Annette Kelleman had THE CHOICE to spend time Lois-Lane-ing with Tom Welling!!!

This week, I had to opportunity to sit down with Tom Welling to chat about his role in THE CHOICE (in theaters 2/5), enthusiastic fans across genres, and the Supergirl question everyone has to ask. I hope you enjoy!

Annette Kellerman: Hi Tom. Welcome to Austin- have you had tacos yet?

Tom Welling: Actually, no, but we did have brisket from...what was that place...Lambert's. It was so good.

AK: Yes, I know the place- they have live music sometimes too.

TW: Oh really? Sounds like Austin, live music.

AK: Exactly! I'm sure you're gonna hear a live band before you leave too?

TW: Right.

AK: Were you a fan of the Nicholas Sparks novels prior to this?

TW: I wouldn't say I was a fan, I'm not completely familiar with all the films. Obviously, I saw the notebook and I was so surprised even watching it that I did enjoy it as much as I did. Because he has such a great way to tell stories, it pulls on your heart. I mean, it literally does. I have not read any of the books, but I hear they're great.

AK: Do you have any favorite romantic films that you drew from?

TW: Not specifically for this film, but I love a good rom com and classic romance movies. Casablanca, which could be the best movie ever made- there's a lot of romance in that I feel. And I think there's different levels of romance. There can be romance in a lot of action movies, you know what I mean? It's like a symphony and movement. I think the challenge for a film maker is that moving of the human heart, that emotion. And so in that sense I think that's a romantic relationship I think the film maker has with his audience- or hers.

AK: Yeah, I think that is interesting because you can have romance in an action film or another example is someone recently asked me what my favorite Christmas movie is and I always say GREMLINS.

TW: (laughs) That's an interesting one!

AK: Not exactly some people's first choice, but it's a Christmas movie.

TW: That's right. There's a lot of romance in Elf.

AK: That's true- very romantic, with singing...

TW: Singing in the shower, that's adorable.

AK: Definitely. So how does playing more of a scorned lover compare to playing the guy who gets the girl?

TW: I like that. Because the challenge was- we see these characters early on, Gabby and my character Ryan, together and then she chooses a different course for her life and goes with Ben's character. But we see them ten years later, and I think the challenge was in a sense to play against the scorned, exiled, loser, the guy who couldn't keep his girl, but instead we showed that life goes on. And you'll find my character later on in life- there's a little line that talks about the fact that he's married and has two beautiful daughters. And he's still a part of their life as well. He's her doctor when she's in trouble. So, when you talk about it, it sounds so cheesy, but that was the challenge- to make it grounded and to continue for him to be relevant later on in life.

AK: You kind of end up on the same team so to speak.

TW: Uh huh.

AK: Do you have any advice for fellas who may not find this as their top choice, but have to go see it on Valentine's Day?

TW: I don't know if it's advice- actually Nicholas Sparks told me something today that he tries not to give anyone advice, he just tries to give them information or options, and I thought, wow, that's really wise. But, I can tell you that I had the same reservations when I first got the script, but this movie has all the elements of a Nicholas Sparks story but its different in that it's an ensemble. There's a big male component in this film that is explored that I think will resonate with male viewers. As a fan, I don't consider this a chick flick. I think it's a romance film, but it's a film about life, and it's a film about love conquering all. It shines a light on certain choices we make and how that affects the outcome of our lives.

AK: So you've worked in different genres- superhero, horror, and now romance. What are similarities or differences that you've found within the fan base of each? Seems like they can be pretty rabid in either.

TW: I think when you get into the world of genre like superhero stuff, you get a very excited, very supportive, very loyal fan base which is awesome. Because if they don't like you, they just ignore you. Like, that's it. So, you know, a lot of the career opportunities that I have are a result of the fans in any of the genres, because if no one is watching you, you don't get anymore jobs. The excitement level, I think, is increased from, like, a superhero fan base, and it's all fun, it's so cool.

AK: Good answer, very judicious.

TW: It's true though!

AK: I guess it just seems like, going from a convention standpoint where you have intense horror fans- I guess there is an equally enthusiastic fan base for romances out there as well.

TW: I guess this movie isn't out yet, but I haven't had anyone recognize me from this genre I guess yet, so maybe that answer will change.

AK: So no attacks from Nicholas Sparks fanatics yet?

TW: No. (laughs)

AK: Do you have a favorite genre? Like, if you're looking at what's showing, where are you going?

TW: I don't really have a favorite. I tend to be drawn to characters. And then there's always a bunch of actors that I'll watch whatever they do. I like character driven stories, and that could take me to almost any genre.

AK: So, you've obviously worked in television and film as well. Can you talk about any pros and cons between the two or a preference- as an actor.

TW: I found myself early on comparing them. And what I realized is that wasn't really effective for me to understand the different mediums. For me, it's like two different languages, like English and French, ya know? You can't compare them, they're very individual. They are different in that with television, the shooting pace is much quicker, you cover more ground. The story has to be told in a different way. With film...I kinda came up with this little thing- with television, one out of every four of everything really matters. It doesn't mean that the other three don't. It just means that one out of every four moments is really important. One out of every four episodes is really important. One out of four scenes is really important. In film, every single second of every single moment of every single scene counts. So, there's a different focus, and a different energy on set, but I don't think there's a pro or con to either. I enjoy both equally.

AK: You've directed and produced. Did that change or inform your performance as an actor and how?

TW: It's kinda funny because early on when I started acting- you will get directions sometimes or you'll be asked by the director to do certain things. At the time maybe it doesn't make sense, and hopefully you have a relationship with your director where you just follow them because they are the captain of the ship and we're going wherever they're going. As I started directing and producing, I started to understand some of those things I didn't understand before- why I was being asked or why things were the way they were. So it helped inform the storytelling process I think.

AK: Helped you work better with the people calling the shots.

TW: Yeah, because the more... Sort of the language now that works here to the director, producer, or writer- those are different languages and the better you can understand those languages the better you can communicate.

AK: Just helps you in the long run with future roles.

TW: Yeah.

AK: Well, I'm pretty much gonna wrap it up here. Do you have any future projects you'd like to talk about? Appearances on Supergirl in your future- I guess everyone has to ask.

TW: Not that I know of. I haven't been invited to yet, that's honest. And I'm not too sure how that would play out. Through my company, we sold a show that we developed to CBS, and we are waiting right now to see if they're going to green light the pilot. So, fingers are crossed.

AK: And that's as a producer?

TW: Yeah, and to star in hopefully.

AK: Right on!

TW: I mean, they may want to recast, I don't know. Maybe that's the delay (laughs)

AK:(laughs) But it's in the works anyhow.

TW: Yes (laughs)

So, we pretty much wrapped it up after that. Tom was super cool- even when I basically called his film a chick flick!

Rebecca Elliott aka Annette Kellerman