Biography

A tall, dark-haired and exceptionally handsome performer, Tom Welling went from modeling to acting, quickly landing the starring role on the "Superman"-as-student series "Smallville" (The WB, 2001- ). Hailing from upstate New York, Welling worked in print ad campaigns before moving to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. There he was cast in a 2001 recurring stint on "Judging Amy" as the significantly younger man who wins the heart of the titular jurist while he teaches her daughter karate. Welling appeared briefly in the debut episode of the Fox sitcom "Undeclared" that fall and soon was headlining his own series, playing Clark Kent, the boy who fell to Earth amid a flurry of meteors, who slowly learns about his mysterious origins and powers in "Smallville". Strapping, smart, and sweetly se-deprecating, Welling's Clark Kent was something of a Superman even when he was hiding his powers, but the actor did a fine job of evincing the character's conflicts and internal weaknesses as well as his negative physical reaction to the kryptonite dotting the town. His chemistry with would-be love interest Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) and friend/future foe Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) often helped to elevate the show above its genre trappings and showed skills that offered Welling a future beyond "Smallville": he appeared as Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt's oldest, football star son Charlie in the bland but popular 2003 remake of "Cheaper By the Dozen," as well as the 2005 sequel. He also made a foray into horror with a leading role in the murky 2005 remake of the John Carpenter classic "The Fog."