Kodi Smit-McPhee
Kodi Smit-McPhee is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles in The Road, Let Me In, ParaNorman, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Apocalypse, Alpha, and The Power of the Dog, for which he won the 2021 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Kodi Smit-McPhee | |
|---|---|
![]() Smit-McPhee at the 2019 WonderCon | |
| Born | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Relatives | Sianoa Smit-McPhee (sister) |
Early life
Smit-McPhee was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of Sonja Smit and Andy McPhee on June 23, 1996. His father is an actor and former professional wrestler. His older sister is actress and singer Sianoa Smit-McPhee.[1]
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; he was also nominated for the film Matching Jack the same year. In 2012, he filmed The Congress. The film premiered at the 2013 Directors' Fortnight at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

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). The project reunited him with director Matt Reeves, with whom he previously worked with on the film Let Me In.
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 ages himself up so that he can enlist with his brother Bevan and ends up fighting at Gallipoli in the campaign that helped create the Anzac legend.[2] The series was produced by Endemol Australia and was shot over a three-month period starting in March 2014. Smit-McPhee played Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), a character whose older version was previously played by Alan Cumming.[3] Smit-McPhee reprised the role in Dark Phoenix, which was released in 2019.[4]
In 2018, he played the central character Keda, an Ice Age adolescent who tames a wolf, in Alpha. Jane Campion's first feature film in 12 years, The Power of the Dog, featured Smit-McPhee in a lead role in 2021.
Personal life
Smit-McPhee was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis, at age 16.[5]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Stranded | Teddy | Short film |
| 2006 | Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America | Toby Connelly | Television film |
| 2007 | The King | Young John Wesley | Television film |
| 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 | ||
| 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 / Nightcrawler | |
| 2018 | Alpha | Keda | |
| Deadpool 2 | Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler | Uncredited cameo | |
| 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 | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 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" | |
| 2011–2016 | Poppy Cat | Ravi (voice) | |
| 2015 | Gallipoli | Thomas "Tolly" Johnson | Miniseries |
| 2020 | Interrogation | Chris Keller |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Australian Film Institute | Best Lead Actor | Romulus, My Father | Nominated | ||
| Young Actor's Award | Romulus, My Father | Won | ||||
| 2008 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actor – Supporting Role | Romulus, My Father | Won | ||
| Special Achievement Award | Romulus, My Father | Won | ||||
| 2009 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | Romulus, My Father | Won | ||
| 2010 | Australian Film Institute | Best Actor | The Road | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Matching Jack | Nominated | ||||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Young Actor/Actress | The Road | Nominated | |||
| Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Road | Nominated | |||
| Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Performance by a Youth (Male) | Let Me In | Won | |||
| Saturn Award | Best Performance by a Younger Actor | The Road | Nominated | |||
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Award | Best Young Actor | Let Me In | Nominated | ||
| Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Actor | Let Me In | Nominated | |||
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Male Supporting Actor | Matching Jack | Nominated | |||
| Saturn Award | Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Let Me In | Nominated | |||
| Young Artist Awards | Best Ensemble for a Feature Film | Let Me In | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Saturn Award | Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Key West Film Festival | Golden Key for Emerging Talent | The Power of the Dog | Won | [6] | |
| New York Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actor | The Power of the Dog | Won | [7] |
References
- "Acting game is a family affair". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- Knox, David (3 March 2014). "Nine announces Gallipoli cast". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- Lealos, Shawn S. (18 February 2015). "X-Men Apocalypse Casts Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler". Renegade Cinema. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- Fleming, Mike Jr. (14 June 2017). "Fox Formalizes Simon Kinberg To Helm 'X-Men: Dark Phoenix'; Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy Back, Jessica Chastain In Talks". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- Hawgood, Alex (31 May 2019). "Kodi Smit-McPhee, a Star of 'X Men: Dark Phoenix,' Has Real-Life Battles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- Moye, Clarence (15 October 2021). "Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sean Baker, and Clint Bentley To Receive Golden Key Awards from Key West Film Festival". Awardsdaily. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- "New York Film Critics Circle". New York Film Critics Circle. December 2021.
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kodi Smit-McPhee. |
- Kodi Smit-McPhee on Instagram

- Kodi Smit-McPhee at IMDb

- "Koda". SoundCloud.
- Cartwright, Darren (3 February 2015). "Gallipoli star hates war even more". Stuff. (Interview about 2015 TV miniseries)
