Smith was a member of the British sketch comedy group Dutch Elm Conservatoire, who were nominated for the prestigious Perrier Award for their show Conspiracy in August 2005. The show transferred to the West End, and toured the UK. The following year, the group returned for a third year to the Edinburgh fringe and subsequently the Belfasttheatre festival with a show entitled . He co-wrote and starred in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Deep Trouble with Ben Willbond. As an actor, he appeared in various British TV comedies such as Coupling, Snuffbox and My Life in Film, and numerous commercials both on screen and as a voiceover artist. He also wrote several episodes of the MTV puppet sitcom "Fur TV".
Directing career
Smith got his break in Hollywood through directing short films such as Where Have I Been All Your Life? and Goodbye to the Normals. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008, he directed Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve in his first full-length feature, the DreamWorksromantic comedyShe's Out of My League, released worldwide by Paramount Pictures in 2010. Smith directed Butter, a satirical comedy written by Jason Micallef surrounding an Iowan butter sculpting championship, starring Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Olivia Wilde, and Ty Burrell that was released in 2011. He directed the second season of Episodes for BBC and Showtime, starring Matt LeBlanc, gaining BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for "Best Comedy". Smith is the director/producer of the 2013 BBC Two comedy-thriller The Wrong Mans, written by James Corden, Mathew Baynton and Tom Basden. The show, a co-production between BBC and Hulu, is about a pair of lowly office workers who become unwittingly embroiled in a deadly criminal conspiracy. Smith directed, co-wrote and co-produced the 2016 BBC Two comedy-thriller Stag. The series, set in the Scottish Highlands, is about a group of young men on a stag weekend and their fight to escape a mystery killer. He has directed a number of commercials, including campaigns for Cow & Gate, Heinz, Burger King, Smirnoff and MINI. Smith is the co-founder of Idiotlamp Productions, a film and TV production company he established with old school friend and collaborator . He is represented by production company Little Minx. Smith will direct all 8 episodes of the first season of Truth Seekers, set to premiere in 2020.
