I’ve been asked this question so many times…
“Why do you like Tom Welling so much?”
And I’ve always given the same answer…
Well, duh! Look at him!! *LOL* Just kidding…
Whenever I was or am asked why or how I became such a fan of Tom Welling, I am never able to answer that question. To this day, I really don’t know why. I remember at one point in time not even liking Smallville at all. I wasn’t really interested in a show that dealt with what I thought was “Superman: The Puberty Years”. Tuesday nights were strictly Buffy the Vampire Slayer nights, and after the show was over, I’d put on my radio and relax. One day, a friend of mine told me how good Smallville really was, and although I really didn’t believe her, I decided to watch it anyway. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night. The episode was “Nicodemus”. I remember watching it and thinking, “Wow! She was right! This isn’t as bad as I thought is was.” Now, of course, being gay and all, immediately I took notice of the guy who played Clark. Nice body, beautiful eyes, dark hair, and some sort of innocence behind it all. First acting job, maybe? I really didn’t know. I wasn’t that interested in finding out, either; not yet anyways. But, from that point on, I promised myself that I would start watching it on a weekly basis.
Now, unfortunately, I ended up lying to myself. The next episode I saw was “Crush”. Of course, all true Smallville fans know the next episode is actually “Stray”, but I ended up missing a couple of episodes. (To this day, I am still a little pissed about it. I know that the WB will eventually repeat the episodes, but I wish I would have seen them when they first premiered.) After watching “Crush”, I promised I would pay more attention to the show. The next week, there was a 2-hour “Buffy” special, so unfortunately, I did not watch “Obscura”, but I kept seeing commercials that said “Smallville: No Warning”, and I swore, “Even if UPN has 17 “Buffy” episodes coming on, I’m not gonna miss that!” For once, I kept my word! “No Warning” (actually known as “Tempest”) was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I absolutely LOVED Remy Zero’s “Save Me” (I didn’t know who they were or the title of the song at that point.) And I thought that the blonde-haired chick (Of course, I’m talking about Allison Mack, or Ms. Chloe Sullivan) was Clark’s girlfriend, but he was really in love with that Lana girl. (I actually recognized the name “Lana” from the WB’s “Superman” cartoon series.) When Clark and Chloe started dancing, I thought it was so sweet. Then, (Aw!!!) he goes to kiss her… and then the tornado is announced (And we all know what happens next, unfortunately).
Anyways, I enjoyed the episode so much, I watched it again when it repeated that Sunday! I loved it even more then. I planned on watching it over the summer, but I got caught up in getting ready for college, making and breaking friends, etc... But luckily, I was able to catch a couple of episodes here and there. (Namely, “Craving”, “Hug”, “Reaper”, which is one of my favorites; “Drone” and another repeat of “Tempest”.) All the while, my interest in the star (who I finally realized that he had a name... Tom Welling) continued to grow more and more. I thought, “Oh, my God! He is such a great actor! The way he portrays Clark is so beautiful. It seems like he actually cares about what Clark’s going through. And the way Clark is towards his friends, it seems as if he would die for them.” In a way, that reminded me of myself. I loved my friends so much, at one point in time, I would do anything for them; even if they wouldn’t do the same for me. But, Clark’s friends would. They loved him just as much (Well, maybe except for Chloe *LOL*). I couldn’t wait for the 2nd season premiere. If I had to tie myself to the chair in front of my TV, I would watch it.
Finally, the day arrived: September 24th, 2002. The 2nd season of Smallville was here! I was actually able to watch “Vortex” without anything else going on! Of course, it was a great episode. I loved every moment of it. As the season went on, something happened. I started to look at Tom more and more. Not as just being good looking, but something else. Something spectacular.
He was beautiful.
That was it. He was beautiful, both inside and out. It pulled me into him like a moth to a flame. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. He was like a precious gem waiting to be admired. I don’t know what came over me. But, being gay, I thought, “I have had a whole lot of crushes just like this one. And just like all the other ones, this will pass.” But I noticed in time that it didn’t. There was more to it than that. Was it love? Yeah, right. Was it lust? No, not really. Then, it hit me.
It was admiration. Pure admiration.
There he was, this beautiful guy on TV, and I admired him. He seemed so sweet and innocent. I wanted to hold his hand. Look in his eyes. I wanted to know him. He seemed so much like the perfect guy I would want all for me. I continued to watch Smallville and my admiration grew. There was just something about him. Or, could it possibly be just another celebrity crush? At this point, I figured out that it wasn’t. This wasn’t just a high-school crush. I really thought he was special in some way. I decided I would find out as much as I could about him. At first, Ireally didn't want to; I didn't want to ruin the facade. What if he would turn out to be just like most of the other disgusting actors in Hollywood? Mean, cruel, and uncaring about everything. He could be just working because it’s easy money. He really couldn’t give a damn about his job.
I didn’t need to worry at all.
Where did I start? Of course, the ‘Net: the easiest place to find out anything on just about anyone. One of the first sites I found was www.tomwelling.com. And to this day, I think it’s the best place I ever started. (Please check it out!) The site has just about everything that I would want to know about him: biography, TV roles, pictures; everything. Thanks to that site, I realized that everything that I originally guessed about him was right, with a few little extra surprises.
More or less, Tommy is one of the most beautiful people that you will ever meet.
Born April 26th, 1977 in West Point, New York, he is more or less your ordinary guy. He eventually moved to Michigan. He didn’t do too great in school, kind of like me. He graduated from Okemos High School, and decided not to go to college because, according to him, his grades weren’t good enough for even community college. He decided to do some construction work with his Dad. On a spur-of-the-moment thing, he and some friends decided to go to Nantucket on a vacation. While he was there, an “Abercrombie and Fitch” modeling agent approached him, and asked him if he was interested in modeling. He accepted the offer and modeled for a couple of years. During this time, he met his now wife, Jamie. He eventually quit modeling because he didn’t like the atmosphere of it. (Neither do I, thanks to the movie “Gia” starring Angelina Jolie, but that’s off the point.) He decided to attempt acting, and if he didn’t make it, he would go back home.
He got some commercials, an appearance in a music video from singer Angela Via, (you can see the video via the website above) and then something much bigger and better: a 3-episode stint on CBS’ “Judging Amy” playing Amy’s love interest: a karate teacher named Rob Meltzer. Fans and CBS loved him so much, he was asked to do ANOTHER 3 episodes! After that was done, he had 2 small parts that you would miss if you blinked: “male victim #1” on UPN’s “Special Unit 2”, and “Tom the Frat Guy” on the debut of the FOX series, “Undeclared”. Both shows are cancelled before the end of their first seasons. (Because of no more Tom? OK, maybe I'm a little biased.) Then, he is offered the role of the young Clark Kent on Smallville, which he turns down twice (he probably had my original idea about the show in mind). But eventually, he gives it a shot: he decides to audition. And of course, the rest is history…
He plays a character that saves people from all kinds of danger, and has all kinds of fame and riches. But, while you would think his ego would be inflated, he takes it all in stride. And THAT’S what I love about him.
Smallville has become a HUGE hit on the WB, and still, this beautiful young man is as down to Earth as the next guy on the street. His favorite cuss word is “Damn!” His fave expression: “There you go!” He wears a size 14 shoe. He’s part Native-American. He’s very shy and secretive about his private life. He can be easily embarrassed, and he loves his doggie, Cook.
Even with all of his fame, fortune, riches and popularity, he’s just a normal guy who’s been at the right place at the right time. And he’s very real about all of it. As he’s said once, “I couldn't believe it when they told me I got it. I never really knew what I wanted to do with my life, but somehow I knew I wanted to be that guy who saves the day." And he does that for all of his fans with his spectacular acting, and kind-hearted spirit: he saves the day.
Because of that, and so much more, I will admire Tom for a long time.
So, in conclusion, I would like to thank him for what he’s made me believe:
Opportunity can knock at anytime or anyplace. But as long as you’re humble about it, you will always be happy about what you’ve done with your life. And even if it never finds it you, believing in yourself, through no matter what obstacle, will help you find the opportunities.
Thank you, Tom Welling, for not only being talented, charming and just plain wonderful.
Thank you for being yourself.
You are nothing short of beautiful.
-Jonathan Brown
