Who Was Matt Smith Before He Became Daemon Targaryen?
Matt Smith has won the hearts of Game of Thrones fans with his portrayal of Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon. Set 200 years before the events of GOT, the new HBO prequel tells the story of the Targaryen ancestors. Prince Daemon is one of many forces vying for the Iron Throne, but his devilish good looks and rebellious attitude have many of the franchise’s fans rooting for him.
Thanks to his success in House of the Dragon, Matt has become a household name. But this isn’t his only notable role. Matt has been acting for almost two decades and has made a number of television and movie appearances in the years since. The English native studied drama and creative writing professionally at the University of East Anglia, before landing his first television role a year after graduation.
Here’s what Matt Smith was up to before he stole hearts (and thrones) as Daemon Targaryen.
‘Doctor Who’ Fans Will Recognize Matt Smith
If Matt Smith looks familiar to you, then there’s good reason. The actor stepped into a variety of recognizable roles before being cast in House of Dragons. Perhaps one of his most recognizable roles is as the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who.
When Matt began auditioning in his early 20s, he largely scored roles on British television, making appearances in BBC adaptions like The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. He eventually nabbed a recurring role on Party Animals as Danny Foster, making appearances in 8 episodes in 2007.
Finally, in 2009, it was announced that Matt had been cast as the Doctor in replace of David Tennant. He made his debut on Doctor Who the following year. Matt’s casting as the Doctor wasn’t just impressive because of the show’s notoriety, but because it made him the youngest actor to play the role.
" The Doctor is excited and fascinated by the tiniest of things. By everything,” Matt said of the opportunity. “By every single thing. That's what's wonderful about him as a character. It's why children like him, I think. Because he doesn't dismiss anything. He's not cynical. He's open to every single facet of the universe."
Matt played the Doctor from 2010 to 2013, with Peter Capaldi filling in as his replacement.
However, he’s admitted that the experience filming for Doctor Who helped him after landing the role of Daemon Targaryen, largely because of the strong reaction fans had to the casting – while some were elated, others couldn’t see the actor being a good fit for either role.
“You sort of have to disappear and you can’t really listen to outside noise. I learned that with Doctor Who,” Matt explained. “It was such an adverse reaction when I first got that part, and you just have to shut it out and focus on the work.”
He continued, “I always knew I could add something to it. It won’t be to everyone’s pace, I’m sure. But I certainly feel that I’ve made a connection with Daemon and with the other actors as well. I think we’ve got a wonderful cast.”
Dameon Isn’t Matt’s First Time Playing A Prince On-Screen
House of Dragon isn’t Matt’s first time appearing in a fantasy show nor is it his only time portraying a prince. Another one of his other recognizable roles is Prince Phillip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, in the widely acclaimed Crown.
Matt scored the leading role in 2015, two years after saying good-bye to Doctor Who. He was featured in 20 episodes from 2016 to 2017, and his acting skills were praised. Matt even earned a 2018 nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Matt took his mother, Lynne, to the Emmy Awards the year of his nomination, and she couldn’t help but gush about her son on social media.
" Was so proud of my boy tonight at the Emmys," she tweeted alongside photos from the night. "Congratulations to Claire Foy on her award. Felt like a movie star too. Bursting with Pride."
It was finally announced in 2020 that Matt snagged the coveted role in House of Dragon. Filming began shortly after, and the series debuted to raving reviews in August 2022.
Matt Has Acted On The Big Screen, Too
Although Matt may be mainly known for his television roles, the actor has a lot of experience in movies, too. Though his earliest acting roles is from 2006 (TheRuby in the Smoke), Matt landed his first movie role several years later as a young Harry Waters in In Bruges (2008), though the scene was later deleted.
Matt went on to score roles in Womb (2010), Lost River (2014), Terminator Genisys (2015), and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016). In 2018, a year after leaving The Crown, Matt starred in three movies, Mapplethorpe, Patient Zero, and Charlie Says. He also had roles in Official Secrets (2019), His House (2020), and The Forgiven (2021).
More recently, he starred opposite Anna Taylor-Joy in Last Night in Soho (2021) and portrayed Milo in Morbius, which released this year.
It appears Matt is going to be playing Daemon Targaryen for the foreseeable future. But with a ton of impressive movie and television credits to his name, this likely won’t be the last role we see Matt bring to life.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoaddrK60ecyaq61lo6K2tbSMm5yfp6KaeqmxjJucnJmdmnqlrcSmpqdlpJa%2FqK3RspynZZ%2Bjeqm71KycZqeWYsGpsYydqZqfn6N8