Kodi Smit-McPhee is showing the world that he is more than just a child actor. With four upcoming movies, including Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as well as the eagerly-awaited Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, the Aussie actor is poised to make a big impact in American cinema.
At age 10, Smit-McPhee starred in the New Zealand film Fatal Contact and the television miniseries Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King. A year later, he gained notice as Raimond in the drama Romulus, My Father where he won the Young Artist’s and the Young Actor’s Award. His first Hollywood role was in the post apocalyptic tale The Road where he stunned his co-star Viggo Mortensen with his astounding acting. The film was set in Pennsylvania during the brutal winter and Smit-McPhee remained in a freezing stream for numerous takes despite dealing with physical pain. His acting took audiences by surprise once more in the 2010 Swedish remake of the horror film Let Me In about a bullied young boy befriending a vampire. Although denied an Oscar nomination, Kodi won the Phoenix Film Critics Society award for Best Performance by a Youth in a Leading Role and was in the running for numerous others.
Now standing at 6-foot-3, Smit-McPhee is no longer a small, innocent boy. Later this year, the actor will star in Romeo and Juliet as Benvolio and will play the lead role in the drama The Wilderness of James. In 2014, Smit-McPhee will star in two sci-fi action movies, Young Ones and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Sammi Brennan can be reached at samantha.brennan@spartans.ut.edu