Tyler Lee Hoechlin (; born September 11, 1987) is an American actor. Initially earning recognition for starring as Michael Sullivan Jr. in the 2002 film ''
Road to Perdition'', Hoechlin went on to star as Martin Brewer on ''
7th Heaven'' between 2003 and 2007. In television, he is also known for portraying
Derek Hale on ''
Teen Wolf'' and
Superman in the
Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed ...
series ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her ...
'' and ''
Superman & Lois''.
Early life
Hoechlin was born in
Corona, California
Corona ( Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and nor ...
, on September 11, 1987,
to Lori and Don Hoechlin. He has described his family's ethnic background as "
Native American, German, Irish, and some others". Hoechlin has two brothers and an older sister.
He graduated from
Santiago High School in 2006.
Career
Baseball
Hoechlin began playing baseball at the age of seven. He played throughout high school, playing in the Area Code Games in both 2004 and 2005.
He earned a scholarship to
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...
, where he played infield and the team made it to the
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...
in Omaha, Nebraska.
In 2008, after a year at Arizona State, he transferred to the
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...
.
He played infield as a
second baseman for the
UC Irvine Anteaters.
During this time, he also played in collegiate summer leagues.
Hoechlin aimed for a career in baseball, prioritizing it over his acting commitments. This led him to turning down auditions and meetings (including with director
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...
) and declining the role of
Emmett Cullen in the
''Twilight'' films.
During Hoechlin's
junior year in college, he pulled his
hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrup ...
, 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.
Acting
Hoechlin appeared in commercials as a baby. This led him to successfully audition at an acting school and obtain an agent.
His first role, at the age of 11, was in ''
Happy Haunting'', a ''
Disney Sing-Along Songs'' video.
At the age of 13, Hoechlin was selected from 2,000 auditionees to play Michael Sullivan Jr. in ''
Road to Perdition'' alongside
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
. Hoechlin was nominated for multiple awards for the role, and won both the
Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
for
Best Performance by a Younger Actor and the
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor.
That performance led to him getting the role of
Martin Brewer
This is a list of characters from The WB/The CW (1996–2007) family drama, '' 7th Heaven''.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurring cast (4+)
: = Guest cast (1-3)
The Camden family
The Camdens are made up of Eric and Annie a ...
in the television show ''
7th Heaven'' in 2003. Initially booked for a two-episode arc, he became a recurring character for the rest of the season.
Hoechlin was nominated for a 2004
Teen Choice Award for Breakout Male Star for the role, and remained a regular character for the following four years, amassing further nominations for a Teen Choice Award and a Young Artist Award.
The show worked around Hoechlin's baseball schedule, filming on days he did not have practice or a game, throughout high school and his first year of college.
After ''7th Heaven'' ended in 2007, he had small roles in other television series, including ''
CSI: Miami'', ''
My Boys'', and ''
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
''.
He also returned to film work, starring in
David DeCoteau's ''
Grizzly Rage'' in 2007 and appearing in ''
Solstice
A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many count ...
'' the following year. He also appeared alongside
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for ''Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...
and
Christina Applegate in the 2011 movie ''
Hall Pass''.
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
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
, Hoechlin lived with co-stars
Tyler Posey and
Dylan O'Brien.
BuddyTV ranked him third on its list of "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2011". Throughout ''Teen Wolfs 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.
After leaving ''Teen Wolf'' to pursue other work and film roles,
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.
Hoechlin was able to draw upon his baseball experience for the film, in which he played team captain McReynolds.
The film was released in 2016 to critical acclaim. That same year, Hoechlin appeared in a second baseball film, ''
Undrafted'', which, in contrast to ''Everybody Wants Some!!'', was poorly received by critics. He also appeared in military thriller film ''
Stratton'', released in 2017.
Hoechlin was cast as
Superman on the CW show ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her ...
'' in 2016. As producer
Greg Berlanti
Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', '' Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...
's first choice for the role, he did not have to audition. 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. He appeared in four episodes of the show's second season, and was nominated for a
Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
for
Best Guest Performance on a Television Series for his work in the role.
His portrayal of Superman was well received by fans and critics and described as "fun" and a "breath of fresh air".
In 2018, Hoechlin returned to ''Supergirl'' as part of the annual
Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed ...
crossover episodes, titled "
Elseworlds". He also appeared in the corresponding crossover episodes of both ''
Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...
'' and ''
The Flash'', which all aired in December 2018.
Hoechlin returned to the Arrowverse for the "
Crisis on Infinite Earths
"Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to ...
" episodes.
In October 2019, it was confirmed that ''
Superman & Lois'', a spin-off series starring Hoechlin and
Elizabeth Tulloch, was in development at the CW
who picked it up straight-to-series in January 2020. The series premiered on February 23, 2021, and was renewed for a third season in March 2022.
He was cast in ''
Fifty Shades Darker'' as Boyce Fox, an author, in early 2016.
Hoechlin did not appear in the finished film, but did feature in the sequel ''
Fifty Shades Freed'', which was released in 2018. The same year, he appeared in ''
The Domestics'', a post-apocalytic thriller alongside
Kate Bosworth and
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in '' Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–202 ...
, which was released on June 28.
Hoechlin starred in
George Gallo's ''
Bigger'', in which he played
Joe Weider
Joseph Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms ...
. The biopic reunited Hoechlin with ''Teen Wolf'' co-star
Colton Haynes, and told the story of the Weider brothers founding the
International Federation of Bodybuilders
The International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB), headquartered in Las Rozas (Madrid), is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness that oversees many of the sport's major international eve ...
. ''Bigger'' premiered on September 13, 2018, in Las Vegas, in conjunction with the
Mr. Olympia competition, and was released to cinemas in October.
The following month,
teen drama
In film and television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (tele ...
''
Then Came You'' premiered at the
Woodstock Film Festival. Initially titled ''Departures'' when Hoechlin was cast in February 2017, the film also starred
Asa Butterfield,
Maisie Williams
Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). S ...
, and
Nina Dobrev, and was released theatrically in February 2019.
In July 2019, Hoechlin appeared as Ian Yerxa in
sci-fi
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univ ...
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
series ''
Another Life''.
Two months later, Hoechlin starred in ''
Can You Keep a Secret?'' as Jack Harper, alongside
Alexandra Daddario. The film is an adaptation of the novel of
the same name by
Sophie Kinsella and began filming in October 2018.
In May 2022, he was confirmed to reprise his role as Derek Hale for ''Teen Wolf: The Movie''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
UC Irvine player biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoechlin, Tyler
1987 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from California
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American people of German descent
American people of Irish descent
Living people
People from Corona, California
Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players
UC Irvine Anteaters baseball players
Baseball players from California
American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent