You cannot get anybetter than a lot of Tom Welling.
Here is a great biography to learn more about him from tomwelling.org and some of my fave pics thanks to tomwelling.biz. Great sites.I love that he is so dedicated to his work and also that he quit fashion and modeling because it was so superficial..I love that about him that he is above all of the superficial material aspect of our culture. I am so glad he decided to audtion for the role on Smallville.
Thomas J. Welling was born on April 26th, 1977, in Putnam Valley, West Point, New York. Shortly after Tom was born, his family moved to Wisconsin, and later, when Tom was in the third grade, his father's job necessitated a further relocation to Hockessin, Delaware.
The family remained in Delaware until shortly before the start of Tom's sophomore year, when they relocated to Okemos, Michigan. Tom's father, who has since retired, worked for General Motors, and his mother was a self-styled "home engineer." Rounding out the family were Tom's two elder sisters and a younger brother.
During his early years at school Tom showed a little of the acting ability that he would later use to great acclaim, making several appearances in school plays and pageants until his sixth grade year. A "jock" during his years in school, Tom also developed a passion for baseball, basketball and soccer. Soccer was Tom's most notable success, and he became the third-string goalkeeper on the high school Varsity team during his senior year.
By Tom's own admission he did no better than "fair" in high school. On graduation from Okemos High School in 1995, he made the decision not to pursue a college education.
Instead Tom chose to take on a more hands-on occupation, becoming a construction worker at a warehouse. He continued to live at home with his parents, and spent his free time hanging out with friends.
In the spring of 1997 whilst Tom and a few friends were taking a vacation on Nantucket, the then 20-year-old was approached near a bar by an
Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue shoot scout. Following a brief discussion Tom was offered the opportunity to model for the catalogue, which at that time was still in its infancy.
Returning home to weigh-up his options, Tom ultimately decided to head to New York, where the shoot was scheduled to take place. It was to be the start of a new career, and Tom made a respectable few thousand dollars for his efforts.
Tom soon moved from his parents' home in Michigan, to Manhattan, where he modelled periodically over the next two years. During this time period Tom also joined
Louisa Models in Germany, taking assignments in Europe from their offices in Munich and Hamburg.
While working in Miami, Florida, in 1998, Tom met his future wife, Jamie A. White, in a local coffee shop. Jamie, who is two years Tom's senior, also worked in the modelling industry at the time.
Despite a reasonable amount of success, it soon became clear to Tom that he wasn't suited for the modelling world. Feeling stifled by the superficial nature of the business, Tom decided that a change of career was in order.
With the encouragement of friends and family Tom relocated to Los Angeles, California, in early 2000. With no training, and with no intention of taking formal lessons, Tom gave himself one year to decide whether acting would be a more fulfilling career. His impression was that that acting didn't look too difficult.
Much to his surprise, Tom soon realised that he found the auditioning process quite enjoyable. His first acting jobs were in television commercials for T.J. Maxx and Verizon, along with a large role in the music video for the song 'Picture Perfect', by
Angela Via, in March 2000.
Tom's breakthrough role was to come in the fall of 2000, when he won the part of karate teacher Rob Meltzer in the successful drama series
Judging Amy.
The following May, Tom made an appearance in the series Special Unit 2, as Male Victim #1 in an episode entitled 'The Depths'. In September, Tom also made a brief appearance in the pilot episode of
Undeclared. However his real success was just around the corner.
Tom's highly successful leading-man debut came in October 2001, starring as the Boy-of-Steel Clark Kent in the WB's
Smallville.
Tom had thrice turned down an offer to audition for the role; he figured that the show would be "lame". However the casting directors had already auditioned hundreds of tall, handsome, raven-haired men for the part, and were sure that Tom had the fresh-faced appeal they were looking for.
They decided to ask Tom one final time. He relented and finally took an audition, reading from the now-infamous graveyard scene with Kristin Kreuk. Far from finding the show lame, he loved it.
Tom stopped at a gas station on his way home from the final audition, intending to call his agent on a pay phone. He was shocked when his agent informed him that he had won the role! Overjoyed, Tom stood by the side of the road screaming.
Unsure of how successful Smallville would become, Tom wisely chose not to get too settled in Vancouver, Canada, during its first season. Initially he would simply stay at hotels on weekdays, returning to Los Angeles at the weekends and during his time off.
Tom and Jamie were married on July 5th, 2002, in a private ceremony held on Martha's Vineyard. In attendance alongside other close friends and family members were Tom's Smallville co-stars, Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum.
At the wedding reception later in the evening, Tom requested that Michael perform a special rendition of the Van Morrison hit, 'Brown-Eyed Girl', for Jamie.
Shortly after they were married, with Smallville now a smash-hit, Tom and Jamie finally made the relocation from Los Angeles to Vancouver.
As shooting wrapped on Smallville's second season in mid-April 2003, Tom was readying himself to film his first feature,
Cheaper By The Dozen. Tom had been cast in the role of Charlie Baker, the eldest son in a family with twelve children.
With the movie completed, Tom's newly-gained experience both in front of and behind the camera was becoming highly evident. His performance had been raised to another level when Smallville returned to screens' a few months later.
In anticipation of Cheaper By The Dozen's nationwide release in the United States later that month, the movie's world premiere was held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, December 14th, 2003. The entire cast of the movie was present for the star-studded event.
Following a very successful opening during the Christmas weekend, Cheaper By The Dozen went on to become a box-office hit around the globe. The movie climbed to number two in the US charts, and on its release in the United Kingdom in February 2004, the film shot straight to the number one spot.
In February 2005, Tom finally signed on to tackle his first lead movie role. In an updated remake of John Carpenter's 1980 classic horror movie,
The Fog, he recreated the character of Nick Castle for a new generation. The Fog was filmed in and around Vancouver in late spring.
A few weeks later Tom flew out to Toronto, Canada, to film
Cheaper By The Dozen 2, the sequel to his 2003 hit, Cheaper By The Dozen.
The fifth season of Smallville debuted to impressive, record-breaking figures for the WB Network on September 29th. At the end of July, Tom had appeared at an industry press junket to announce a few of the more notable aspects of the upcoming season, including a guest appearance from James Marsters. As if that wasn't enough, Tom seemed especially happy to reveal that he would be making his directorial debut on one of the season's later episodes.
The Fog was released nationwide in the United States on October 14th, 2005, and attained the coveted number one spot on its opening weekend. Cheaper By The Dozen 2 placed fourth following its release on December 21st.
In January 2006, Smallville celebrated the airing of its 100th episode, and shortly afterwards Tom directed his first episode, 'Fragile'. The episode received very respectable ratings, and reviews, when it aired on April 13th.
During Tom's rare time off from the filming of Smallville and other projects, he likes to spend time with his friends and family. He passes his spare time by reading, running, skiing on Whistler Mountain in Vancouver, playing basketball, and going to the gym.
