Matt Smith is an English stage and television actor. Matt Smith is known for his role as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the British television series Doctor Who, for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination in 2011. He attended Northampton School for Boys, a state comprehensive secondary school.

Matt Smith had planned to be a professional football player, having played for the youth teams of Northampton Town F.C., Nottingham Forest F.C. and Leicester City F.C. After a serious back injury, his drama teacher introduced Matt to acting by surreptitiously signing him up as the tenth juror in an adaptation of Twelve Angry Men.

Although Matt Smith took part in the play, he declined going to a drama festival that his teacher had signed him up for. His drama teacher persisted, and eventually persuaded him to join the National Youth Theatre in London.