No, he's not wearing any blue and red costume underneath the tux.
"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."
Thomas Joseph Welling (born April 26, 1977 in Putnam Valley, New York) is an American actor, director, producer, and model best known for his role as Clark Kent in The WB/CW superhero drama Smallville.
Before getting into acting, Welling was a high school athlete, and then a fashion model. He has also been involved behind the camera as an executive producer and a director; he directed seven episodes of Smallville and became one of the show's producers in its last two seasons. He also produced the short-lived Hellcats.
He is a tall man, standing roughly 6'3. This makes him the second tallest Superman to date behind Christopher Reeve.note
Filmography:
- Judging Amy (2001) as Rob Meltzer
- Special Unit 2 (2001) as Victim
- Undeclared (2001) as Tom
- Smallville (2001-2011) as Kal-El / Clark Kent / The Blur / Superman, Young Jor-El, Bizarro, and Clark Luthor
- Cheaper by The Dozen film series (2003, 2005) as Charlie Baker
- The Fog (2005) as Nicholas "Nick" Castle
- Parkland (2013) as Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman
- Draft Day (2014) as Brian Drew
- The Choice (2016) as Ryan
- Lucifer (2017-2018) as Marcus Pierce / Cain
- The Winchesters (2022) as Samuel Campbell
Tropes:
- Irony as She Is Cast: Like Christopher Reeve, he was not a big Superman fan prior to being cast as the character on Smallville, and in fact continues not to read Superman comics after the show ended.
- Mr. Fanservice: His characters were huge hits with the female (and even male) audience.
- Pretty Boy: In his Smallville time, he was absolutely this trope. Now he's more on the other side.
- Silver Fox: His hair has started to go grey in middle-age but he's still very handsome, not to mention extremely buff.
- Star-Making Role: Playing the pre-Superman Clark Kent on Smallville made him a household name.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: As is standard for Superman actors. At 6'3, he's the second tallest to play the role after Christopher Reeve.
- What Could Have Been:
- Auditioned for the role of Tag Jones on Friends, which eventually went to Eddie Cahill.
- Was on Stephenie Meyer's wish list to play Emmett Cullen before casting even began for the Live-Action Adaptation of The Twilight Saga.
