HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Charles Martin Smith (born October 30, 1953) is an American actor, writer, and director of film and television, based in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
. He is known for his roles in '' American Graffiti'' (1973), '' The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), ''
Never Cry Wolf ''Never Cry Wolf'' is an account of the author's experience observing wolves in subarctic Canada by Farley Mowat, first published in 1963 by McClelland and Stewart. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1983. It has been credited for dra ...
'' (1983), '' Starman'' (1984), '' The Untouchables'' (1987), '' Deep Cover'' (1992), '' And the Band Played On'' (1993), '' Speechless'' (1994) and '' Deep Impact'' (1998). As a director, he is further known for the films '' The Snow Walker'' (2003), '' Stone of Destiny'' (2008), '' Dolphin Tale'' (2011), '' Dolphin Tale 2'' (2014) and '' A Dog's Way Home'' (2019). His directorial work has earned him much acclaim, with numerous BAFTA, Genie, and Leo Award nominations.


Biography


Early life

Smith was born in
Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. His father, Frank Smith, was a film cartoonist and animator, while his uncle Paul J. Smith was an animator as well as a director for the Walter Lantz Studios. Smith spent three years of his youth in Paris, where his father managed the English-language branch of a French animation studio. He received his high school diploma from Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. He attended
California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...
and was awarded a B.A. in Theatre.


Acting background

Smith was discovered by a talent agent while acting in a school play, ''
Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...
''. After a few years of working in film and television, he landed the role of Terry "The Toad" Fields in
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
's 1973 film '' American Graffiti'', a role he reprised in the film's 1979 sequel, '' More American Graffiti''. In 1973, he and ''American Graffiti'' co-star Cindy Williams appeared together in an episode of ''
Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...
'' titled "Love and the Time Machine". In 1974 he starred with Ron Howard in ''
The Spikes Gang ''The Spikes Gang'' is a 1974 American Western film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Lee Marvin. Produced by the Mirisch Company and based on the novel ''The Bank Robber'' by Giles Tippette, the supporting cast features Gary Grimes, ...
'', filmed in Spain, along with Lee Marvin and
Gary Grimes Gary Grimes (born June 2, 1955) is a former American actor. Biography Grimes was born in San Francisco, California. His uncle was actor Rudy Solari. Grimes' first major role was in the 1971 film ''Summer of '42'', playing a teenager, based on aut ...
; and in 1978 he earned a starring role in '' Cotton Candy'', directed by Howard. Smith played one of
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
's bandmates in '' The Buddy Holly Story'', a race car driver in Disney's '' Herbie Goes Bananas'', and the starring role as a scientist in ''
Never Cry Wolf ''Never Cry Wolf'' is an account of the author's experience observing wolves in subarctic Canada by Farley Mowat, first published in 1963 by McClelland and Stewart. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1983. It has been credited for dra ...
''. His work in '' Starman,'' as Mark Shermin, a SETI member sympathetic to the title character's plight, was also lauded. In 1979 Smith was cast alongside
Barney Martin Barney Martin (March 3, 1923 – March 21, 2005) was an American actor, best known for playing Morty Seinfeld, father of Jerry, on the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1991-1998). He also played supporting roles in Mel Brooks' '' The Producers'' (1967), ...
as the lead in
Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...
's last television series concept, '' McGurk: A Dog's Life'', which never progressed beyond the pilot. Another role was in "Banshee," an episode of '' The Ray Bradbury Theater'' that costarred
Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...
and Jennifer Dale. He also appeared in the episode "Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar". One of his later starring roles was in " The Beacon," an episode of '' The Twilight Zone'' where he starred with Martin Landau and Giovanni Ribisi in an early role. He was in '' The Untouchables''. After this he co-starred in '' The Hot Spot'' and '' Deep Cover'', and in the mid-1990s he appeared in films such as '' Speechless'', '' I Love Trouble'', and '' Perfect Alibi''. Smith played a role in the HBO film '' And the Band Played On'', then turned in a performance in the TV miniseries '' Streets of Laredo''. He also appeared in '' The Beast'' in 1996 and in a minor role in the big budget '' Deep Impact'' in 1998. He played a major character in the made-for-television movie '' Blackout Effect''. More recently he has appeared in mini-series such as '' P.T. Barnum'', '' Kingdom Hospital'' and '' The Triangle'' as well as the feature film '' Lucky You'' directed by Curtis Hanson. In 2009 he played a featured role, Sheriff Golightly, in the second episode of season two of the TV series '' Fringe''.


''Never Cry Wolf'' (1983)

Smith devoted almost three years to filming ''
Never Cry Wolf ''Never Cry Wolf'' is an account of the author's experience observing wolves in subarctic Canada by Farley Mowat, first published in 1963 by McClelland and Stewart. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1983. It has been credited for dra ...
,'' adapted from a memoir by environmentalist Farley Mowat. Smith said, "I was much more closely involved in that picture than I had been in any other film. Not only acting, but writing and the whole creative process." He also found the process difficult. "During much of the two-year shooting schedule in Canada's Yukon and in Nome, Alaska, I was the only actor present. It was the loneliest film I've ever worked on." During the filming, he became so enamored of the Northwest that he decided to relocate to Vancouver,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
, where he has resided since the mid-1980s.
Carroll Ballard Carroll Ballard (born October 14, 1937) is a retired American film director. He has directed six feature films, including ''The Black Stallion (film), The Black Stallion'' (1979), ''Never Cry Wolf (film), Never Cry Wolf'' (1983), and ''Fly Away ...
, director of ''Never Cry Wolf'', asked Smith to write much of the narration for the film. Smith also performed in a lengthy scene with wolves and
caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
in which he was entirely naked. While working on this production, Smith formed a friendship with the author, Farley Mowat, which lasted until Mowat's death in 2014.


Directing

Along with his acting career, since the mid-1990s Smith has increasingly focused on his work behind the camera both as a writer and director. His first film as director was the camp horror story '' Trick or Treat'' (1986) for Dino De Laurentiis, in which he also appeared. In 1992, he directed and acted in '' Fifty/Fifty'', a movie filmed in Malaysia which also starred Robert Hays and
Peter Weller Peter Weller (born June 24, 1947) is an American film and stage actor, television director, and art historian. He has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including ''RoboCop'' (1987) and its sequel ''RoboCop 2'' (1990), in whic ...
. He was one of the directors of the TV series '' Space: Above and Beyond'' (1995) as well as the director of the initial episode (" Welcome to the Hellmouth") that launched the TV series ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'' (1997). He next directed the successful feature film ''
Air Bud ''Air Bud'' is a 1997 sports comedy film directed by Charles Martin Smith. The film was financially successful, grossing $4 million in its opening weekend and totaling $27.8 million in its run against an estimated $3 million budget. Plot After ...
'' (Disney, 1997), and two TV miniseries for Hallmark Entertainment, ''Roughing It'', starring James Garner as
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, (2001) and ''Icon'' (2005), starring Patrick Swayze, Michael York and Patrick Bergin. He directed numerous episodes of the Canadian television series '' DaVinci's Inquest'', and wrote and executive produced '' The Clinic'', a film about a veterinary clinic for Animal Planet in 2003. In 2003 he wrote and directed the acclaimed Canadian feature film '' The Snow Walker'' for Lions Gate Films, based on a story by Farley Mowat, which marked a return to the Arctic for Smith and garnered nine
Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
nominations including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director for Smith. In 2007, Smith wrote and directed the British/Canadian co-production '' Stone of Destiny'' for Mob Films, and Infinity Features, starring Charlie Cox, Robert Carlyle and Kate Mara. ''Stone of Destiny'' was the closing Gala Presentation for the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.TIFF'08 Gala Schedule
web page. His next film was '' Dolphin Tale'' for Alcon Entertainment. The film, based on a true story, stars
Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...
, Ashley Judd,
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
, Kris Kristofferson,
Nathan Gamble Nathan Gamble (born January 12, 1998) is an American actor who made his feature film debut in ''Babel'' (2006), for which he was nominated for a 2007 Young Artist Award. He is best known for his role as Sawyer Nelson in '' Dolphin Tale'' and the ...
and
Cozi Zuehlsdorff Cozi Noelle Zuehlsdorff (born August 3, 1998) is an American actress and singer known for her role as Hazel Haskett in the movie ''Dolphin Tale'' (2011) and the sequel, ''Dolphin Tale 2'' (2014). She also appears in ''Mighty Med'' as Jordan, a ...
, and was released on September 23, 2011 by Warner Bros. To date, the film has grossed over $70 million at the domestic box office and over $100 million worldwide. He returned to write and direct the sequel, '' Dolphin Tale 2''. He based his original script on various true-life events that have occurred at the Clearwater Marine Hospital, including the dramatic rescue of a baby dolphin named "Hope" that coincidentally happened during the wrap party of the first film, with many of the film's cast and crew watching. The entire cast returned to take part, and the movie was released by Warner Bros on September 12, 2014.


Filmography


Television credits


Notes

* * * * * * * *


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles Martin 1953 births Living people California State University, Northridge alumni American male film actors American male television actors American television directors Film directors from British Columbia People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles American expatriates in Canada 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Film directors from Los Angeles