Charles Martin Smith Biography

CHARLES MARTIN SMITH

Date of Birth: October 30, 1953

Growing up in the Los Angeles area, Charles Martin Smith was no stranger to show business. His father, Frank Smith, was a well-known animator. But it was when Charles was acting in a school production of Man of La Mancha at the age of 16 that he was discovered by a talent agent. His first professional job was a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch, followed by roles in the western film Culpepper Cattle Company and Fuzz (both 1972). He played Jim in the popular TV movie Go Ask Alice (1973) before coming to prominence as one of the young stars of George Lucas' classic film American Graffiti (1973).

Over the years Smith has appeared in more than 30 feature films, including Never Cry Wolf (1983), Starman (1984), The Untouchables (1987), Deep Impact (1998) and Dead Heat (2002). On the small screen he has starred in HBO's award-winning And the Band Played On (1993), the mini-series The Streets of Laredo (1995), Peter Benchley's The Beast (1996) and the mini-series P.T. Barnum (1999), starring Beau Bridges.

It was while Smith was working on Never Cry Wolf, serving as a writer as well as the star, that he realized he wanted to become more involved behind-the-scenes of filmmaking. He moved to Vancouver, where he made several short films and helped found the Vancouver Shakespeare Festival. In 1986 he made his feature film directorial debut with the rock and roll film Trick or Treat. Continuing to act as well, he didn't take on another directing job until Fifty-fifty (1992). Smith then directed the debut episode of the WB series Buffy the Vampire Slayer before helming the highly successful Air Bud (1997) for Walt Disney Pictures. The film, about a boy and his dog, won the 1998 Genie Golden Reel Award for highest-grossing Canadian feature.

While working on Never Cry Wolf, which was based on a story by Farley Mowat, Smith met the author and says, "I became a great admirer of Farley and his writings." Years later, he decided to write and direct a film based on Mowat's short story, Walk Well My Brother, and called it The Snow Walker (2004) after the book in which the short story appeared.

Filmography (director):

Stone of Destiny (2009)
The Snow Walker (2003)
Air Bud (1997)
Fifty/Fifty (1992)
Boris and Natasha (1992)
Trick or Treat (1986)

Filmography (actor):

Lucky You (2007)
Touching Wild Horses (2002)
Dead Heat (2002)
Here's to Life! (2000)
Hoods (1998) (uncredited)
Deep Impact (1998)
Wedding Bell Blues (1996)
The Final Cut (1995)
Perfect Alibi (1995)
Speechless (1994)
I Love Trouble (1994)
Fifty/Fifty (1992)
Boris and Natasha (1992)
Deep Cover (1992)
The Hot Spot (1990)
The Experts (1989)
The Untouchables (1987)
Trick or Treat (1986)
Starman (1984)
Never Cry Wolf (1983)
Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)
More American Graffiti (1979)
The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
The Hazing (1977)
No Deposit, No Return (1976)
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins (1975)
The Spikes Gang (1974)
American Graffiti (1973)
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
Fuzz (1972)
The Culpepper Cattle Company (1972)