Brian J. Smith


Brian Jacob Smith is an American actor, known for his role as Will Gorski in the Netflix-produced series Sense8, Lieutenant Matthew Scott in the military science fiction television series Stargate Universe, and his Tony Award-nominated role as Jim O'Connor in the 2013 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, where one of his classmates was Nicole Beharie. Smith graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Career

While enrolled at Collin College, Smith worked as theatre technician. He was later cast as Alex in ' 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 '. 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 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.

Personal life

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

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2009Law & OrderDerek ShermanEpisode: "Crimebusters"
2009–11Stargate UniverseMatthew ScottMain role; 40 episodes
2009–10Stargate Universe KinoMatthew ScottMain role; 10 episodes
2010Agatha Christie's PoirotHector MacQueenEpisode: ""
2011Gossip GirlMax Harding6 episodes
2012Warehouse 13Jesse AshtonEpisode: "Personal Effects"
2012ComaPaul Carpin2 episodes
2012Ricky WatersEpisode: "The Art of War"
2012Person of InterestShayn ColemanEpisode: "Shadow Box"
2013Blue BloodsRobert CarterEpisode: "Devil's Breath"
2013DefianceGordon McClintlock2 episodes
2013UnforgettableJohn CurtisEpisode: "Past Tense"
2015–2018Sense8Will GorskiMain role; 24 episodes
2015QuanticoEric PackerEpisode: "Run"
2018L.A. ConfidentialEd ExleyUnsold series pilot
2019TreadstoneDoug McKennaMain role
2019World on FireWebsterMain role

Theatre

Awards and nominations