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TOM WELLING
Producers have been trying for years to figure out how to bring Superman back to the big screen. After all, Christopher Reeve had put such an indelibly distinctive stamp on the role (in two great movies, and two stinkers), he left some mighty big red boots to fill. While many loved Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns from 2006, others felt that its strength (hewing so close to Donner’s original) was also its weakness (been there, done that). There has been talk of rebooting the series again (even, gasp, going darker ala The Dark Knight -- please don’t), but no one can quite figure out how to make the big, blue boy scout relevant again. Perhaps the Hollywood movers and shakers are overlooking a Superman who has been right under their noses for nearly a decade. One who has a built-in fanbase, a well laid back story, and is arguably the best Clark Kent since Reeve. I’m speaking, of course, of Smallville’s Tom Welling.
Thomas John Patrick Welling was born on April 26th, 1977 in Putnam Valley, New York. His father is a retired General Motors executive -- his mother, a self-described “home-engineer.” Tom has two older sisters, Jamie and Rebecca, and one younger brother, Mark (also an actor). Moving multiple times around the country because of his father’s job, Tom and family finally settled in Okemos, Michigan while Tom was high school junior. At school, Tom showed more interest in sports than acting, and participated in baseball, basketball, and soccer. After graduation, Tom went into the construction business.
In 1998, at a party in Nantucket, Tom was approached by a catalogue camera scout who, struck by Tom’s rugged good looks, strongly encouraged him to seek work as a model. Two years later, Tom took the advice to heart, moved to Los Angeles, was quickly signed by an agent, and was soon doing modeling work for Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Abercrombie & Fitch (among others). Expanding his horizons to include commercials and music videos, it was only a matter of time before Tom started acting. Encouraged by his new friend, fellow model and actor Ashton Kutcher, Tom began frequenting auditions. His first major role was in 2001 on the CBS series Judging Amy, where Tom played a younger love interest to Amy Brenneman. After a couple of small roles in undistinguished TV fare, Tom was about to get a call which would change his life forever.
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TOM WELLING AS CLARK KENT
While Tom was still getting his feet wet in the acting world, producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar were developing a series, Smallville, about an adolescent Superman in the years before he became the Man of Steel. Not a remake of Superboy, this hour-long drama would have the caveat of “no tights, no flights,” and would instead deal more realistically with the problems of a teenage alien coming to grips with his burgeoning powers. After a nationwide search, the producers offered the role to Tom three times before he accepted it. Tom’s reticence was not due to a poor script -- on the contrary, he thought it was quite good -- but rather his own inexperience and the task of stepping into such a larger-than-life role. Smallville was an instant hit, and Tom was named one of People Magazine’s "Breakthrough Stars of 2001." As the series continued to be the number one show on The WB (later The CW), Tom made his directorial debut with the season five episode, Fragile. He also directed the season six episode, Hydro, and the show's 150th episode, Apocalypse. In addition to playing Clark Kent, Tom also appeared on the show as Bizarro and a young Jor-El.
In 2003, Tom made his feature film debut in a remake of 1950’s Cheaper by the Dozen, starring Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt and Hillary Duff. Tom reprised his role in the sequel two years later. Also in 2005, Tom starred in a (completely unnecessary) remake of John Carpenter’s The Fog -- the film bombed.
Contrary to popular rumor, Tom was not considered for the part of Superman in Bryan Singer’s 2006 film Superman Returns -- this despite a vigorous attempt by Smallville fans to see him cast. Brandon Routh took the role and the film made nearly $400 million worldwide. Despite this seemingly respectable number, Warner Bros. has opted not to carry through with a sequel, and is currently seeking ways to completely reboot the series. Needless to say, Smallville’s rabid fanbase is still eager to see Tom on the big screen.
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SMALLVILLE - SEASON ONE PROMO
As of this writing, The CW has recently announced that Smallville has been renewed for a 9th season, and that Tom has been paid a gargantuan amount of money signed on to return. While many non-fans wonder how this show has lasted so long (Update - Smallville is currently in its tenth and final season), those who have loved it from the beginning (including yours truly) don’t wonder at all. There is a definite arc to this story, and though the series has now graduated from Smallville to Metropolis -- leaning greatly on the Lois (Erica Durance) and Clark at The Daily Planet aspect -- this series has yet to jump the shark (... all right, it has come close a few times, but always seems to find its footing again). There is only one way this show can end, and that is for Clark Kent to finally don the tights, cape, boots and spit curl, and embrace his destiny as Superman. But honestly, once that happens, you might as well ring Pavlov's bell -- fans appetite for more will be slobberingly whetted.
Warner Bros. feature film division can’t seem to figure out what to do with Superman, and yet Smallville is still going almost a decade strong. It may take a few years, but I still get the feeling this show (in my opinion, the best telling of Superman’s origin ever produced) has the legs and insanely-devoted fanbase to take it far beyond the small screen. Time will tell.
In July of 2002, Tom married Jamie White. The couple divides their time between Los Angeles and Vancouver (where Smallville is filmed).
Comments
hey yo alles klar????????????????????????
I agree I agree I agree
I love Tom I've seen every episode of Smallville and I'm dying to see him play superman on the big screen.
I don't care if he hasn't worn the suit he's still the superman of our generation and it's not fair that the producers of the Superman movies are trying to take that away from us by having Brandon Routh play superman in the movies:( Tom will be a perfect superman in the movies he already has the loyal fans who's been waiting for years to see him wear the suit,,,so I hope they dont make the same mistake as they did with Brandon and instead cast Tom in the new movie
Keep Tom where he belongs - on the small screen. I mean, Tori Spelling out-acted him in a recent episode. No thanks.
whatever you loser Doug, oviously Tom will bE a perfect superman in the films.
i 100% agree that we fans can't get enough of Smallville.. I started watching smallville since 2004 and up 'til now I've never been disappointed. I wont say its all the best but definitely, Im always entertained and satisfied and happy, after watching every episode..yeah, im just a big fan i admit..
I'm a huge Smallville and Tom Welling fan! I would love to see Tom carrying on the Superman franchise on the big screen!
I'm from Portugal and i'm a big fan of Smallville. In my opinion, the choice of Tom Welling to the role would be not only hire a very good actor, but also the guarantee of good results (box office) to the possible movie.
I'm sorry for the bad english, but it's the only way of express my opinion here :x
Ok, so the contract for Season 9 is renewed. if so then "YAYYYYY!!!!" but there were earlier rumours circulating 'round the net that Tom wanted to fully round up Smallville within 6 or so Episodes.
does anyone know anything about that or can confirm it?
papacito que chulño estas mmmmmmmmm
Jesus apaga luz.. hahaaha Ow la em casa!!!
I LOVE TOM WELLING,HE IS THE BEST ACTOR EVER.TOM ES MI ACTOR FAVORITO POR PRIMERA VES LO VI COMO CLARK CENT I ME INCANTO. TE QUIERO MUCHO TOM.
I enjoy Smallville and have just bought the DVD collection. Tom is just great as Clark and I can see from the pics of his wife, he obviously loves the older woman!! Hey I am six years older than my husband and it works wonderfully well. I think Tom is a very good actor and is quite beautiful.
toom erz la prsonita maz linda dl mundo tqm taz muy lindo esos hojitos y esa mirada q mata y derrite a todas tq soy tu fan unik t dejo mi msm tngo 16 años tqm alex_smallville_93@hotmail.com te amoooooooooo q dios te cuid bebe biiiiieeeeeeeee
ta tremendo!! jaja
smallvill
superman
he is Beautiful
tom es el mejor actor y el chico mas guapo que existe
te amo corazon quisiera conocerte y poder darte un beso en la boca
I love Tom welling, is the best!!
I don`t know if Tom Welling would want to play Superman in a Superman reboot after almost ten years on Smallville,but Welling`s name should be on any short list of possible actors to play the new Superman.
tom is the most sexyiest and hot actor in the world hes is sooooo cutie and he really is great at what he does and iadored him for hes career in acting and iam pround every time isee him on the cw he is really true hero that why iam holding out for him so he can come and rescue me
He looks way to young to be playing superman .. They would have to go backwards with the movie and lets get real how old is this guy 20 and he looks 18. The 1st superman movie (man of steel) he has a 5 year old kid..How dumb would that be to bring in someone who looks like they are 18 years old.. The only reason this movie would do anything at the box office is because you would have a million teenage girls watching it
I love watching Smallville! I started watching it when I was in 7th grade and now I'm half way through my junior year in college. This past year, my dad and I re-watched every episode on dvd (seasons 1-9). Tom Welling plays Clark really well. You can tell what Clark is thinking just by his facial expressions.
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