Matt Smith (actor)

Smith's first television role was as Jim Taylor in the BBC adaptations of the Sally Lockhart quartet books The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North.[15] His first major television role came in the television series Party Animals, a BBC television drama series about fictional parliamentary advisors and researchers in Westminster. In Party Animals, Smith portrays Danny Foster, a parliamentary researcher to Jo Porter (Raquel Cassidy), a Labour politician and junior Home Office minister. At 26 years old, Danny is described as an intelligent but timid "politics geek" who should have moved on from researching at his age. His brother, Scott, a public affairs consultant, is played by Andrew Buchan. Within the series' narrative, he attempts to balance his affections for Kirsty MacKenzie (Andrea Riseborough), his intern, while trying to prevent Porter's imminent decline.[16]

In an interview in 2007, Smith discussed his character's motivations. He summarised Danny as having a romantic outlook of the political world while being cynical elsewhere. The character was drawn into politics by his father and his own political drive. He defended his character's age by characterising him as being loyal to Porter, instead of being incompetent. He talked about his character's emotional and intellectual maturity: emotionally, he lacks confidence around women—most notably seen with his unrequited love towards Kirsty—but Smith portrays Danny as a caring and sensitive but "wry, sarcastic, [and] witty" romantic; and intellectually, Danny is portrayed as attentive and possessing a strong work ethic.[17]

Smith auditioned for the role of Will McKenzie in the comedy series The Inbetweeners, with the part eventually being given to actor Simon Bird. This was revealed in an interview in 2009 by the show's writer Iain Morris, who said, "We auditioned literally 1,000 people... he was brilliant—down to the last two for Will, I think. I think he was a bit too dashing!"

Smith with Karen Gillan promoting Series 5 of Doctor Who in March 2010.

Smith was revealed as the Eleventh Doctor in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who in January 2009[19] to replace David Tennant, who announced his departure in October 2008.[20] Smith was a relatively unknown actor compared to the actors then speculated about possibly taking on the role, who included Paterson Joseph, David Morrissey, Sean Pertwee, James Nesbitt, Russell Tovey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Robert Carlyle, and Billie Piper.[21] Smith was first named as a possible successor less than a day before he was announced as the Eleventh Doctor, on edition of 3 January 2009 of BBC Breakfast, among the names speculated about.[22] His obscurity prompted the news headline "Doctor Who?", a riff on the show's title.[23][24]

Smith was one of the earliest actors to audition for the role, performing on the first day. The production team, consisting of the incoming producer, Steven Moffat, and BBC Wales Head of Drama and executive producer, Piers Wenger, immediately singled him out based on his performance.[19] Smith additionally auditioned for the role of John Watson in the Moffat-created Sherlock, undergoing auditions at the same time; he was unsuccessful, as Steven Moffat believed his eccentric acting style was closer to Holmes, whose role had already been given to Benedict Cumberbatch.[25] At 26 years old, Smith was three years younger than Peter Davison was at the time of his casting as the Doctor in 1981, and younger than any other actor suggested for the role.[19] After three weeks of auditions, Moffat and Wenger agreed that it had "always been Matt" and approached him to accept the role.[19][26][27][28]

Smith speaking at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2012.

The BBC were cautious about casting him because they felt that a 26-year-old could not play the Doctor adequately; Wenger shared the same sentiment but thought Smith had proven his acting quality in Party Animals, which Wenger thought highlighted Smith's "mercurial qualities".[18][19] Some fans of the show believed that Smith was inexperienced and too young for the role, while others supported him by citing his demonstrated acting ability with getting rewards of course.[29] For his performance in his first series, he was nominated in the Outstanding Drama Performance Category of the National Television Awards.[30] Smith is the first Doctor to be nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actor.

Smith has said of his character: "The Doctor is excited and fascinated by the tiniest of things. By everything. By every single thing. That's what's wonderful about him as a character. It's why children like him, I think. Because he doesn't dismiss anything. He's not cynical. He's open to every single facet of the universe."[31] In June 2010, Smith appeared on stage with Orbital, and performed with them a version of the Doctor Who theme, at the Glastonbury Festival.[32] Smith hosted the Doctor Who Prom at the Royal Albert Hall on 24–25 July 2010.[33] On the morning of 26 May 2012, Smith carried the Olympic torch in Cardiff, an activity which was noted by Doctor Who fans for its resemblance to a 2006 episode of the show in which the Doctor carried the torch.[34] On 1 June 2013, the BBC announced that Smith would be leaving Doctor Who at the end of the 2013 Christmas special.[35] Upon reflecting on his decision to leave in a 2016 interview, Smith expressed regret for not staying longer, owing to wanting to work longer with co-star Jenna Coleman.[36] In 2018, while appearing on Desert Island Discs, Smith revealed that he nearly turned down the role of the Doctor.[11] He was succeeded in 2013 by Peter Capaldi.

In June 2015, Smith was cast to portray Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the Netflix royal drama The Crown.[37] Smith played the role for the series' first two seasons, as the role would be recast every two seasons.[38]

Smith was cast in Martin McDonagh's black comedy crime In Bruges (2008), as the younger version of Ralph Fiennes's character; however, his scenes did not appear in the final cut of the film.[39] He starred in the 2009 short film Together and the 2010 film Womb.[40] In February 2013, it was reported that Smith had signed up to appear in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut Lost River.[41] Smith's directorial debut, the short film Cargese, was aired on Sky Arts in May 2013.[42][43] Smith had a supporting role, as the embodiment of Skynet, in Terminator Genisys (2015);[44] he was set to have more screen time in the sixth and seventh films in the series.[45] On 20 November 2014, it was announced that Smith would star in the action-thriller film Patient Zero.[46] In January 2019, Smith joined Jared Leto in Sony's Spider-Man spin-off Morbius.[47] In February 2019, it was announced that he had joined Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho alongside Thomasin McKenzie[48] and Anya Taylor-Joy.[49]

During Smith's tenure in On the Shore of the Wide World, the play transferred to the Royal National Theatre in London. After finishing the play, he took on the role of Lockwood, a pupil in the Alan Bennett play The History Boys. After The History Boys, he acted in the teen play Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship and with Christian Slater in Swimming with Sharks, the latter being his West End début.[3][14]

In 2007, Smith appeared as Henry in the Polly Stenham play That Face at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in Chelsea. The play transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End in 2008 and became Smith's second role there. That Face focuses primarily upon alcohol and drug addiction in an upper-middle-class family after the paternal figure in the family leaves. As Henry, Smith portrayed an aspiring artist who left school to take care of his mother. To prepare for the role, the cast interviewed alcoholics and their families. Smith discussed his character's relationship with his mother in a May 2008 interview with the Evening Standard.[3]

The thing I find tricky to get my head round is why doesn't he just leave? An awful lot of it is codependency. [...] With Henry there's a real belief—or denial maybe—that he can change his mother. When she is finally pulled away from him to go to rehab, his identity collapses. His sacrifice has been for nothing.

The entire cast of the play was nominated for the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre,[50] and Smith won the Evening Standard's award for "best newcomer" for his role.[51] Upon its transfer to the West End, Smith's performance as Henry was highlighted as one of the positive aspects of the play by critics for the Evening Standard, Daily Express, The Guardian, and The Times.[52]

On 7 October 2013, it was announced Smith would portray Patrick Bateman in the musical adaption of American Psycho at London's Almeida Theatre. The show began its run in December 2013.[53]

Smith will reunite with his The Crown co-star Claire Foy in a production of the Duncan Macmillan play Lungs at The Old Vic beginning in October 2019.[54]