom he befriended.
Tom
may be the guy who gets the girl he wants on television, but he
apparently does not think too much about his love life. In fact, Tom got
married to Jamie White, one of his closest friends. The couple wed on
July 5, 2002. Tom has also said that the person he respects the most is
his wife because she has the greatest heart. According to reports, he
lived with his wife in Los Angeles, relocating to Vancouver while
filming Smallville (2001).
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anastasia Andrew Veno
Thomas John Patrick Welling, or Tom Welling as he has always been referred to, is probably best known as Clark Kent from the hit television series Smallville (2001). Welling graduated from Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan, when he was 18 years old. Before that, he spent his freshman year in the Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware. He played a lot of varsity soccer in his high school and received "fair" grades in his exams. But even so, Tom did not want to go to college. He wanted to be a construction worker and therefore, after graduating, he worked in a construction service site.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anastasia Andrew Veno
Spouse
| Jamie White | (5 July 2002 - present) (filed for divorce) |
Trivia
Graduated in 1995 from Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan.
Like Christopher Reeve, was not a big Superman fan prior to being cast as Clark Kent, and in fact continues not to read Superman comics.
Named one of People Magazine's 'Breakthrough Stars of 2001'.
Turned down the role of the young Clark Kent twice before accepting it.
Has a pug named Cook.
Played varsity soccer in high school.
Received "fair" grades in high school and opted not to go to
college. Instead, he chose to become a construction worker while
continuing to live with his parents.
After seeing a woman being mugged, he ran over and fought off her
attackers. The woman looked at him and said, "Wow, you really are
Superman," after which he laughed.
Auditioned for the role of Tag Jones on Friends (1994). It eventually went to Eddie Cahill.
Father is a retired executive for General Motors and mother is a "home engineer."
Played the role of Joseph/Josephine in "Some Like It Hot" in high school.
Modeled alongside Ashton Kutcher. The two are good friends.
Can do a voice of Gollum (El señor de los anillos: La comunidad del anillo (2001)), and a pretty accurate Keanu Reeves impression.
Favorite celebrities: Bob Saget, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro, Steve Martin and Jerry Seinfeld.
Favorite movie: La tragedia de la Bounty (1935).
Attended Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware, for his freshman year of high school.
His mother is part Native American.
Appeared in Angela Via's
first music video, "Picture Perfect," as her love interest. It took
place in a video game arcade and ended with them in a photo booth about
to kiss.
He has played the role of Clark Kent longer than any other actor.
His favorite show is Seinfeld (1989).
Tom is good friends with Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki of the show Sobrenatural
(2005), and has worked with both, separately. One of his visits to
their sets ended up in an unofficial appearance of his on their show
when they played a joke on the crew by having Tom get out of a car when
Jared was supposed to.
He is very good friends with his "Smallville" co-stars Allison Mack, Michael Rosenbaum and John Schneider.
Moved from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Los Angeles in March 2011.
Personal Quotes
You know one of the things about going from modeling to acting is
it's so much more fulfilling. With modeling, you get your picture taken,
which is great, good for you, you know? But in acting, you're able to
reach in and show a little bit more of yourself.
[on having his own action figure]: I don't think one is ever
prepared for something like that. But it's fun. I hope it's durable.
To me, from the beginning, this show has always been about Clark
before Superman. And for me, flying then brings you into the realm of
Superman.
I find it much more interesting to concentrate on the
development of this character and show you what happened in his life to
make him become this Superman that we all know him to be.
[on Smallville
(2001)'s "Homecoming" episode] It was a real exciting episode for us to
shoot because it's a turning point, and I think from this episode on,
the show is going to be very different from what it's been in the past. I
also think we're finally going to get to what I believe the audience
wanted the show to be.
I find it much more interesting to concentrate on the development
of [Clark] and show what happened in his life to make him the Superman
that we all know him to be. To put on the cape or put on the tights and
start flying around... makes things too easy for Clark.
[on why he dislikes interviews] I don't want to be a celebrity for
the sake of being a celebrity. I wanna work and then go home and live
in private.
Salary
| Smallville (2001) | $175.000/episode (2009-10) |
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