Michael Smith (born August 27, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. He is best known for his portrayal of

Bubbles Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

and co-writer of the cult classic television program, films and stage production ''

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer pa ...

''. He was also the guitarist for the Canadian rock band

Sandbox A sandbox is a sandpit, a wide, shallow playground construction to hold sand, often made of wood or plastic. Sandbox or Sand box may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Sandbox (band), a Canadian rock music group * Sandbox ( ...

. Smith earned a degree in English from

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

Antigonish, Nova Scotia , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. For a short time in 2006, he was engaged to actress

Nichole Hiltz Nichole Marie Hiltz is an American actress. She has appeared in several films, made-for-TV movies, and television series. Her most recent long-running television credit is for USA Network's ''In Plain Sight'' from 2008 to 2012 in which she portra ...

Musical interest

Smith showed early signs of musical talent, after learning to play the guitar at age six. Before becoming involved in

, he was a guitarist in the rock band

, and signed a record deal with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in Canada, and

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

in the United States.

released two albums with EMI and

, entitled ''

Bionic Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1 ...

'' and '' A Murder in the Glee Club''. Sandbox was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

East Coast Music Awards The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mus ...

, and a

CASBY Award The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The a ...

. Smith has worked on such films as ''

The Weight of Water ''The Weight of Water'' is a 1997 bestselling novel by Anita Shreve. Half of the novel is historical fiction based on the Smuttynose Island murders, which took place in 1873. The book was adapted for a film of the same name, directed by Kathryn ...

'' as a sound mixer and ''

Serendipity Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of product invention and scientific discovery. Etymology The first noted use of "serendipity" was by Horace Walpole on 28 January 1754. I ...

'' as a cableman. Later, Smith performed as part of Bubbles & the Shit Rockers, a band that also featured founding

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

guitarist

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

and Tom Wilson for the original song "Liquor & Whores" featured on '' Trailer Park Boys: The Movie Soundtrack''. A Trailer Park Boys episode also features Smith's character Bubbles playing the 1977 Rush track "

Closer to the Heart "Closer to the Heart" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released in November 1977 as the lead single from their fifth studio album ''A Farewell to Kings''. It was the first Rush song to feature a non-member as a songwriter in Peter Tal ...

" with

. Smith has performed "Liquor & Whores" with

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

on multiple occasions on their

Chinese Democracy Tour Series The Chinese Democracy Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Guns N' Roses to promote the group's album '' Chinese Democracy''. It began in 2001, with three U.S. dates and a Brazilian one, while their 2002 tour included Asian, ...

, in 2006, 2010 and 2011. Smith has also recorded with

Emm Gryner Emm Gryner (born 8 June 1975 in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian-Filipino singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfie ...

in "Get Brave" released in 2010.

Acting career

Smith had been a long-time friend of ''

'' director

Mike Clattenburg Mike Clattenburg is a Canadian television and film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as creator, executive producer, writer and director of the TV comedy series ''Trailer Park Boys'' (2001–2008), for his work with ''This H ...

, and starred in "Cart Boy" with

Robb Wells Robb is a surname of Scottish people, Scottish origin, formed from a diminution (reduction) of the name Robert. Robert was a popular name, especially after its use by three Scots Kings in the fourteenth century. Rob is first recorded as a surname ...

(who plays Ricky) and

John Paul Tremblay John Paul Tremblay (born May 17, 1968) is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, and comedian who is most well known for his role as Julian in the TV series Trailer Park Boys. Career Before acting in Trailer Park Boys, Tremblay and his future co-sta ...

(who plays Julian) in 1995. Smith was "messing" around on the set one day and slipped into his Cart Boy character from the short "The Cart Boy". Clattenburg apparently realized the depth this character held, and the Cart Boy, now known as Bubbles, was written into the show. Bubbles was never intended to be a main character, but the more outrageously he behaved, the more audiences loved him, developing him to become a

breakout character A breakout character is a character in serial fiction, especially a member of an ensemble cast, who becomes much more prominent, popular, discussed, or imitated than expected by the creators. A breakout character may equal or overtake the oth ...

. Bubbles then became one of the three main protagonists, having established that he knew Julian and Ricky from school back in the late 1970s to high school in the late '80s. Smith made an appearance as Bubbles in

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

's 2002 music video ''Legal'', but his swearing remained censored. He was also featured in Country Star

George Canyon George Canyon (born Frederick George Lays, August 22, 1970) is a Canadian country music singer. He was the runner up on the second season of ''Nashville Star'' in 2004. He grew up in Fox Brook, Pictou County, Nova Scotia before he moved west to ...

's video for "Drinkin Thinkin", which showed Bubbles going after his girlfriend. Mike and the rest of the Trailer park boys appeared in

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassi ...

video, "The Darkest One". He has appeared in character as Bubbles at several

2006 Canadian tour dates and dates in Australia and Japan in 2007. Bubbles, along with Ricky and Julian, hosted the 2006 and the 2007

, in

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1 ...

and

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

respectively. In March 2008, Smith, along with three others, opened a sports bar in Halifax called "Bubba Ray's". Smith also was involved in another bar, "Bubbles' Mansion", located in

Downtown Halifax Downtown Halifax is the primary central business district of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Municipality of Halifax. Located on the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula, on Halifax Harbour. Along with Downtown Dartmouth, and other de facto ...

. The bar, partly owned by Smith, closed in March 2010 after 4 years of operation, a decision the management attributed to government hikes in the minimum wage and minimum drink prices. In 2010, Smith reunited with many of his former ''Trailer Park Boys'' castmates in the new series ''

The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour ''The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour'' is a Canadian television comedy series, which aired during the 2011 television season on Action. Described by its producers as "'' Curb Your Enthusiasm'' after it got smashed in the head with a hamme ...

''."The Boys are back and on drugs"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', July 12, 2010. He also performed a live version of "Closer to the Heart" with progressive rock band Rush. On October 22, 2012, it was confirmed that Smith was to return to his role as Bubbles for a third feature length ''Trailer Park Boys'' film entitled "Don't Legalize It" which concluded filming in late April 2013. The film was released on April 18, 2014. In the spring of 2013, Smith along with his Trailer Park Boys cohorts Wells and Tremblay started Swearnet, an internet-based television network that is entirely uncensored. The trio have also produced a film that is a fictional take on their website.

Personal life

In 2016, Smith was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery. The alleged victim (who was not the person who called police) released a statement in support of Smith, and the charges were dropped.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mike 1972 births Male actors from Nova Scotia Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male comedians Canadian male voice actors Canadian people of Irish descent Living people Musicians from Nova Scotia People from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors