Who Is Kaley Cuoco's Fiancé? All About 'Ozark' Actor Tom Pelphrey

Meet Tom Pelphrey!

The Ozark actor caught the attention of many when he was cast as Ben Davis on the Emmy-winning drama series for its third season — and since the critical acclaim that followed, the rising star’s list of acting credits keeps getting longer.

Before landing the role of Wendy Byrde’s brother on the Netflix hit, Pelphrey began his professional acting career in 2004 when he was cast as Jonathan Randall on A guiding light; then he played Mick Dante As the world turns in 2009.

Several roles followed, but 2015 was a turning point for the actor, who took on the recurring role of Kurt Bunker, a deranged ex-neo-Nazi looking for redemption, in the cult action series Banshee.

Cindy Ord/FilmMagic

As of 2017, Pelphrey has been cast in major projects alongside A-list actors and directors. Besides that Ozarkhe starred alongside Gary Oldman as Joseph Mankiewicz, his younger brother A citizen of Kane co-writer Herman Mankiewicz, in David Fincher Manx.

“I feel like I’m going to be doing the coolest job in the world,” Pelphrey said Diversity when he was included in the list of “10 actors to watch” in 2020.

Monica Schipper/Getty

Pelphrey also got word of his personal life. He and StewardessKaley Cuoco of Kaley confirmed their relationship in May 2022. Soon after, the couple made their first public appearance together at producer Greg Berlanti’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.

In March 2023, Pelphrey and Cuoco welcomed their daughter, Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey. My heart is full of love and gratitude for this miracle, he said Iron fist the actor wrote on Instagram. The couple got engaged in August 2024.

From his acting career to being a dad, here’s everything you need to know about Tom Pelphrey.

He studied Shakespeare in London

STEVE DIETL/NETFLIX

Pelphrey was born and raised in Howell, NJ, and fell in love with acting at age 14. He studied it at the High School of Performing Arts and then at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.

“I started drama school when I was 18,” Pelphrey said The Hollywood Reporter. “I had Gary’s staff [Oldman] and Sean Penn from A state of grace up on my wall” — which meant it was a “dream come true” to be cast alongside Oldman in Manx.

During his stay at Rutgers University, he had the opportunity to study Shakespeare at the Globe Theater in London.

OzarkThe finale of the series caused different reactions from longtime fans: ‘I could have done a better ending’

He was on Broadway

Brad Barket/Getty

Pelphrey isn’t just seen on screen; he also had roles in two Broadway plays, in addition to numerous off-Broadway productions.

In 2012, the actor made his Broadway debut as Micky Deans in the The end of the rainbowa drama about the last days of Judy Garland. The series was nominated for several Tony Awards.

He also appeared in a film by Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard A fool for love on Broadway in 2015 alongside Nina Arianda and Sam Rockwell.

He is the co-founder of the theater company

Tommy Pelphrey/Instagram

Prior to his success on Broadway, Pelphrey co-founded the Apothecary Theater Company in 2008 with his friends and fellow Rutgers graduates.

As co-founder and artistic director, Pelphrey’s initiative was to give aspiring actors the opportunity to pursue their passions for acting, producing and directing their own theater projects without facing the often frustrating audition process.

They produced In God’s hatwhich received excellent reviews and sold out its print run. “Given that the laconic characters of In God’s hat rarely losing their breath, it’s tempting to sum up the show in one word: great,” he reported The New York Times in 2010.

What you need to know about Julia Garner, the award-winning actress from Ozark and Making up Anna

He goes all-in on auditions

NETFLIX

Pelphrey takes his job seriously and will go all out (or hundreds of) for a role. For example, when the opportunity arose to audition for Fincher (for Manx), the actor was in Atlanta filming Ozark.

After an initial FaceTime meeting with Fincher, who was based in Los Angeles, Pelphrey took it upon himself to fly to California and meet with him and Oldman in person.

Kaley Cuoco tells her Stewardess Costar Zosia Mamet ‘helped’ her divorce

“One of my free weekends since OzarkI recorded it Ozark until about 3 am, but I asked [casting director] Laray [Mayfield]’Do you think these guys would have seen me if I had been there on Saturday?’ It’s hard to play Zoom,” Pelphrey said The Hollywood Reporter.

He continued, “So they were nice enough to agree… So I flew out to LA for a day from Atlanta to meet with them, and that was really important.”

He added: “Not just meeting someone in person and being in the same room with them, but obviously doing Gary Oldman scenes, it’s a whole different level. It makes you a better actor.”

He is an award-winning actor

Marc Bryan-Brown/WireImage

Pelphrey wasted no time after graduating from college, landing his first professional job on the long-running CBS daytime talk show A guiding light 2004. Within two and a half years of being on the program, he was nominated for four consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards, winning in 2006 and 2008.

Pelphrey was also nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 2021 Critics Choice Awards for his performance in Ozark. Ozark she alone received six nominations that year.

He announced his relationship with Cuoco in a romantic way

kaleycuoco/Instagram

Following a series of Instagram photos of PDA, Pelphrey went public with his relationship with The big bang theory alum Cuoco with an incredibly romantic quote.

“But nothing can save you. Not your friends, not the best Fred Astaire musical you’ve ever seen – his charm, not your mother’s beauty, not a line from a letter you find at the bottom of a drawer, not a magazine or the next day,” it says in quote.

Kaley Cuoco Says She’ll ‘Never Get Married Again’ After Split From Karl Cook: ‘Absolutely Not’

He continues: “Nothing can save you. And you stand in the moonlight and the sweetness comes down from the tops of the trees, and the fence around the yard closes you from the darkness and you can’t breathe. Everything is so familiar and possible.

It is too simple that there is so much good in the world and you don’t know how to have it. And it makes you wonder when you lost your place. Then you catch a breeze, so warm and ripe, that you hope someone will come along who also can’t save you, but will think you’re worth saving.”

He spent seven months filming “Middle of Nothing”

Richard Foreman/Amazon Prime Video

One of Pelphrey’s latest projects was filmed in the wilds of New Mexico, an opportunity that gave him and Prime Video Outer range throw away real experience for almost a whole year (in the midst of a pandemic).

“It was intense, it was hard and it was so beautiful,” Pelphrey said Esquire. “Everybody has gotten really close, and I think it’s partly because of the circumstances. We’re in New Mexico in the middle of nowhere, pre-vaccine.”

Pelphrey stars as Perry Abbott in the neo-western mystery thriller and — being the professional actor that he is — took on the duties and responsibilities of a real-life cowboy to get into character.

“We ride horses every day. Then we go to a huge field where they have 30 cattle and literally learn to herd the cattle,” he added.

He and Cuoco welcomed their first child together in March 2023

Tom Pelphrey/Instagram

Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey was born on March 30, 2023. The new parents announced the birth of their daughter on Instagram.

“My heart is full of love and gratitude for this miracle. I am eternally grateful for the strength and courage of my soulmate and best friend @kaleycuoco. You are amazing,” Pelphrey captioned a series of pictures of the newborn.

Two months later, Pelphrey spoke to PEOPLE about caring for his newborn, claiming he’s “the king of swaddling.”

“When we were in the hospital, every nurse that came, I would film them swaddling because everyone has a slightly different technique,” said the actor. “I decided on one that fits me best and I feel really good about my swaddling abilities.”

In May 2024, Cuoco told PEOPLE about her “special” Matilda and shared her daughter’s favorite saying.

“All she says is ‘dad, dad.’ That’s her favorite word. I ask her, ‘Have you ever heard it?’ But it’s all dad,” she said jokingly.

He and Cuoco got engaged in 2024

More than a year after Matilda’s birth, the couple got engaged. Cuoco shared the happy news with a black and white photo of her and Pelphrey (and her new ring) on ​​her Instagram Stories, writing, “Fantastic weekend.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education