Matt Smith

Born on 28th October 1982, Matthew Robert Smith is currently best known for playing the Eleventh incarnation of The Doctor in Doctor Who.

Born and raised in Northampton, Matt attended the Northampton School for Boys - a state comprehensive secondary school.  Matt initially aspired to be a professional footballer, playing for the youth teams of Northampton Town FC, Nottingham Forest FC and Leicester City FC, but unfortunately had to give this up due to a back-injury.

After joining the National Youth Theatre, and studying Drama and Creative Writing (at the University of East Anglia), Matt become a professional actor in 2003, performing in plays such as Murder in the Cathedral, Fresh Kills, The History Boys and On the Short of the Wide World, in London.  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.

Matt’s first television roles came in the form of character Jim Taylor in the BBC adaptations of The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North.  Matt later appeared alongside Billie Piper for a third time, in a single episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Matt’s first major role on the BBC however, was as Danny – a parliamentary advisor – in the 2007 series Party Animals.  Despite a good critical reaction however, the show faired poorly in viewing numbers, and subsequently didn’t reach a second series (so far).

In early 2009, it was announced that Matt would be taking over the role of The Doctor in BBC classic Doctor Who – the eleventh actor take the role, and so far the youngest.  Steven Moffat said of the casting -

“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.”

Matt has also recently starred in BBC television film “Christopher and his Kind” – a BBC2 drama about author Christopher Isherwood and his life in 1930′s Berlin.  Also upcoming is “Womb” – which was filmed before he started on Doctor Who, but is still awaiting release – co-starring Eva Green and Hannah Murray.

Interesting Tit-bits
Matt is a supported of Blackburn Rovers FC