Brian Jacob Smith (born October 12, 1981) is an American actor, known for his role as Will Gorski in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

-produced series ''

Sense8 ''Sense8'' () is an American science fiction drama television series created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski for Netflix. The production companies behind ''Sense8'' included the Wachowskis' Anarchos Productions (replac ...

,'' Lieutenant

Matthew Scott Matthew or Matt Scott may refer to: Sports *Matthew Scott (footballer, born 1867) (1867–1897), English footballer for Sunderland *Matthew Scott (footballer, born 1872) (1872–?), Scottish footballer (Airdrieonians FC and Scotland) *Matthew Scott ...

in the

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and science fiction weapons, weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters ...

television series ''

Stargate Universe ''Stargate Universe'' (often abbreviated as ''SGU'') is a military science fiction drama television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the An ...

'', and his

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-nominated role as Jim O'Connor (The Gentleman Caller) in the 2013 revival of ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his histrionic mo ...

''.

Early life and education

Smith is a native of

Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 104,627 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 111 ...

. He studied at the Quad C Theatre program at

Collin County Community College Collin College is a public community college district in Texas. Established in 1985, the district has grown as the county has grown from around 5,000 students in 1986 to more than 60,000 credit and noncredit students. Formerly known as the ...

Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...

. 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 The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Drama Division's four-year acting program (''Group 36'': 2003–2007). Smith graduated from Juilliard with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree.

Career

While enrolled at Collin College, Smith worked as theatre technician. He was later cast as Alex in ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'' in a Quad C Theatre production to a positive review from the ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

''. In 2005, he portrayed Trey, a gay man facing intolerance from the son of a fundamentalist preacher, in ''

Hate Crime Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...

'', 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 ''The War Boys'' is a 2009 American independent drama film directed by Ronald Daniels and starring Peter Gallagher, Victor Rasuk, Brian J. Smith and Benjamin Walker. Its screenplay was written by Naomi Wallace and Bruce McLeod, based on the play ...

''. In 2008, he appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

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 ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

'' television series, ''

'', until its cancellation in 2010. He also guest-starred on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' in 2009. In 2011, Smith recurred on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'' 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 ''The Columnist'' is a play by American playwright David Auburn. It opened on Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, under the direction of Daniel J. Sullivan. The play opened on April 25, 2012, and closed July 8, 2012, with John Lithgow st ...

'', which ended in July 2012. His next projects included the mini-series ''

Coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

'' from producer Tony Scott and an appearance on ''

Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executively produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Des ...

'' for SyFy. From September 2013 to February 2014, he played The Gentleman Caller in a Broadway production of Tennessee Williams's ''

'' at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

. This role earned him 2014

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

and

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

original series ''

'' (2015–2018) playing the character Will Gorski. He followed up with main roles on ''

Treadstone ''Treadstone'' is an American action drama television series, connected to and based on the ''Bourne'' film series. A "special preview" of the pilot aired on USA Network on September 24, 2019, ahead of its October 15, 2019, premiere. The seri ...

'', a serial spin-off of the ''Bourne'' films, and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

World War II drama mini series ''World on Fire'' in 2019. Smith played Berg in ''

The Matrix Resurrections ''The Matrix Resurrections'' is a 2021 American science fiction action film co-produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski, and the first in the ''Matrix'' franchise to be directed solely by Lana. It is the sequel to '' The Matrix Re ...

'' in 2021 and in 2023, was cast as Daniel Lennix, a lead character in

FX on Hulu FX Networks, LLC, commonly known as FX Networks, is an American media company built around FX, FXX, and FX Movie Channel, plus their associated production company, FX Productions, and is a subsidiary of Disney General Entertainment Content, th ...

's series ''

Class of '09 ''Class of '09'' is an American drama thriller television miniseries created by Tom Rob Smith. The show premiered on FX on Hulu on May 10, 2023. Synopsis The series takes place across three distinct time periods: The Past (2009), The Present ...

'' 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 South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival.

Personal life

On November 7, 2019, Smith came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in an interview with ''Attitude''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
GateWorld: Brian J. Smith cast in Stargate Universe

"Boldly Going From Collin County Community College to SciFi's New Stargate Series"
''Unfair Park'', the ''Dallas Observer'' blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brian J. 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