The Story of Matt Smith, Who Wanted to Become a Soccer Player and Almost Turned Down His Role in “House of the Dragon”

Matt Smith didn’t originally want to become an actor, but fate had other plans for him. He is now famous thanks to his prominent performance in the popular series Doctor Who, The Crown, and House of the Dragon. Let’s find out a few curious facts about Matt Smith’s life, and how he found his calling.

Matthew Robert Smith was born in Northamptonshire, England. His grandfather used to play soccer, so Matt wanted to become a professional soccer player too. He played for different teams at school, and was even the captain of the Leicester City youth team.

At the same time, Smith’s cousin, Leigh Killick, who taught drama at his school, signed him up for theatrical productions without his consent. Smith refused to participate in those and in festivals, as he saw himself only as a football player and believed acting would damage his social life. But when he experienced a serious back injury at 16, he was forced to reconsider his priorities.

He was diagnosed with spondylolysis, making Matt abandon soccer. These were hard times for him because he couldn’t imagine what else he could do in life. To this day, he continues to suffer from the injury he got at school.

Eventually, Smith’s cousin convinced him to go into acting. “I just thought it was a bit girly. The first play I was in my friends came to watch and were just like ’what is he doing?’ But I got the same sense of freedom as I got from playing football,” Matt recalls his first emotions when playing on stage.

After high school, Matt studied Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Even before his graduation, he got an agent. Smith was very busy with theatrical productions, so he agreed with the university that he could graduate without attending lectures in his final year. He became a professional actor in 2005, but his name had become known long before that.

The fact is that Matt worked hard, and his mentors remember him as an inventive, goal-oriented, and very talented comedy actor.

Matt worked in London theaters acting in such plays as Murder in the Cathedral, The Master and Margarita, and On the Shore of the Wide World. His performance in the play That Face was especially praised by critics. A bit later, he made his debut on television in the series The Ruby in the Smoke in 2006.

Since then, his career has been on the rise. He works in Hollywood blockbusters and popular TV series: he starred in Doctor Who, portrayed young Prince Philip in The Crown, appeared in Terminator Genisys, Last Night in Soho, and House of the Dragon, and became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Morbius.

However, Smith almost turned down one of his most prominent roles. Today, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the role of Daemon Targaryen in the Game of Thrones prequel. But he was reluctant to take on this job because the character was too complicated, and Matt wasn’t sure whether he would be able to comply with the Game of Thrones high standards.

Interestingly, after it was announced that he was cast for the role of Daemon, the hashtag, #NotMyDaemon, was used on social media by those who were critical of this choice. But later, all former critics and haters praised Matt’s charismatic portrayal of Daemon.

What finally convinced Matt to take on the role was learning that King Viserys I Targaryen would be played by Paddy Considine. Smith is a huge fan of Considine, so he finally agreed to become Daemon Targaryen on-screen.

But this role in House of the Dragon turned out to be really hard for the actor. While filming a stunt, Smith injured a disc in his neck. But Matt continued to work through pain, saying, “It was terrible a pain in the neck — literally, physically and metaphorically.” After filming was wrapped, the actor even had to attend physical therapy.

The actor admits that he always keeps improving his acting skills, “And I would hope that, in my forties, I’ll become a better actor than I was in my thirties. I’ve got to — otherwise, what’s the point?” We hope that we’ll see many other great movies and series starring Matt Smith in the future.

What of Matt Smith’s character do you like the most? Tell us in the comments below.