Smith started acting in grammar school, albeit reading the first fifteen pages of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer for a speech contest, and continued acting throughout high school and into college.
Smith attended Occidental College (American Studies) in Los Angeles, Yale University in New Haven, CT where he earned a doctorate in American Studies (History Phd) and, as a lark, auditioned for Yale's Drama School and gained admission. His classmates were Angela Bassett and John Turturro. Additionally, Smith, as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow studied at the Keskidee Arts Centre in London, England.
Smith lives and works in Los Angeles.
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords