Smallville star Tom Welling arrested as unrecognisable mugshot is released
Tom Welling has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in California over the weekend, reports say.
The 47-year-old actor, best known for his role as Superman on Smallville and Charlie Baker on Cheaper by the Dozen, was apprehended shortly after midnight in an Arby’s car park lot on Sunday (26 January), The Independent reports.
He was then booked into the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office custody around 2am, according to several US media reports.
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TMZ, who first reported the news of his arrest, further claims that Welling's blood alcohol level was 'reportedly at or above 0.08%'.
He was later released around 7am, with his arraignment being set for 11 March.
Welling's mugshot has since been released to the public and the TV star looks totally different from how we all remember him back in the noughties.
Though given that it's been about two decades since Smallville hit our screens in 2001 - it's only natural that Welling has aged accordingly.
Reacting to the news, one Twitter user penned: "Tom Welling getting arrested for a dui in an arbys parking lot 2025 is not real."
"Tom Welling getting arrested in a arby’s parking lot for a dui was not on my 2025 bingo list," a second said, while a third chimed in: "Not me seeing a mugshot of Tom Welling getting arrested for DUI as I'm watching Smallville."
"Tom Welling has aged into what I think Christopher Nolan and Leonardo DiCaprio would look like if they merged into one guy." wrote another.
Welling regularly updates his 1.3 million Instagram followers on the latest goings on in his life.
Just on Sunday (26 January), the day of his reported arrest, he took to the social media platform to post a birthday photodump for his wife, Jessica Rose Lee.
The pair tied the knot back in 2019, following his previous marriage to Jamie White from 2002 to 2015, and have two children together.
He captioned the post: "Happy Birthday to our Angel who makes our dreams come true and inspires us even more! We love you to the moon and back! @jessicarosewelling. #happybirthday #love."
The star also hosts a Smallville recap show with his co-star, Michael Rosenbaum, who played villain Lex Luthor, and Welling has previously spoken of wanting to continue the show via an animated series - however, he says they need Warner Bros' permission to do so.
At Comic Con Stockholm last year, he told ScreenRant: "We want it to work. The honest answer is we have not been able to get Warner Brothers to give us the thumbs up. We need their permission.
"It’s the weirdest thing because it is more of a fan-driven idea. It’s not going to be a blockbuster. It’s not going to be a financial windfall for any of us."
Tyla has reached out to Tom Welling's representatives for comment.
Rhiannon Ingle