Matt Smith is an actor.
Matthew Robert `` Matt '' Smith ( born 28 October 1982 ) is an English actor . He is best known for his role as the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who , for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination in 2011 . After joining the National Youth Theatre and studying Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia , he became an actor in 2003 , performing in plays like Murder in the Cathedral , Fresh Kills , The History Boys , and On the Shore of the Wide World in London theatres . Smith 's first television role came in 2006 as Jim Taylor in the BBC adaptations of Philip Pullman 's The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North , while his first major role in television came as Danny in the 2007 BBC series Party Animals . The Time of the Doctor . It features the final regular appearance of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and the first regular appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor following his brief cameo in `` The Day of the Doctor '' .