Thomas Joseph Welling[1] (born April 26, 1977)[2] is an American actor, director, producer, podcaster, and model.

A high school athlete, Welling initially worked in construction and, in 1998, he began modelling men's clothing for several popular brands.

[3] Originally a construction worker, Welling was discovered in 1998 at a party in Nantucket by casting director Jennifer Starr who was there finding fresh faces for a Tommy Hilfiger campaign and suggested he try modeling.

[3] In 2000, Welling appeared in Angela Via's music video "Picture Perfect" where he played Vía's love interest.

[4] Welling was cast in the WB superhero drama Smallville after a nationwide search for an actor to play Clark Kent.

In an interview with a teen magazine, Welling spoke about the day he auditioned for the role: "I was on my way back from the Warner Bros. studio, and I stopped in a gas station to call my manager and tell him how it went.

[8] Welling told TV Guide that he turned down the lead role twice, but after reading the script, decided to take the job.

"[12] In 2003, Welling said he met with director Brett Ratner about potentially playing Clark Kent/Superman in the superhero film Superman Returns (2006), but scheduling conflicted with Smallville.

[13] Comic book artist Alex Ross even did two sketches of Welling as the "Man of Steel" to see what the actor would look like in the famous costume.

[15] In 2019, Welling reprised his role as Clark Kent in the Batwoman episode of the CW Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths", along with his Smallville co-star Erica Durance as Lois Lane.

[16][17] Welling's reprisal concluded his incarnation's story where it showed Clark gave up his powers, retired as an average farmer, and has at least two daughters with Lois.

[18][19] In 2017, Welling made his much-awaited return to television when he was cast to co-star in the third season of the Fox fantasy comedy-drama Lucifer.

In 2013, Welling was among the all-star cast of the historical drama Parkland, based on the book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by author Vincent Bugliosi.

The story centers on the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

[11] He returned as Clark Kent for the show's tenth and final season in Fall 2010 and became a full executive producer, as credited in a May 20, 2010 press release by the CW.

[24] Welling served as an executive producer of the CW comedy-drama Hellcats based on journalist Kate Torgovnick's book Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders.

According to Welling, the reason of cancellation was because of the change of CW president of entertainment from Dawn Ostroff to Mark Pedowitz.