Tom Welling Has an Idea for ‘Cheaper by the Dozen 3’ That Could Totally Work! [Exclusive]
There are many Tom Welling fans who associate him most with Smallville, the DC Comics prequel series in which he played Clark Kent. There are a whole bunch of other fans who grew up with Welling in Cheaper By the Dozen. The two films are projects upon which Welling still looks back fondly, and he would totally do a third one.
Welling spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by phone on Sept. 24 to discuss his new TV series Professionals. We’ll have more about Professionals before it premieres, but of course we had to ask him about Cheaper By the Dozen too. He has a great idea for a third film!
Tom Welling in ‘Cheaper By the Dozen’
Cheaper By the Dozen was based on the book by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. The authors were two of 12 siblings in the 1940s. The first film adaptation came in 1950.
The 2003 film starred Steve Martin as Tom Baker, who accidentally has 12 children with his wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt). Tom meant to stop at 10 but his vasectomy didn’t take and the last pregnancy ended up with twins. Welling played the oldest of the dozen, Charlie.
Cheaper By the Dozen 2 came out in 2005 and follows the Bakers on a family vacation. At the lake, the Bakers feud with the Murtaughs, who have eight kids.
Why Tom Welling wasn’t in the ‘Cheaper By the Dozen’ reunion
Hilary Duff led a Cheaper By the Dozen reunion on May 28, showing all of the Baker kids grown up. Welling was noticeably absent, but so was Martin. Welling confirmed they did ask him to participate.
“I just couldn’t do it,” Welling said. “It sounded like fun though. They got mostly everybody in there and I got a lot of flack for not being a part of it. I think they wanted the big brother to be there [but] I just couldn’t make the date happen.”
Welling said he has fond memories of making both Cheaper By the Dozen films.
“Just laughter and more fun,” Welling said. “It was fantastic doing those. That was energy going on. I was working with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, Eugene Levy and then I also had all these young really funny, creative actors around me. I kind of just got to be like wow, look at all this. This is amazing.”
This idea for ‘Cheaper By the Dozen 3’ is not bad
As movies like Bill & Ted Face the Music prove, it’s never too late for a sequel. Welling’s idea for Cheaper By the Dozen 3 could really work.
“I’d love to do a third one,” Welling said. “It would be fun to have Charlie Baker having his first child and thinking he’s got it all figured out because he’s had so many siblings. Of course, things may not go that way. I think that’d be funny but I don’t know where that project sits or what they’re doing with it. Cheaper By the Dozen 3.0 or something. I don’t know what you’d call it.”
