Who Is Kaley Cuoco's Boyfriend? All About 'Ozark' Actor Tom Pelphrey
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Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey confirmed their relationship in May 2022 and welcomed their first child in March 2023
Meet Tom Pelphrey!
The Ozark actor caught the attention of many when he was cast as Ben Davis in the Emmy Award-winning drama series for its third season — and since the critical acclaim that followed, the rising star's list of acting credits is only getting longer.
Prior to nabbing the role as Wendy Byrde's brother on the Netflix hit, Pelphrey kicked off his professional acting career in 2004 when he was cast as Jonathan Randall on Guiding Light; he then played Mick Dante on As the World Turns in 2009.
Several roles followed, but 2015 was a turning point for the actor, who picked up the recurring role of Kurt Bunker, a disturbed former Neo-Nazi seeking atonement, in the action cult-hit series Banshee.
Since 2017, Pelphrey has had roles in major projects alongside A-list actors and directors alike. In addition to Ozark, he costarred opposite Gary Oldman as Joseph Mankiewicz, younger sibling to Citizen Kane co-writer Herman Mankiewicz, in David Fincher's Mank.
"I feel like I get to do the coolest job in the world," Pelphrey told Variety when he was included on the outlet's "10 Actors to Watch" list in 2020.
Pelphrey has also received buzz for his personal life: He publicly announced his relationship to The Flight Attendant's Kaley Cuoco in May 2022 when he posted Polaroid photos of him and her together on Instagram (paired with a lengthy, heartfelt caption).
Soon after, the pair made their first public appearance at an event together, sitting hand-in-hand as The Flight Attendant executive producer Greg Berlanti received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In October 2022, the couple announced they were pregnant and expecting a baby girl. On Pelphrey's Instagram, the actor shared several photos, writing, "And then it was even MORE BETTER. 🎀🎀🎀. Love you more than ever @kaleycuoco ♥️🙏♥️."
Pelphrey and Cuoco welcomed their daughter, Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey, into the world on March 30, 2023.
"My heart is full of love and gratitude for this miracle," the Iron Fist actor wrote on Instagram.
From Pelphrey's Shakespeare in London days to his most recent cowboy role, here's everything you need to know about the actor.
He studied Shakespeare in London
Pelphrey was born and raised in Howell, N.J., and fell in love with acting at age 14. He studied it at his performing arts high school and then at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts.
"I started drama school when I was 18," Pelphrey told The Hollywood Reporter. "I had a still frame of Gary [Oldman] and Sean Penn from State of Grace up on my wall" — which meant it was a "dream come true" to nab a role alongside Oldman in Mank.
During his time at Rutgers University, he had the opportunity to study Shakespeare at the Globe Theater in London.
He was on Broadway
Pelphrey isn't just seen onscreen; he's also had roles in two Broadway shows, in addition to a number of Off-Broadway productions.
In 2012, the actor made his Broadway debut as Micky Deans in End of the Rainbow, a drama about Judy Garland's final days. The show was nominated for several Tony Awards.
He also appeared in Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard's Fool for Love on Broadway in 2015 alongside Nina Arianda and Sam Rockwell.
He co-founded a theater company
Prior to his Broadway successes, Pelphrey formed the Apothecary Theater Company alongside his friends and fellow Rutgers graduates in 2008.
Serving as co-founder and art director, Pelphrey's initiative was to give acting hopefuls the chance to pursue their passions for acting, producing and directing their own theatrical projects without having to deal with the often-frustrating audition grind.
They produced In God's Hat, which received rave reviews and sold out its run. "Given that the laconic characters of In God's Hat seldom waste their breath, it's tempting to sum up the play with a single word: terrific," reported The New York Times in 2010.
He goes all-in for auditions
Pelphrey takes his job seriously and will go the extra mile (or hundreds of them) for a role. For instance, when the opportunity to audition for Fincher presented itself (for Mank), the actor was in Atlanta filming for Ozark.
After initially meeting over FaceTime with Fincher, who was based in Los Angeles, Pelphrey took it upon himself to jet to California and meet with him and Oldman in person.
"One of my weekends off from Ozark, I filmed Ozark until like 3 in the morning, but I had asked [casting director] Laray [Mayfield], 'Do you think these guys would see me if I was there on Saturday?' It's hard to do Zoom acting," Pelphrey told The Hollywood Reporter.
He continued, "So they were kind enough to agree... So I flew to L.A. for a day from Atlanta to go meet with them, and it really made all the difference."
He added, "Getting to not only meet someone in person and be in the same room with them, but obviously playing the scenes off of Gary Oldman, is a whole different level. It makes you a better actor."
He is an award-winning actor
Pelphrey wasted no time following his college graduation, nabbing his first professional job on the long-running CBS daytime show Guiding Light in 2004. Within the two and a half years he was on the program, he was nominated for four consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards, and he won in 2006 and 2008.
Pelphrey was also nominated for best supporting actor in a drama series at the 2021 Critics Choice Awards for his performance in Ozark. Ozark itself received six nominations that year.
He announced his relationship with Cuoco in a romantic way
Accompanying a series of PDA-filled photos on Instagram, Pelphrey publicly announced his relationship with 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- the grace of it, 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," the quote goes.
It continues, "Nothing can save you. And you stand in the moonlight and a sweetness comes off the top of the trees, and the fence around the yard seals you off from the dark and you can't breathe. It is all so familiar and possible.
It is too simple that there is this much good in the world and you don't know how to have it. And it makes you wonder when it was you lost your place. Then you catch a breeze, so warm and ripe, it makes you hope that someone will come who also cannot save you, but who will think you are worth saving."
He spent seven months filming 'in the middle of nowhere'
One of Pelphrey's most recent projects filmed in the New Mexico wilderness, an opportunity that gave him and Prime Video's Outer Range cast the real-deal experience for almost an entire year (amid the pandemic).
"It was intense and difficult and so beautiful," Pelphrey told Esquire. "Everybody really bonded and I think it was partly the circumstances. We're out in New Mexico in the middle of nowhere, pre-vaccines."
Pelphrey plays Perry Abbott in the neo-Western mystery thriller, and — as the professional actor that he is — assumed the duties and responsibilities of a real-life cowboy to get into character.
"We're riding horses every day. Then, we go over to a huge field where they have 30 cattle and we're literally learning how to drive cattle," he added.
He and Cuoco welcomed their first child together in March 2023
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. Eternally grateful for the strength and bravery of my soulmate and best friend @kaleycuoco. You are incredible. 💪♥️," Pelphrey captioned a series of images 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, any nurse who came in, I would videotape them doing the swaddle because everyone has a slightly different technique," the actor said. "And I settled on one that works the best for me and I feel very good about my swaddling abilities."
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