38 Facts About Matt Smith

Matthew Robert Smith was born on 28 October 1982 and is an English actor.

Matthew Robert Smith was born in Northampton, England on 28 October 1982, the son of Lynne and David Smith.

Matt Smith has an elder sister named Laura Jayne, who was one of the dancers featured in the music video for Eric Prydz's 2004 song "Call on Me".

Matt Smith's grandfather had played football for Notts County and Smith had planned to play football, having played for the youth teams of Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester City, becoming captain of the latter's youth team.

Matt Smith's teacher persisted, eventually persuading him to join the National Youth Theatre in London.

Matt Smith portrayed Danny Foster, a parliamentary researcher who was described as an intelligent but timid "politics geek" who should have moved on from researching at his age.

Matt Smith talked about his character's emotional and intellectual maturity; emotionally, he lacks confidence around women, though Smith portrays him as a caring and sensitive but "wry, sarcastic, [and] witty" romantic.

In 2007, Matt Smith appeared as Henry in the Polly Stenham play That Face at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in Chelsea.

Matt Smith auditioned for the role of Will McKenzie in the comedy series The Inbetweeners, with the part eventually being given to comedian and actor Simon Bird.

Matt Smith starred in the 2009 short film Together and the film Womb.

Matt Smith was revealed as the Eleventh Doctor in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who in January 2009 to follow David Tennant, who announced his departure in October 2008.

Matt 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.

Matt Smith was first named as a possible successor less than a day before he was announced as the Eleventh Doctor, on the edition of 3 January 2009 of BBC Breakfast, among the names speculated about.

Matt Smith was one of the earliest actors to audition for the role, performing on the first day.

Matt Smith additionally auditioned for the role of John Watson in the Moffat-created Sherlock, undergoing auditions at the same time; he was unsuccessful, as Moffat believed his eccentric acting style was closer to Holmes, a role that had already been given to Benedict Cumberbatch.

At 26 years old, Matt Smith was three years younger than Peter Davison was at the time of his casting as the Doctor in 1981, making him the youngest Doctor and the youngest actor to be suggested for the role.

Matt Smith made his debut as the Doctor in the episode "The Eleventh Hour" in April 2010.

Some fans of the show believed that Matt Smith was inexperienced and too young for the role, while others supported him by citing his demonstrated acting ability.

Matt Smith is the first actor in the role to garner a nomination for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

On 1 June 2013, the BBC announced that Matt Smith would be leaving Doctor Who at the end of the 2013 Christmas special.

Matt Smith portrayed Patrick Bateman in the musical adaptation of American Psycho at London's Almeida Theatre from 2013 to 2014.

Matt Smith was cast in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut Lost River, which was released in 2014.

Matt Smith had a supporting role as the embodiment of Skynet in Terminator Genisys.

Matt Smith was set to have more screen time in the sixth and seventh films in the series, but these proposed films were cancelled in the wake of Terminator Genisys' commercial and critical failure.

In June 2015, Matt Smith was cast as Prince Philip in the Netflix royal drama The Crown.

Matt Smith played the role for the series' first two seasons, garnering a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2018.

Matt Smith reunited 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.

In 2020, Matt Smith was cast as Daemon Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, a prequel to the fantasy drama series Game of Thrones.

Matt Smith joined the cast of Edgar Wright's psychological horror-mystery Last Night in Soho starring opposite Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy.

In 2021, Matt Smith appeared in the music videos for the songs "We're On Our Way Now" and "Flying on the Ground" by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

In 2024 Matt Smith returned to the West End to star in a modern retelling of the Henrik Ibsen play An Enemy of the People.

Matt Smith portrayed Dr Thomas Stockmann acting opposite Jessica Brown Findlay portraying his daughter, Petra Stockmann.

Time Out wrote, "In a fine cast, it often feels like Matt Smith is happy to keep it low-key, a largely charming stage presence who doesn't attempt to upstage [the cast]".

Matt Smith was in a relationship with Brazilian actress and singer Mayana Moura from 2008 to 2009.

Matt Smith had an on-off relationship with model Daisy Lowe from 2010 to 2014.

Matt Smith has cited his favourite band Radiohead as an inspiration.

Matt Smith has referred to Oasis as "the greatest rock-and-roll band in the world"; a friend of Noel Gallagher, he attended his 50th birthday party in 2017.

In 2015, Matt Smith was named one of GQs 50 Best-Dressed British Men.