Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in The Road (2009) and Let Me In (2010). He provided the voice of Norman Babcock in stop-motion animations ParaNorman (2012) and Gilbert Pudel in Memoir of a Snail (2024), and appeared in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Alpha (2018), and Dark Phoenix (2019).

In 2021, Smit-McPhee garnered critical acclaim for playing a troubled teenager in Jane Campion's western film The Power of the Dog. He received various accolades for his performance, including a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since featured in the thriller miniseries Disclaimer and the biographical drama Maria (both 2024).

Early life Smit-McPhee was born on 13 June 1996 in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of Sonja Smit and Andy McPhee. His father is an actor and former professional wrestler. His older sister is actress and singer Sianoa Smit-McPhee.

At age 16, Smit-McPhee was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a degenerative form of arthritis which causes vertebrae in the spine to fuse and can lead to chronic pain and loss of vision. While filming The Power of the Dog, his vision was impaired in his left eye due to a severe cataract related to his condition.

Career

Smit-McPhee's first feature film role was in Romulus, My Father, which garnered him the 2007 AFI Award for Best Young Actor as well as a Best Actor nomination. For his appearance in The Road (2009), he received a Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Young Actor and a 2010 Australian Film Institute (AFI) nomination for Best International Actor. The following year, he starred in Let Me In, for which he received a 2010 Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Young Actor for his performance in the film.

Smit-McPhee then voiced the lead role of Norman in ParaNorman, a 2012 animated comedy horror film which was nominated for Best Animated Feature for the 2013 Academy Awards, and also received a 2013 BAFTA Award nomination for Best Animated Film. Later the same year, Smit-McPhee had a role in Dead Europe, which premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. His next role came in The Wilderness of James in the title role of James. He also starred in A Birder's Guide to Everything, which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, and played Benvolio in a film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. He co-starred in the 20th Century Fox film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014).

In 2013, Smit-McPhee filmed the action science fiction film Young Ones. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014. Soon afterwards he appeared in Slow West, which was released in 2015.

In March 2014, he was cast in the Nine Network's seven-part drama series Gallipoli which was broadcast in February and March 2015, the year that marks the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing. He plays 17-year-old Thomas "Tolly" Johnson, who pretends to be older so that he can enlist with his brother Bevan and ends up fighting at Gallipoli in the campaign that helped create the Anzac legend. Aged 17 when he undertook the role, Smit-McPhee said afterwards that it showed "that soldiers aren't the patriotic brave souls they look like, it's showing them at their most vulnerable in tragic times and when they are terrified".

Smit-McPhee played Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), a character whose older version was previously played by Alan Cumming. Smit-McPhee reprised the role in Dark Phoenix, which was released in 2019.

In 2018, he played the central character Keda, an Ice Age adolescent who tames a wolf, in Alpha.

In 2021, Smit-McPhee starred in Jane Campion's film The Power of the Dog. The film premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where it opened to critical acclaim. Smit-McPhee's performance in particular received praise, with Carlos Aguilar of TheWrap calling him "terrifyingly remarkable" and Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian writing, "Smit-McPhee brings something inscrutably complex and reserved to his character's behaviour". In March 2022, Smit-McPhee joined Alfonso Cuarón's Apple+ series Disclaimer.

In 2024, he voiced the character of Gilbert, brother to main character Grace Pudel, in the adult animated film Memoir of a Snail.

In 2025, Smit-McPhee made his London stage debut as Konstantin Treplev in Thomas Ostermeier's production of The Seagull at the Barbican Theatre.

Acting credits Film

Year Title Role Notes 2007 Romulus, My Father Raimond 2009 The Road Boy Tinytown Davis 2010 Let Me In Owen Matching Jack Finn 2012 Dead Europe Josef ParaNorman Norman Babcock (voice) 2013 A Birder's Guide to Everything David Portnoy The Congress Aaron Wright Romeo & Juliet Benvolio Montague 2014 All the Wilderness James Charm Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Alexander Maya the Bee Willy (voice) Young Ones Jerome Holm 2015 Slow West Jay Cavendish 2016 X-Men: Apocalypse Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler2018 Deadpool 2 Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler Cameo Alpha Keda 2019 Dark Phoenix Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler Dolemite Is My Name Nicholas Josef von Sternberg 2020 2067 Ethan Whyte 2021 The Power of the Dog Peter Gordon 2022 Elvis Jimmie Rodgers Snow2024 Memoir of a Snail Gilbert Pudel (voice) Maria Mandrax 2026 The Passenger Lloyd TBA Filming TBA Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes2006 Monarch Cove Young Jake 4 episodes Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King Brandon Episode: "Umney's Last Case" Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King Jackson Evans Episode: "The Fifth Quarter" Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America Toby Connelly Television film 2007 The King Young John Wesley Television film 2011–2016 Poppy Cat Ravi (voice) 2015 Gallipoli Thomas "Tolly" Johnson Miniseries 2020 Interrogation Chris Keller Main role 2024 DisclaimerNicholas Ravenscroft Miniseries

Theatre Year Title Role Venue(s) 2025 The Seagull Konstantin Treplev Barbican Theatre, London

Awards and nominations

Smit-McPhee received many youth awards for his performances in films Romulus, My Father (2007), The Road (2009) and Let Me In (2010).

His critically acclaimed performance in The Power of the Dog (2021) earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, in addition to nominations for the Academy Award, Actor Award, BAFTA Award, and Critics' Choice Movie Award in the same category.

See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Australia

References

External links