Sporting a clean-cut, all-American look, Los Angeles-born actor Michael Welch entered the limelight well before his teens and balanced feature and television work with about equal weight. Early small screen projects included guest appearances and recurring roles on series such as Frasier (as a young version of David Hyde Pierce's Niles), Veronica's Closet, and Touched by an Angel, while Welch's feature work invariably emphasized teen-oriented material and often found him cast as a young heartthrob. These big screen endeavors included the teen slasher movie All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006), the gore-soaked shocker Day of the Dead (2007), the family-friendly political comedy Choose Connor (2007), and the gothic vampire outing Twilight (2008). Welch also starred as Luke Girardi on the offbeat fantasy series Joan of Arcadia (2003-5).
Michael Welch
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Biography by AllMovie
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Factsheet
- Identifies as Jewish.
- Made his feature film debut playing Artim in Star Trek: Insurrection, the ninth installment of the beloved Star Trek film series.
- Known for playing the popular Mike Newton in the Twilight Saga film series, though he originally auditioned for the part of Edward Cullen.
- Was the USO's celebrity guest in 2010 for their first USO educational tour, and worked with over 600 students and spent time with wounded soldiers.
- Is heavily involved with youth oriented non-profit The Thirst Project, which builds fresh water wells in developing communities.