Happy Birthday Matt Smith! The British actor is best known for playing Doctor Who between 2009 and 2013. During his four years as the Doctor, the sci-fi show became internationally famous, most notably in the U.S.; episodes of the show regularly set and break records on BBC America. Matt Smith is credited with making the show a global success, but that isn’t his only accomplishment; he also performs theatre and acts in other films and TV series.
Despite this, he prefers to stay out of the limelight. In honor of the actor turning 34 today, here are 6 things that you probably didn’t know about Matt Smith.
6 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Matt Smith
1. Matt Smith isn’t just a brilliant actor – he is also very clumsy. The actor likes to get physical on set, and this often results in him falling or injuring himself. Producers even like to take bets on how long it will take before he breaks a prop!
2. Matt is known for his acting chops, but he actually planned on being a professional footballer. He was still in training when a serious back injury put his sporting career on hold. He decided to study drama instead, attending the University of East Anglia to study Drama and Creative Writing. He may not have got his dream job, but we bet he is very happy with how his life has turned out.
3. Matt isn’t the only successful child in the Smith family; his sister Laura is a professional dancer. She toured with Take That and she is also a cabaret dancer with her own show, The Girly Show. Impressive!
4. Matt is the youngest actor so far to play the Doctor – the second youngest is Peter Davidson, who was 29 when he was cast. As he broke a record, Matt has received recognition from the Guinness Book of World Records, but it wasn’t the first time he had appeared in the record books; the 50th Anniversary Special “The Day Of The Doctor” earned a record for being the most broadcast episode of the show, as it was shown live in 94 countries.
5. Matt isn’t just the youngest Doctor; he is also the fastest. Matt went on Top Gear in 2012 to race around the track in a Kai Cee. He had a record time of 1:43:7, beating previous Doctor’s times; Christopher Eccleston scored 1:52.4 and David Tennant scored 1:48:8. We bet he was pretty proud of himself!
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6. The last fact is certainly the strangest; Matt Smith loves socks. The British actor confessed that he is a sock fanatic, and he has taken to stealing a pair of socks from every photo shoot he is on because he can’t bear to part with them. He even once spent over $100 dollars on one pair of socks! It may be a strange habit, but Matt made GQ’s list of 50 best dressed men – and we are wondering if his sock choices put him on the list.
