Welling was born in Upstate New York on April 26, 1977. in his first major acting role, Welling portrayed karate teacher Rob Meltzer, a.k.a “Karate Rob”, a younger love interest of Amy Brenneman’s character on the CBS series Judging Amy, which aired in 2001. Welling was originally signed for three episodes; after receiving enthusiastic fan reviews, the producers kept him for three more. Welling also had a small role in UPN’s Special Unit 2, and he appeared in the debut episode of the FOX sitcom Undeclared. Welling told TV Guide that he turned down the lead role twice, but after reading the script, decided to take the job. We’re doing something different at a time before all that, I don’t want that to affect what I’m doing, even subconsciously.” He did get the chance to meet two previous Supermans: Christopher Reeve, when the actor was invited on Smallville in the Season 2 episode “Rosetta”, and Dean Cain in the Season 7 episode Cure. Welling made his directorial debut in 2006, with the season five episode of Smallville, “Fragile”.
