Matt Smith’s movies and TV roles ranked by critics
Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images / Ollie Upton / HBO
- Matt Smith is currently being praised by critics and fans for his acting in “House of the Dragon.”
- In the past, the British actor was known for his breakout role in “Doctor Who.”
- Here are all his movies and TV shows, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes critic scores.
14. Matt Smith is on the hunt for a cure in “Patient Zero.”
Vertical Entertainment
Rotten Tomatoes score: 14%
Summary: In this 2018 thriller, Matt Smith leads a team of last survivors on the hunt for a cure for a supervirus that has turned humans into super zombie-like killers. Smith’s character is the only one to be able to communicate with the infected and uses his ability to find patient zero.
Critics, such as Geoff Berkshire, said Smith and Natalie Dormer were the main standouts of the movie.
13. Smith starred in the latest Sony superhero movie “Morbius” earlier this year.
Jay Maidment/Sony Pictures
Rotten Tomatoes score: 15%
Summary: “Morbius” is Smith’s latest film and his first superhero movie.
In the movie, Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) tries to find a cure for his disease but instead turns himself into a vampire. Smith joins the Sony “Spider-Man” villain universe as Milo Morbius, the surrogate brother of Michael and the villain of the movie.
12. The plot of “Terminator Genisys” was too complicated, according to critics.
Paramount Pictures
Rotten Tomatoes score: 26%
Summary: Smith starred in the fifth installment of the “Terminator” franchise as the main villain Skynet, an AI that tries to wipe out humans in the future. In the sci-fi movie, Kyle Reese (Jai Courteney) is sent to the past to protect the mother of human resistance leader John Connor.
Instead, he ends up in an alternate timeline and has to work with John’s mother (Emilia Clarke) and a good Terminator robot (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to stop Skynet from being created.
Critics thought the plot was too convoluted and it lacked the quality of previous films in the franchise.
11. Ryan Gosling made his directorial debut with “Lost River,” starring Smith and Saoirse Ronan.
Warner Bros.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 30%
Summary: “Lost River” was Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut and starred Smith, Eva Mendes, Saoirse Ronan, and Ben Mendelsohn. The movie follows a single mother (Christina Hendricks) and her two children as they try to survive a crumbling neighborhood in Detroit.
10. Smith played the titular character in the “Mapplethorpe” biopic about the controversial photographer.
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Rotten Tomatoes score: 31%
Summary: In 2018, Smith starred in a biopic about American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, whose work sparked debates about obscene artwork due to its explicit nature.
Marissa De La Cerda shared many critics’ sentiments about the film when she wrote in the Chicago Reader that the movie was a “formulaic biopic that refuses to scratch beneath the surface.”
9. In “Womb,” Eva Green plays a woman who clones her dead lover.
Olive Films
Rotten Tomatoes score: 35%
Summary: In this sci-fi drama, a woman (Eva Green) clones her lover (Matt Smith) after he dies and gives birth to him. The woman, Rebecca, raises the clone as though he were her own son, but the relationship becomes tense when he grows up.
8. Smith made an appearance in the Austen parody movie “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”
Sony Pictures Releasing
Rotten Tomatoes score: 46%
Summary: Matt Smith has a role in the Zombie-horror parody of Jane Austen’s famous novel “Pride and Prejudice.” Instead of Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) dueling against each other with witty humor, they fight side-by-side against 19th-century zombies in the English countryside.
Smith plays Mr. Collins, the heir to the Bennet estate who gets rejected by Elizabeth. The movie received mixed reviews with The Australian critic Stephen Romei saying that Austen herself would approve.
7. Matt Smith portrays notorious cult leader Charles Manson in the drama “Charlie Says.”
IFC Films/AP Photo
Rotten Tomatoes score: 59%
Summary: Many actors have portrayed the cult leader Charles Manson in movies. Smith’s opportunity came in the 2018 drama “Charlie Says,” which portrayed the Manson family cult from the point of view of three women who killed for him, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins.
Los Angeles Times critic Katie Walsh wrote of the movie: “A fascinating and feminist exploration of Manson’s first victims: the girls themselves.”
6. Smith plays a rich house party host in “The Forgiven.”
Roadside Attractions
Rotten Tomatoes score: 66%
Summary: “The Forgiven,” based on a book of the same name, explores the reverberations of a random accident in Morocco. This accident affects both the local Muslim community and Western party guests in a grand villa, including Richard Galloway (Smith) the rich party host.
5. “Last Night in Soho” follows a woman who travels back to the ’60s in her dreams.
Focus Features.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%
Summary: Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller follows an aspiring fashion designer, Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), who accidentally travels back to the 1960s in her dreams. There she is inspired by a wannabe singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) but the dreams soon take a dark turn.
Critics praised Wright for creating an authentic ’60s atmosphere but many felt the ending was incomplete.
5. Smith appears in “Official Secrets” as a journalist who exposes the American and British intelligence services for an illegal spy operation.
IFC Films
Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%
Summary: “Official Secrets” is a drama based on whistleblower Katharine Gun (played by Kiera Knightley), who exposed an illegal spying operation by the American and British intelligence services in the lead-up to the Iraq War.
Smith plays The Observer journalist Martin Bright who publishes the leaked memo given out by Gun.
4. Smith quickly became one of the fan favorites in the “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon.”
HBO
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Summary: “House of the Dragon” is a prequel series to HBO’s hit show “Game of Thrones.” The series adapts George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire and Blood” about Daenerys’ ancestors, the Targaryens, when they were ruling Westeros. Season one builds up to a civil war within the Targaryen family due to conflicts on who should be next in line for the throne.
Smith plays Daemon Targaryen, brother of the King of Westeros and the black sheep of the family. Critics and fans praised Smith’s performance as one of the best of the first season.
3. Smith was the first to portray Prince Philip in Netflix’s hit show “The Crown.”
Robert Viglasky/Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Summary: Netflix’s “The Crown,” based on an award-winning play “The Audience,” chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II, the former queen of England. Across the seasons, different actors play the royal family in different time periods.
Smith played Prince Philip, the Queen’s late husband, in the first two seasons of the show.
2. Smith took over as the Doctor in the fifth season of “Doctor Who.”
BBC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Summary: Smith’s most memorable role is as the Doctor in the long-running BBC sci-fi series “Doctor Who.” The show follows an eccentric Time Lord and his human companions as they travel through space and time to explore distant civilizations and save the universe. In the fifth season, Smith took over as the Doctor from David Tenant.
1. “His House” is a horror movie about a refugee couple haunted in their new house.
Netflix
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Summary: Smith also appeared in Remi Weekes’ film debut “His House.” Sope Dirisu and Wumni Mosaku play a refugee couple from South Sudan who struggles to adjust to their new life in an English town due to a malevolent presence there. Smith plays Mark, the couple’s caseworker that tries to help them find accommodation and assimilate into England.
Critics praised the merging of the film’s political themes and its horror.
