MovieChat Forums > Tom Welling Discussion > Was he popular during the Smallville run...

Was he popular during the Smallville run?


I didn't watch Smallville the first time around because I had younger children that had to be put to bed...so I don't know much about how things were about Tom Welling. Was he popular as far as teen magazines and things like that went? I know if I had been a teen age girl I would have been crazy about him. I think he's incredibly good looking...why wasn't he in more movies too? I would have thought with his looks they would have pushed him into a lot of movie roles...but all he did was those Cheaper by the Dozen movies and The Fog. Was his work too demanding on Smallville and he didn't have the time?

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I remember seeing him a lot in magazine when the show first started I think around 2007 he became less popular as did the show

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He hasn't been in much movies because Smallville was very demanding, I remember him saying in an interview he spent most of his life on set and had very few off days. As for his popularity during Smallville's peak, he was never really A-list popular but he had his niche, he's also a very reserved person he tends to avoid the media, rarely doing any interviews which would account for his popularity being so low.

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He's said many times how he acted to act, not to be a celebrity. when he left the stage it was personal time with friends and family. i think earlier in his career he probably had to do more appearances because he and the show were unknown.

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I know he was SUPER popular at the beginning of it. He was everywhere in teen magazines and all the girls had crushes on him. He was definitely a big TEEN tv star. But not big as in everyone in hollywood wanted him, or he was being photographed all the time. Just big for someone on a tv show. Maybe like the dudes off that vampire tv show (I dunno though, I dont watch it).

But it did not last long I think. I think it died down after a couple of seasons...I am not sure how many. My sister who is in her mid twenties still has all those old posters of him on her walls. lol.

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I was a teenager then an was soooo in love with him posters and pics everywhere in my room lol

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Old post I know, but wanted to add my two cents.

He was a TV heartthrob at the time and yes he was extremely popular. From what I've heard from a friend of mine who LOVED Smallville and is an avid autograph collector, he's a VERY private person (wouldn't even do Comic-Con, except the year where they forced his hand) and due to the abundance of paparazzi/autograph dealers that hounded him, there were a chunk of years during Smallville's peak in popularity where he refused to sign autographs and blew off fans. My friend had met him numerous times over the years and this was the general consensus in the autograph community. Though, apparently he's gotten much nicer since the show ended.

Ron *beep* Swanson is the greatest thing that ever happened to television.

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Haha, I was 11 when Smallville aired and though Tom was good looking people made a much bigger deal over Kristen Kreuk. She was voted the hottest girl on T.V in 2002 and all the boys in my 6th grade class had her posters on her locker. Aww it made me jealous. Tom was alright, but no one made an enormous deal about his good looks or acting ability.

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I could be wrong (because I was never a teen girl and was in my 20s when Smallville started), but Tom Welling never seemed to embrace fame. I don't remember seeing him in appearances or interviews off the show much and he really kept as low a profile as the star of a teen drama would be capable of.

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I would agree about that. He was never seen dating Paris Hilton or any of the girls back then. That was something a guy had to do back at that time to get noticed is to participate in the “celebrity culture” and be out at the clubs, dating the latest it girl etc. Tom was a married guy and disinterested in fame.

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