Thomas John Patrick Welling (born April 26th, 1977 in New York) is an American actor.

His father is a retired General Motors executive and his mother a home engineer. He has two older sisters and a younger brother, Mark, who is a struggling actor. He graduated from Okemos High School in Michigan in 1995. Instead of going off to college, he chose to work as a construction worker and live at his parents' house. He was discovered at the age of 21 by a catalogue shoot scout who suggested he try modeling. After a few years, and travelling around the world, Tom decided that acting was more his thing. His first big break was landing six episodes on Judging Amy in 2001, playing opposite Amy Brenneman in a romantic role. The role, originally supposed to be a three-episode part, expanded to six after Tom received rave reviews. He later appeared in Special Unit 2 and Undeclared. He landed the role of Clark Kent on Smallville after a nationwide search for a fresh face to play the part. It's been rumored that Tom turned down the part twice before accepting. In 2003 he played the oldest son of Steve Martin in the big screen adaptation of Cheaper by the Dozen.

He married Jamie White on July 5th, 2002, after a three year relationship. He currently resides in Vancouver, where the filming of Smallville takes place.

Filmography

Television series

• Judging Amy (2001) (as Rob Meltzer)
• Special Unit 2 (2001) (as Male Victim #1)
• Undeclared (2001) (as Tom the Frat Guy)
• Smallville (2001-) (as Clark Kent)

Films

• Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) (as Charlie Baker)

The Fog(2005)- Nick Castle (filming)

External links

• TomWelling.com Tom Welling fan site