Michael Alan Welch (born July 25, 1987) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Luke Girardi on the television series ''

Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS ...

'' and for the role of Mike Newton in the films ''

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...

'', ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar ecl ...

'', ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three c ...

'' and ''

Breaking Dawn ''Breaking Dawn'' (stylized as ''breaking dawn'') is the 2008 fourth novel in ''The Twilight Saga'' by American author Stephenie Meyer. Divided into three parts, the first and third sections are written from Bella Swan's perspective, and the ...

''.

Life and career

Welch was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California. His father is

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and his mother

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and he identifies as Jewish. Welch is known for his role as the popular Mike Newton in '' The Twilight Saga'' film series. Although he auditioned for the part of Edward Cullen, he was cast in the role of Mike Newton. He's also well known for his role as Luke Girardi in the television series ''

'', which ran for two seasons (2003–05). Welch was cast in the series ''

Z Nation ''Z Nation'' is an American horror television series that aired on Syfy, created by Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler, and was produced by The Asylum. The first season of 13 episodes premiered on September 12, 2014. ''Z Nation'' was filmed in the ...

'' on Syfy, which began airing in the fall of 2014. He also appeared in the 2014 film '' Boy Meets Girl'', a romantic comedy which received many awards at LGBT film festivals in the U.S. and internationally.

Awards

* Los Angeles FirstGlance Film Festival (2011) — Won, Festival Award – Best Actor for ''Unrequited'' (2010) (Lucky Day Studios) * FilmOut San Diego (2014) — Won, FilmOut Festival Award – Best Actor for '' Boy Meets Girl''. Welch is the recipient of two Young Artist Awards. His first was for his performance in the film '' Star Trek: Insurrection'' at the age of 10. The second was for his work as Luke Girardi on ''Joan of Arcadia''.

Personal life

Welch married Marissa Lefton in 2008. The couple separated in 2011, and jointly filed for divorce in California on February 14, 2013. He married model Samantha Maggio in 2016. Welch has two children.

Select filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Michael 1987 births Living people 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Jewish American male actors Male actors from Los Angeles People from California 21st-century American Jews