Ian Michael Smith (born May 5, 1987) is an American software engineer and former child actor, known for his sole starring role in ''

Simon Birch ''Simon Birch'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film loosely based on the 1989 novel '' A Prayer for Owen Meany'' by John Irving and written for the screen and directed by Mark Steven Johnson in his directorial debut. The film stars Ian Micha ...

''. His short physical stature () is a result of Morquio syndrome, a rare enzymatic disorder affecting the circulatory, muscular and skeletal systems.

Life and work

Smith was born in

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 45,786 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History M ...

. A Chicago-area hospital worker approached his parents about him auditioning for the leading role in ''

The Mighty ''The Mighty'' is a 1998 American coming of age buddy comedy-drama film directed by Peter Chelsom and written by Charles Leavitt. Based on the book '' Freak the Mighty'' by Rodman Philbrick, it stars Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Gillian ...

'', a feature film about a character with Morquio Syndrome.

Kieran Culkin Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. Known for portraying distasteful yet sympathetic characters across stage and screen, List of awards and nominations received by Kieran Culkin, his accolades include an Academy A ...

was cast instead, but Smith was recommended for the title role of ''

'' (1998), a film based loosely on John Irving's novel ''

A Prayer for Owen Meany ''A Prayer for Owen Meany'' is the seventh novel by American writer John Irving. Published in 1989, it tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960 ...

'', which also called for a small child actor. This was Smith’s sole acting role. After acting, he graduated from York Community High School in Elmhurst in 2005. He has undergone several operations including a

spinal fusion Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a surgery performed by Orthopedic surgery#Practice, orthopaedic surgeons or neurosurgeons that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine ...

and two bilateral osteotomies. He graduated from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 2009, and

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

in 2012 and now works as a software engineer. He is a co-founder of a nonprofit organization, Project Alloy, that gives assistance to underrepresented people in tech fields. In 2019, he joined a class action lawsuit against the City of Oakland for excluding people with disabilities from the city’s rent control program.

References

External links

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Ian Michael Smith
at Hollywood.com 1987 births Male actors from Illinois American male child actors American male film actors Living people People from Elmhurst, Illinois 20th-century American male actors Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Gallaudet University alumni {{US-film-actor-1980s-stub