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Brian J. Smith
Smith in 2010
Born	Brian Jacob Smith (1981-10-12) October 12, 1981 (age 43) Allen, Texas, U.S.
Education	Collin College Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2005–present

Brian Jacob Smith (born October 12, 1981) is an American actor, known for his role as Will Gorski in the Netflix-produced series Sense8, Lieutenant Matthew Scott in the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe, and his Tony Award-nominated role as Jim O'Connor (The Gentleman Caller) in the 2013 revival of The Glass Menagerie.

Early life and education

Smith is a native of Allen, Texas. He studied at the Quad C Theatre program at Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas. After he was an apprentice for one year at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, Smith moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School Drama Division's four-year acting program (Group 36: 2003–2007). Smith graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Career

While enrolled at Collin College, Smith worked as theatre technician. He was later cast as Alex in A Clockwork Orange in a Quad C Theatre production to a positive review from the Dallas Observer. In 2005, he portrayed Trey, a gay man facing intolerance from the son of a fundamentalist preacher, in Hate Crime, an independent film that featured at gay and lesbian film festivals around the United States.

Upon graduating from Juilliard, Smith briefly considered joining the US Army due to several setbacks in his career.

Smith eventually received acting roles in two more independent films, Red Hook and The War Boys. In 2008, he appeared on Broadway in the play Come Back, Little Sheba as the character Turk. Smith was cast as Lieutenant Matthew Scott, a lead role in the 2009 Stargate television series, Stargate Universe, until its cancellation in 2010. He also guest-starred on Law & Order in 2009.

In 2011, Smith recurred on The CW's Gossip Girl and starred in the SyFy original film Red Faction: Origins. In April 2012, he began his run as Andrei in the hit Broadway show, The Columnist, which ended in July 2012. His next projects included the mini-series Coma from producer Tony Scott and an appearance on Warehouse 13 for SyFy.

From September 2013 to February 2014, he played The Gentleman Caller in a Broadway production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie at the Booth Theatre. This role earned him 2014 Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. In 2015, he appeared in the pilot episode of Quantico as one of the new FBI recruits.

Smith was a lead cast member on the Netflix original series Sense8 (2015–2018) playing the character Will Gorski. He followed up with main roles on Treadstone, a serial spin-off of the Bourne films, and the BBC World War II drama mini series World on Fire in 2019.

Smith played Berg in The Matrix Resurrections in 2021 and in 2023, was cast as Daniel Lennix, a lead character in FX on Hulu's series Class of '09 and as Ken in Essex County a Canadian television drama.

A House Is Not a Disco, his debut documentary film as a director, premiered at the 2024 SXSW festival.

Personal life

On November 7, 2019, Smith came out as gay in an interview with Attitude.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ Sumner, Darren (January 15, 2009). "Brian J. Smith cast in Stargate Universe". GateWorld. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
2. League, The Broadway. "The Glass Menagerie – Broadway Play – 2013 Revival | IBDB". ibdb.com. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
3. "Brian J. Smith Adds Dimension to Menagerie | New York Theatre Magazine". nytheatremag.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
4. "Alumni News". The Juilliard School. November 2009. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
5. "BrianSmith". collintheatrecenter.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
6. Liner, Elaine (October 10, 2002). "Droog Addicts". Dallas Observer.
7. Hoffman, Barbara (November 17, 2013). "Meet the new hottie burning up Broadway". New York Post. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
8. Brantley, Ben (January 25, 2008). "So Quiet You Can Hear a Heart Stop". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
9. "Brian J. Smith". Playbill. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
10. Andreeva, Nellie (November 8, 2018). "'Treadstone': Jeremy Irvine & Brian J. Smith Cast In USA's 'Bourne' Series". Deadline. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
11. "Who Is Brian J. Smith? 'World On Fire's Webster Feels A Real Connection With His Character". Bustle. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
12. Christian Blauvelt, "Gay Love Letter to Fire Island 'A House Is Not a Disco' Is Charming Audiences from Texas to Florida". IndieWire, April 12, 2024.
13. "'Sense8' star Brian J. Smith recalls growing up gay and 'terrified' in suburban Texas". Attitude.co.uk. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
14. Cordero, Rosy; Petski, Denise (November 10, 2021). "'Class of '09': Raúl Castillo, Jake McDorman, Sepideh Moafi, Brian J. Smith Among 7 Cast In FX Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 9, 2022.

External links

• Brian J. Smith at IMDb
• GateWorld: Brian J. Smith cast in Stargate Universe
• "Boldly Going From Collin County Community College to SciFi's New Stargate Series" Archived September 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Unfair Park, the Dallas Observer blog

• 1981 births
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American male actors
• American documentary film directors
• American gay actors
• American LGBTQ film directors
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• Film directors from Texas
• Juilliard School alumni
• LGBTQ people from Texas
• Living people
• Male actors from Dallas
• People from Allen, Texas