Matt Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Matt Smith
Smith in 2015
Born	Matthew Robert Smith (1982-10-28) 28 October 1982 (age 42) Northampton, England
Alma mater	University of East Anglia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2003–present
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Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is a famous English actor. He is well-known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the exciting BBC science fiction TV show Doctor Who from 2010 to 2014. He also played Prince Philip in the Netflix historical series The Crown (2016–2017). For this role, he was nominated for a big award called a Primetime Emmy Award. More recently, he has starred as Daemon Targaryen in HBO's fantasy drama House of the Dragon (2022–present).

Matt Smith first wanted to be a professional footballer. But a back injury, called spondylolysis, stopped him from playing the sport. After that, he joined the National Youth Theatre and studied drama at the University of East Anglia. He started acting in 2003. He performed in many plays in London, like Murder in the Cathedral and The History Boys. He also acted in plays in the West End, which is a famous theatre area in London.

His first TV role was in 2006. He played Jim Taylor in two BBC shows based on books: The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. His first big TV role was as Danny in the 2007 BBC series Party Animals.

Matt Smith's Early Life and School

Matthew Robert Smith was born in Northampton, England, on 28 October 1982. His parents are Lynne and David Smith. He has an older sister named Laura Jayne. She was a dancer in the music video for Eric Prydz's song "Call on Me" in 2004. Matt went to Northampton School for Boys.

His grandfather played football for Notts County. Matt also dreamed of playing football. He played for youth teams like Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester City. He even became the captain of Leicester City's youth team. However, a serious back injury, called spondylolysis, meant he could not continue his football career.

Matt's drama teacher helped him get into acting. The teacher signed him up for plays without asking him first! After missing two chances, his teacher got him to play a juror in a play called Twelve Angry Men. He took part, but he didn't want to go to a drama festival. He still saw himself as a football player and thought acting would hurt his social life. But his teacher kept trying. Eventually, he convinced Matt to join the National Youth Theatre in London.

After school, Matt studied Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. He finished his degree in 2005. With the National Youth Theatre, he played Thomas Becket in Murder in the Cathedral. His role in another play, The Master and Margarita, helped him get an agent. This led to his first professional acting jobs.

Matt Smith's Acting Career Highlights

Starting Out: 2006–2009

Matt Smith's first TV role was as Jim Taylor in BBC shows based on the Sally Lockhart books. His first major TV role was in Party Animals. This BBC show was about people who work for politicians. Matt played Danny Foster, a smart but shy researcher. In 2007, Matt said Danny was a romantic person who loved politics. He also said Danny was caring, sensitive, witty, and worked very hard.

Matt also acted in many plays. He was in On the Shore of the Wide World and then The History Boys. After that, he was in Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship. He also made his West End debut in Swimming with Sharks with Christian Slater.

In 2007, Matt played Henry in the play That Face. He played an artist who left school to look after his mother. Critics praised his performance. The whole cast was nominated for an award in 2008. Matt was also nominated for Best Newcomer for his role.

Matt auditioned for a role in the comedy series The Inbetweeners. The show's writer said Matt was "brilliant" and almost got the part. But he was "a bit too dashing" for the character! Matt was also in the movie In Bruges (2008), but his scenes were cut. He starred in the short film Together (2009) and the movie Womb (2010).

Becoming the Doctor: 2010–2013

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan promoting Doctor Who in March 2010

In January 2009, it was announced that Matt Smith would be the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who. He took over from David Tennant. Matt was not very well known at the time. This led to news headlines like "Doctor Who?" playing on the show's title.

Matt was one of the first actors to audition for the role. The show's producers, Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger, immediately liked his performance. Matt also auditioned for the role of John Watson in Sherlock at the same time. But Moffat thought Matt's acting style was more like Holmes. That role had already gone to Benedict Cumberbatch.

At 26 years old, Matt Smith became the youngest actor to play the Doctor. After three weeks of auditions, Moffat and Wenger agreed that Matt was the perfect choice.

Matt Smith in July 2012

Matt first appeared as the Doctor in the episode "The Eleventh Hour" in April 2010. Some fans thought he was too young or not experienced enough. But others supported him. For his first series, he was nominated for a National Television Award. He was also the first Doctor to be nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

Matt Smith in 2013

Matt said about his character: "The Doctor is excited and fascinated by the smallest things. By everything. That's what's wonderful about him. It's why children like him, I think. Because he doesn't ignore anything. He's not negative. He's open to every part of the universe."

In June 2010, Matt performed the Doctor Who theme with the band Orbital at the Glastonbury Festival. He also hosted the Doctor Who Prom concert in July 2010. In May 2012, Matt carried the Olympic torch in Cardiff. This reminded Doctor Who fans of an episode where the Doctor carried the torch.

On 1 June 2013, the BBC announced that Matt would leave Doctor Who after the 2013 Christmas special. Peter Capaldi took over the role. Later, Matt said he regretted not staying longer. He wanted to work more with his co-star Jenna Coleman. In 2018, he shared that he almost turned down the role of the Doctor. Matt's first time directing was a short film called Cargese, which aired in May 2013.

New Roles: The Crown and Beyond

Matt Smith played Patrick Bateman in the musical American Psycho in London from 2013 to 2014. He was also in Ryan Gosling's movie Lost River (2014). Matt had a supporting role as Skynet in Terminator Genisys (2015). He was supposed to have bigger parts in future Terminator films, but those movies were cancelled.

In November 2014, it was announced that Matt would star in the action-thriller film Patient Zero. It came out in 2018 and got negative reviews. In June 2015, Matt was cast as Prince Philip in the Netflix royal drama The Crown. He played the role for the first two seasons. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2018. Matt worked again with his The Crown co-star Claire Foy in the play Lungs in 2019.

Matt Smith at FedCon 2017

In 2020, Matt was cast as Daemon Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon. This show is a prequel to Game of Thrones. It started in August 2022. For his acting, he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award in 2023. Matt also joined the cast of Edgar Wright's horror-mystery film Last Night in Soho, which was released in 2021. In 2021, Matt appeared in music videos for songs by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Matt joined the film Morbius (2022) as Lucien / Milo, a living vampire. The movie received negative reviews, but many critics praised Matt's performance. In 2024, Matt returned to the West End to star in a modern version of the play An Enemy of the People. He played Dr. Thomas Stockmann.

Matt Smith's Personal Life

Matt Smith was in a relationship with Brazilian actress Mayana Moura from 2008 to 2009. He also had an on-off relationship with model Daisy Lowe from 2010 to 2014. From 2014 to 2019, he was in a relationship with actress Lily James.

Matt is an atheist. He is a big fan of the football team Blackburn Rovers. He has said that his favorite band, Radiohead, inspires him. He has also called Oasis "the greatest rock-and-roll band in the world." He is friends with Noel Gallagher and went to his 50th birthday party in 2017.

In 2015, GQ magazine named Matt Smith one of the 50 Best-Dressed British Men.

Matt Smith's Film and TV Roles

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2008	In Bruges	Young Harry Waters	Deleted scene
2010	Womb	Thomas
2014	Lost River	Bully
2015	Terminator Genisys	Alex / Skynet / The T-5000	Credited as Matthew Smith
2016	Pride and Prejudice and Zombies	Mr. 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	Lucien / Milo
2023	Starve Acre	Richard
TBA	Caught Stealing	Russ Miner	Filming
	& Sons		Filming

Television

Stage Plays

Video Games

Short Films

Audio Roles

Web Series

Awards and Nominations

Matt Smith has been nominated for and won many awards for his acting. Here are some of them:

Images for kids

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  Matt Smith in 2015

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  Matt Smith's autograph

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  Matt Smith and Karen Gillan promoting Doctor Who in March 2010

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  Matt Smith in July 2012

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  Matt Smith in 2013

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  Matt Smith at FedCon 2017

See also

In Spanish: Matt Smith para niños