Matt Smith
Matt Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smith at the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2011 | |
| Born | Matthew Robert Smith 28 October 1982 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2003 – present |
| Height | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982)[1] is an English actor. He is best known as the eleventh form of the Doctor on the British television series Doctor Who. He received a BAFTA Award nomination for the role in 2011.[2]
He wanted to be a professional footballer. A back injury made him stop playing the sport. He joined the National Youth Theatre and studied Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Smith became an actor in 2003. He performed in plays like Murder in the Cathedral, Fresh Kills, The History Boys and On the Shore of the Wide World in London theatres. On West End, he has performed in Swimming with Sharks with Christian Slater,[3] and That Face.[4]
Smith's first television role was in 2006. He portrayed Jim Taylor in the BBC version of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. His his first major role in television came as Danny in the 2007 BBC series Party Animals. Smith is the youngest person to play the character in the British television series.[5]
Early life and education[change | change source]
Smith was born on 28 October 1982 in Northampton, England. He attended Northampton School for Boys. He planned to be a professional football player. Smith had played for the youth teams of Northampton Town F.C., Nottingham Forest F.C. and Leicester City F.C.[6] After an injury, he began to study acting. After school, Smith studied Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.[7]
Professional acting career[change | change source]
While acting in On the Shore of the Wide World, the play moved to the Royal National Theatre in London. After finishing, he took on the role of Lockwood in the Alan Bennett play The History Boys. After The History Boys, he acted in Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship and Swimming with Sharks. ""Swimming with Sharks was his first West End play.[7] His first television role was as Jim Taylor in the BBC version of the Sally Lockhart series of books The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. He acted along with Billie Piper in the series. He acted with Piper a third time in an episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.[8] Piper is well known for playing the part of Rose Tyler on Doctor Who.
Doctor Who[change | change source]
"The Doctor is a very special part, and it takes a very special actor to play him. You need to be old and young at the same time, a boffin and an action hero, a cheeky schoolboy and the wise old man of the universe. As soon as Matt walked through the door, and blew us away with a bold and brand new take on the Time Lord, we knew we had our man."
Smith was revealed as the Eleventh Doctor in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who in January 2009[10] to replace David Tennant, who announced that he left in October 2008.[11] Smith was not as well known as many of the actors who were thought to be likely to get the part. These included Paterson Joseph, David Morrissey, Sean Pertwee, James Nesbitt, Russell Tovey, Catherine Zeta Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Robert Carlyle and Billie Piper.[12]
Smith was one of the first actors to audition for the role. Producer Steven Moffat and BBC Wales Head of Drama and executive producer, Piers Wenger immediately liked him for the part.[10] Smith had auditioned for the role of John Watson in the Moffat-created Sherlock at the same time. He did not get the part of Watson because Moffat believed his acting style was closer to Sherlock Holmes but they had already cast Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes.[13] At 26 years old, Smith was three years younger than Peter Davison was at the time of his casting as the Doctor in 1981. He was younger than any other actor suggested for the role.[10] After three weeks of auditions, Moffat and Wenger agreed that it had "always been Matt".[10] The BBC were was not certain that a 26-year-old could not play the Doctor correctly. Some fans of the show believed that Smith was too young for the role. Others supported him based on what he had shows of his acting ability.[14] For his work in his first series he was nominated in the "Outstanding Drama Performance Category" of the National Television Awards.[15]
In June 2010, he appeared on stage with Orbital. They performed a version of the Doctor Who theme at the Glastonbury Festival.[16] Smith hosted the Doctor Who Prom at the Royal Albert Hall on 24–25 July 2010.[17] In June 2011, the BBC said that Smith had been signed to do fourteen more episodes of Doctor Who as the Doctor.[18]
Credits[change | change source]
Movies[change | change source]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | In Bruges | Young Harry Waters | Deleted scene |
| 2010 | Womb | Thomas | |
| 2011 | Christopher and His Kind | Christopher Isherwood | |
| 2012 | Bert and Dickie | Bert Bushnell | |
| 2014 | Lost River | Bully | |
| 2015 | Terminator Genisys | Alex / Skynet / The T-5000[19] | Credited as Matthew Smith |
| 2016 | Pride and Prejudice and Zombies | Parson William Collins | |
| 2018 | Mapplethorpe | Robert Mapplethorpe | |
| Patient Zero | Morgan | ||
| Charlie Says | Charles Manson | ||
| 2019 | Official Secrets | Martin Bright | |
| 2020 | His House | Mark Essworth | |
| 2021 | Last Night in Soho | Jack | |
| The Forgiven | Richard Galloway | ||
| 2022 | Morbius | Loxias Crown | Post-production |
Television[change | change source]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Ruby in the Smoke | Jim Taylor | Television film |
| 2007 | The Shadow in the North | Jim Taylor | Television film |
| Party Animals | Danny Foster | ||
| Secret Diary of a Call Girl | Tim | Episode: "Episode 1.6" | |
| The Street | Ian Hanley | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | Moses Jones | DS Dan Twentyman | |
| 2010–2014 | Doctor Who | Eleventh Doctor | 46 episodes |
| 2010 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Eleventh Doctor | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | Eleventh Doctor | Cameo[20] |
| The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | Matt Smith | Television film | |
| 2016–2017 | The Crown | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | 20 episodes |
| 2021 | This Time with Alan Partridge | Dan Milner | Series 2 Episode: "Episode 3" |
| Superworm | Superworm | Upcoming animated special | |
| 2022 | House of the Dragon | Daemon Targaryen | Upcoming series |
Stage[change | change source]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Murder in the Cathedral | Thomas Becket | National Youth Theatre |
| 2004 | The Master and Margarita | Basoon | Lyric Hammersmith |
| Fresh Kills | Arnold | Royal Court Theatre Upstairs | |
| 2005 | On the Shore of the Wide World | Paul Danzinger | Royal Exchange Royal National Theatre |
| 2005–2006 | The History Boys | Lockwood | Royal National Theatre |
| 2006 | Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship | Tom/William/Gary | |
| 2007 | That Face | Henry | Royal Court Theatre Upstairs |
| 2007–2008 | Swimming with Sharks | Guy | Vaudeville Theatre |
| 2008 | That Face | Henry | Duke of York's Theatre |
| 2013–2014 | American Psycho | Patrick Bateman | Almeida Theatre |
| 2016 | Unreachable | Maxim[21] | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2019 | Lungs | M | The Old Vic |
Video games[change | change source]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Doctor Who: The Adventure Games | Eleventh Doctor | |
| Doctor Who: Return to Earth | |||
| Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth | |||
| 2012 | Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock | ||
| 2015 | Lego Dimensions | Archive audio |
Short film[change | change source]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Together | Rob | |
| 2013 | Cargese | Director | |
| 2021 | Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds: We're on Our Way Now |
Man | Music video |
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Northampton School for Boys
- ↑ Plunkett, John (26 April 2011). "Doctor Who's Matt Smith and E4's Misfits win Bafta nods". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ↑ "Entertainment | Who on earth is Matt Smith?". BBC News. 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- ↑ "That face to watch| Theatre". This is London. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- ↑ "Press Office — Network TV Programme Information BBC Weeks 51/52 BBC ONE". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ↑ "Meet the Eleventh Doctor". Doctor Who microsite. BBC. 5 January 2009.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "That face to watch". This is London. 6 May 2008. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
- ↑ "Matt Smith Is New Doctor Who". Empire Online. 3 January 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
- ↑ "Matt Smith is the New Doctor". BBC Press Office. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "The Eleventh Doctor". Doctor Who Confidential. Series 4. Episode 15. 3 January 2009. BBC. BBC One.
- ↑ "David Tennant quits as Doctor Who". BBC News. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
- ↑ "Doctor Who: The runners and the riders". BBC News. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
- ↑ French, Dan (4 February 2010). "Matt Smith rejected for BBC's 'Sherlock'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- ↑ Moss, Lyndsay (5 January 2009). "Doctor who? Newcomer divides programme's fans". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ↑ "National TV Awards winners". BBC News. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ↑ "Doctor Who's Matt Smith performs with Orbital at Glastonbury | Metro.co.uk". Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- ↑ "Doctor Who's day at the Proms". BBC News. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Matt Smith to return for new Doctor Who series". BBC News Online. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ↑ Lesnick, Silas (2 July 2015). "Matt Smith's Terminator Genisys Character Explained". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- ↑ Jeffery, Morgan (21 November 2013). "'Doctor Who' biopic's surprise ending is "wonderful", says Mark Gatiss". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ↑ Billington, Michael (10 July 2016). "Unreachable review – Matt Smith searches for the magic hour". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
Further reading[change | change source]
- Smith, Oli (2010). Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor: Matt Smith. London: BBC Children's Books. ISBN 978-1-40590-687-6
Other websites[change | change source]
- Matt Smith on IMDb