Happy Birthday! Matt Smith Turns 34 Years Old Today

Happy birthday, Matt Smith! The actor turns 34 today.Born in October 1982, Smith was raised in [...]

By Megan Peters

Happy birthday, Matt Smith! The actor turns 34 today.

Born in October 1982, Smith was raised in Northampton by his parents David and Lynne. The actor had planned to become a professional football player, but Smith eventually turned to theater after a back injury ended his athletic pursuits. He eventually went on to study drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia before moving on to acting as a full-time job.

Smith's first roles were in stage plays such as On the Shore of the Wide World. He went on to star in small screen roles in the BBC adaptations of Sally Lockhart's book. His first big role was in Party Animals as Danny Foster.

However, Smith is known by international fans because of one very special role. The actor was cast as the Eleventh Doctor in BBC's Doctor Who. The revelation ws made in 2009 and stunned fans as Smith was a young, relatively unknown actor at the time. His tenure as the Doctor was a critically praised one, and Smith exited from the show in 2013.

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(Photo: BBC)

Since leaving Doctor Who, Smith has nabbed several major roles in film and television projects. He was cast in Terminator Genisys and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Fans can see Smith star in his next project on Netflix's Reign. The groundbreaking series will follow the life of Queen Elizabeth, and Smith will play Prince Philip on the series.

Happy birthday, Matt!

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