Tyler Lee Hoechlin (/ˈhɛklɪn/; born September 11, 1987) is an American actor. He initially earned recognition for starring as Michael Sullivan Jr. in the 2002 film Road to Perdition. In television, Hoechlin starred as Martin Brewer on 7th Heaven between 2003 and 2007, and also became known for portraying Derek Hale on Teen Wolf (2011–2014; 2017) and Superman in The CW's Supergirl (2016–2019) and Superman & Lois (2021–2024).
Early life
Hoechlin was born in Corona, California, on September 11, 1987,[1] to Lori and Don Hoechlin. He has described his family's ethnic background as "Native American, German, Irish, and some others".[2] Hoechlin has two brothers and an older sister.[3] He graduated from Santiago High School in 2006.[3]
At first, Hoechlin aimed for a career in baseball, prioritizing it over his acting opportunities, which led him to turn down offers for auditions and meetings (including one with director Francis Ford Coppola), and to decline the role of Emmett Cullen in the Twilight films.[4][7] However, during his junior year in college, he pulled his hamstring, limiting his ability to play and practice. As a result, he participated in more acting auditions, and eventually, on the advice of his coach, made the decision to pursue acting full-time.[4]
Acting
As a baby, Hoechlin appeared in TV commercials. This led him to successfully audition at an acting school and obtain an agent.[4][8] As an older child, his first role (at age 11) was in Happy Haunting, a Disney Sing-Along Songs video.[4][8] At 13, Hoechlin was selected from among 2,000 auditioners to play Michael Sullivan Jr. in Road to Perdition.[9] Hoechlin was nominated for multiple awards for the role, and won both the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor and the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor.[10][11] That performance led to him getting the role of Martin Brewer in the television series 7th Heaven in 2003.[12] Initially booked for a two-episode arc, he was promoted to a regular character for the rest of the series.[4]
Hoechlin was nominated for a 2004 Teen Choice Award for Breakout Male Star for this role, and remained a regular cast member for the next four years, garnering further nominations for a Teen Choice Award and a Young Artist Award.[13][14] The series' producers accommodated Hoechlin's baseball schedule, filming on days he did not have practice or a game, throughout high school and his first year of college.[4]
Hoechlin played werewolf Derek Hale in the television series Teen Wolf. He was a regular on the show for the first four seasons, and returned as a guest star for the sixth and final season in 2017. During the early seasons of the show, filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, Hoechlin lived with co-stars Tyler Posey and Dylan O'Brien.[17]BuddyTV ranked him third on its list of "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2011".[18] Throughout Teen Wolf's run, the cast won the Best Ensemble award at the 2013 Young Hollywood Awards and Hoechlin won the 2014 Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Male Scene Stealer.[19][20]
After leaving Teen Wolf to pursue other work and film roles,[7] Hoechlin was cast in Richard Linklater's baseball comedy Everybody Wants Some!!. To achieve a sense of camaraderie among the cast, they spent three weeks living together at Linklater's ranch while fine-tuning the script.[21][22] Hoechlin was able to draw upon his baseball experience for the film, in which he played team captain McReynolds.[21][23] The film was released in 2016 to critical acclaim.[24][25] That same year, Hoechlin appeared in a second baseball film, Undrafted, which, in contrast to Everybody Wants Some!!, was poorly received by critics.[26][27] He also appeared in military thriller film Stratton, released in 2017.[28]
Hoechlin at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con
Hoechlin was cast as Superman on the CW show Supergirl in 2016. As producer Greg Berlanti's first choice for the role, he did not have to audition.[29] Describing the casting as "surreal", Hoechlin said he hoped to successfully embody the optimism of the character and maintain the idea of Superman as a symbol of hope.[30] He appeared in four episodes of the show's second season, and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Guest Performance on a Television Series for his work in the role.[31][32] His portrayal of Superman was well received by fans and critics and described as "fun" and a "breath of fresh air".[33][34][35]
In 2018, Hoechlin returned to Supergirl as part of the annual Arrowverse crossover episodes, titled "Elseworlds". He also appeared in the corresponding crossover episodes of both Arrow and The Flash, which all aired in December 2018.[36] Hoechlin returned to the Arrowverse for the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" episodes.[37]
In October 2019, it was confirmed that Superman & Lois, a spin-off series starring Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, was in development at the CW,[38] which picked it up straight-to-series in January 2020.[39] The series premiered on February 23, 2021,[40] and was renewed for a third season in March 2022.[41]
He was cast in Fifty Shades Darker as Boyce Fox, an author, in early 2016.[42] Hoechlin did not appear in the finished film but did feature in the sequel Fifty Shades Freed, which was released in 2018.[43] The same year, he appeared in The Domestics, a post-apocalytic thriller, which was released on June 28.[44]
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