Matt Smith

Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series Doctor Who (2010–2014), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series House of the Dragon (2022–present) and Prince Philip in the Netflix series The Crown (2016–2017), the lattermost of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.Smith initially aspired to be a professional footballer, but spondylolysis forced him out of the sport. After joining the National Youth Theatre and studying drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, he became an actor in 2003, performing in plays including Murder in the Cathedral, Fresh Kills, The History Boys and On the Shore of the Wide World in London theatres. Extending his repertoire into West End theatre, he has since performed in the stage adaptation of Swimming with Sharks with Christian Slater, followed a year later by a critically acclaimed performance as Henry in That Face.Smith's first television role came in 2006 as Jim Taylor in the BBC adaptations of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North, while his first major role in television came as Danny in the 2007 BBC series Party Animals. Smith portrayed the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who from 2010 to 2013, becoming the youngest person to portray the character. In film, he portrayed a dual role in Womb (2010), the physical forms of Skynet in Terminator Genisys (2015), 1960s pimp Jack in Last Night in Soho (2021), and Milo in Morbius (2022).Matthew Robert Smith was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire on 28 October 1982, the son of Lynne and David Smith. He has an elder sister named Laura Jayne, who was one of the dancers featured in the well-known music video for Eric Prydz's 2004 song "Call on Me". Smith attended Northampton School for Boys. His grandfather had played football for Notts County and Smith had also 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. A serious back injury resulted in spondylolysis, and he was unable to continue with a footballing career.Smith's drama teacher introduced him to acting by signing him up for theatrical productions without his consent. After failing to participate on the first two occasions, his teacher arranged for him to play the tenth juror in an adaptation of Twelve Angry Men. Although he took part, he refused to attend a drama festival for which his teacher had also signed him up, as he saw himself as a football player and believed acting would damage his social life. His teacher persisted, eventually persuading him to join the National Youth Theatre in London. After leaving school, Smith studied Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, graduating in 2005 With the National Youth Theatre, he played Thomas Becket in Murder in the Cathedral and Bassoon in The Master and Margarita. His role in the latter earned him an agent and his first professional jobs, Fresh Kills and On the Shore of the Wide World, which led him to seek an agreement with his university so that he could graduate without attending lectures in his final yearSmith'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. His first major television role came in the television series Party Animals, a BBC drama series about fictional parliamentary advisors and researchers. 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. In an interview in 2007, Smith summarised the character as having a romantic outlook of the political world while being cynical elsewhere. He 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. Intellectually, Danny is portrayed as attentive and possessing a strong work ethic.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!"