Douglas Alexander Smith (born June 22, 1985) is a Canadian actor known for his work on the HBO series Big Love as Ben Henrickson. His other work includes Santa's Slay (2005), Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013), Terminator Genisys (2015), Vinyl, Miss Sloane (both 2016), When We Rise (2017), The Alienist (2018–2020), and the second season of HBO's Big Little Lies (2019).

Early life Smith was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of Terrea (née Oster), an American-born schoolteacher, and Maurice Smith, a producer of low-budget films who is originally from England. Smith's mother appeared in several of the films that his father produced during the 1980s. He is the younger brother of actor Gregory Smith.

Career Smith has been acting since he was cast as Malvolio in his fourth grade production of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night. His first film role was playing a young version of Brendan Fraser's character in Blast from the Past (1999). As a teenager, he went to Australia to play the lead role as an American boy living in Australia in a series called Out There. Early in his career, Smith made several appearances on television procedurals, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, Close to Home, Family Law, The X-Files, Crossing Jordan, and Cold Case.

Smith is known for his regular role as Ben Henrickson on the HBO series Big Love, which aired for five seasons. He also played the role of Edward Porris in Brandon Cronenberg's directorial debut, Antiviral. The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and took home the award for Best First Canadian Feature at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. In late 2012, Smith filmed the musical comedy-horror film Stage Fright. He played the roles of both Metal Killer and Buddy, performing two musical numbers in the film. Stage Fright premiered at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival and was released by Magnolia Pictures. In 2013, he starred as Tyson, the cyclops half-brother of Percy Jackson, in the film Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. He also began production on the horror film Ouija for Universal and Platinum Dunes.

An alumnus of RADA's Shakespeare Summer School, Smith made his off-Broadway debut in 2014, starring in the New York premiere of Simon Stephens' Punk Rock at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village. He played William Carlisle. The production and Smith's performance received favorable reviews. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "In such an exemplary cast, it's unfair to single out any one of the seven principal actors for special praise. But Smith, best known for HBO's Big Love, is sad, scary and transfixing." The production was nominated for both OBIE and Drama League Awards.

In 2015, Smith played a minor role in Terminator Genisys. He had a significant arc on HBO's Vinyl in 2016. He then returned to the horror genre in The Bye Bye Man, where he starred in the role of Elliot. In 2017, he portrayed Dustin Lance Black in When We Rise, an eight-part docudrama based on the memoirs of LGBT activist Cleve Jones and directed by Gus Van Sant, Dustin Lance Black, Dee Rees and Thomas Schlamme. Soon after, Smith joined the cast of The Alienist, a 19th-century crime drama created by Cary Fukunaga based on the 1994 novel The Alienist. His turn as one half of the darkly comedic Isaacson duo earned praise from critics like David Nevins of The Guardian who, in his review of the show, wrote: "Two of the best performances, though, are those of Matthew Shear and Douglas Smith as the brothers Isaacson, two bright and innovative Jewish forensic science specialists who stick out like sore thumbs in the very Irish-Catholic environs of Manhattan law enforcement."

In 2019, Smith played an integral role in the second season of HBO's Big Little Lies as Corey Brockfield, a co-worker and love interest of main character Jane Chapman. He, along with the rest of the cast, were nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In 2020, he reprised his role as Marcus Isaacson in the second season of The Alienist. In 2022, he played the supporting role of Bill Johnson in Olivia Wilde's film Don't Worry Darling. He also starred in the musical drama The Swearing Jar, which premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Smith appeared in Atom Egoyan's film Seven Veils, which made its premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. He plays a supporting role in Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and guest-starred as Jimmy Olsen in the final season of Superman & Lois.

Personal life He married Patricia Travis in April 2018.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 Blast from the Past Adam Webber (age 11) 2002 Trancers 6 Punk #1 Partners in Action Teddy 2003 Hangman's Curse Elijah Springfield2004 Sleepover Gregg State's Evidence Scott2005 Rock the Paint Josh Santa's Slay Nicolas Yuleson 2006 Citizen Duane Duane Balfour 2007 Remember the Daze Pete 2012 Antiviral Edward Porris 2013 Treading Water Mica Also titled The Boy Who Smells Like Fish Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Tyson 2014 Stage Fright Buddy Swanson Hard Drive Ditch Ouija Pete2015 Terminator Genisys Eric Thompson Evan's Crime Evan White 2016 Miss Sloane Alex 2017 The Bye Bye Man Elliot Bottom of the World Alex2022 Don't Worry Darling Bill Johnson The Swearing Jar Owen2023 Exposure Tanner Seven VeilsLuke2024 All the Lost Ones Ethan Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 Sig Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 Sig Die Alone Ethan 2026 Lunar Sway Stew

Television Year Title Role Notes1996 The Death Game Tristan TV film The X-Files The Pitcher Episode: "Home" 1998 The Outer Limits Douglas Episode: "In to Zone" 2001 Family Law Patrick Samson Episode: "Sex, Lies, and Internet" 2003 Out There Reilly Evans Main role Stuck in the Middle with You Sam TV film Cold Case 16-year-old Ryan Bayes Episode: "Churchgoing People"2004 Everwood Gavin Curtis Episode: "Controlling Interest" Joan of Arcadia Daniel Shoalar Episode: "State of Grace" The Guardian Jay Episode: "Without Consent" CSI: Miami Jason Henderson Episode: "Invasion"2006 Crossing Jordan Steven Reynolds Episode: "Mysterious Ways" Close to Home Colin Parks Episode: "The Shots" 2006–2007 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Marlon West Episodes: "The Unusual Suspect" & "Goodbye and Good Luck" 2006–2011 Big Love Ben Henrickson Main role 2009 Hawthorne Curtis Episode: "Night Moves" 2010 Flashpoint Carlton Hayward Episode: "Whatever it Takes" 2011 Margene's Blog Ben Henrickson Episode: "Girls Gotta Dance"2013 Rookie Blue Chuck Episode: "You Are Here" Drop Dead Diva Kieran Episode: "Trust Me" 2014 Betas Zack Casper 2 episodes2016 Vinyl Gary / Xavier 3 episodes Motive Dave Briggs Jr. Episode: "Remains to Be Seen" 12 Deadly Days Sammy Episode: "Love Bites" 2017 When We Rise Young Man 3 episodes 2018–2020 The Alienist Marcus Isaacson Main role 2019 Big Little Lies Corey Recurring role 2021 Clarice Tyson Conway Recurring role 2024 Superman & Lois Jimmy Olsen Episode: "A Regular Guy" 2025 Will Trent Special Agent Gross 2 episodes

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Big Little Lies 2005 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film Sleepover

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