Brian Jacob Smith (born October 12, 1981) is an American actor. Smith is known for portraying Will Gorski in the Netflix-produced series Sense8 and Lieutenant Matthew Scott in the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe. He is also known for his Tony Award-nominated role as Jim O'Connor (The Gentleman Caller) in the 2013 Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie.

Early life and education Smith is a native of Allen, Texas. He studied at the Quad C Theatre program at Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas. After he was an apprentice for one year at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, Smith moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School Drama Division's four-year acting program (Group 36: 2003–2007). Smith graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2007.

Career While enrolled at Collin College, Smith worked as theatre technician. He was later cast as Alex in A Clockwork Orange in a Quad C Theatre production to a positive review from the Dallas Observer. In 2005, he portrayed Trey, a gay man facing intolerance from the son of a fundamentalist preacher, in Hate Crime, an independent film that featured at gay and lesbian film festivals around the United States.

Upon graduating from Juilliard, Smith briefly considered joining the US Army due to several setbacks in his career.

Smith eventually received acting roles in two more independent films, Red Hook and The War Boys. In 2008, he appeared on Broadway in the play Come Back, Little Sheba as the character Turk. Smith was cast as Lieutenant Matthew Scott, a lead role in the 2009 Stargate television series, Stargate Universe, until its cancellation in 2010. He also guest-starred on Law & Order in 2009.

In 2011, Smith recurred on The CW's Gossip Girl and starred in the SyFy original film Red Faction: Origins. In April 2012, he began his run as Andrei in the hit Broadway show, The Columnist, which ended in July 2012. His next projects included the mini-series Coma from producer Tony Scott and an appearance on Warehouse 13 for SyFy.

From September 2013 to February 2014, he played The Gentleman Caller in a Broadway production of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie at the Booth Theatre. This role earned him 2014 Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. In 2015, he appeared in the pilot episode of Quantico as one of the new FBI recruits.

Smith was a lead cast member on the Netflix original series Sense8 (2015–2018) playing the character Will Gorski. He followed up with main roles on Treadstone, a serial spin-off of the Bourne films, and the BBC World War II drama mini series World on Fire in 2019.

Smith played Berg in The Matrix Resurrections in 2021 and in 2023, was cast as Daniel Lennix, a lead character in FX on Hulu's series Class of '09 and as Ken in Essex County a Canadian television drama.

A House Is Not a Disco, his debut documentary film as a director, premiered at the 2024 SXSW festival.Christian Blauvelt, "Gay Love Letter to Fire Island 'A House Is Not a Disco' Is Charming Audiences from Texas to Florida". IndieWire, April 12, 2024.

Personal life On November 7, 2019, Smith came out as gay in an interview with Attitude.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2005 Hate Crime Trey McCoy2009 George Red Hook Chappy 2016 Sam Alden 2018 22 Chaser Ben Dankert 2021 The Matrix Resurrections Berg

Television Year Title Role Notes 2004 Stargate Atlantis Soldier Season 1, episode 10: "The Storm" 2009 Law & Order Derek Sherman Episode: "Crimebusters" 2009–2010 Stargate Universe Kino Matthew Scott Main role; 10 episodes 2009–2011 Stargate Universe Matthew Scott Main role; 40 episodes 2010 Agatha Christie's Poirot Hector MacQueen Episode: "Murder on the Orient Express"2011 Gossip Girl Max Harding 6 episodes Red Faction: Origins Jake Mason TV movie2012 Warehouse 13 Jesse Ashton Episode: "Personal Effects" Coma Paul Carpin 2 episodes Ricky Waters Episode: "The Art of War" Person of Interest Shayn Coleman Episode: "Shadow Box"2013 Blue Bloods Robert Carter Episode: "Devil's Breath" Defiance Gordon McClintlock 2 episodes Unforgettable John Curtis Episode: "Past Tense" 2015 Quantico Eric Packer Episode: "Run" 2015–2018 Sense8 Will Gorski Main role; 24 episodes 2018 L.A. Confidential Ed Exley Unsold series pilot2019 Treadstone Doug McKenna Main role; 10 episodes World on Fire Webster O'Connor Main role; 6 episodes2023 Essex County Ken Main role; 5 episodes Class of '09 Daniel Lennix Miniseries; main castTBAVought RisingMain role

Theatre Year Title Role Notes2008 Come Back, Little Sheba Turk Manhattan Theatre ClubBroadway Good Boys and True Brandon Second Stage TheatreOff-Broadway Three Changes Gordon Playwrights HorizonsOff-Broadway 2012 Andrei Manhattan Theatre ClubBroadway2013The Glass MenagerieThe Gentleman Caller American Repertory TheaterBoston, MA Booth TheatreBroadway2017 Duke of York's TheatreLondon, UK Sweet Bird of Youth Chance Wayne Chichester Festival Theatre2025GrangevilleArnieSignature Theatre Company, Off-Broadway

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2013 Elliot Norton Award Outstanding EnsembleThe Glass Menagerie 2014 Tony Award Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Favorite Featured Actor in a Play Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male) BroadwayWorld.com Award Best Featured Actor in a Play

References

External links

GateWorld: Brian J. Smith cast in Stargate Universe "Boldly Going From Collin County Community College to SciFi's New Stargate Series" Unfair Park, the Dallas Observer blog