matt smith© Photo: Getty Images

The Crown's Matt Smith 'devastated' after death of beloved father

The Doctor Who star lost his dad in May

US Lifestyle Editor
May 11, 2021

The Crown's Matt Smith has been left "devastated" after his beloved father, David, died earlier this month aged 73.

Matt is said to have been given compassionate leave from filming the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon to mourn the sad loss with his family, according to Mail Online.

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The former Doctor Who star and his family are understandably heartbroken, with an insider telling the publication that David "was a rock" to all of them and will be "sorely missed".

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His cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Matt – who portrayed Prince Philip in the Netflix hit – has previously described his dad as his "greater influence".

"My old man, he's a legend. He's the greatest influence on my life, bar none. I often think all of my truest moments as an actor are somehow impersonations of him," he said on Desert Island Discs in 2018.

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"Because when I impersonate him, emotionally or even his voice – he's from Blackburn – as a kid, I would impersonate him a lot and if I can be half the dad – it sounds sentimental, but he's put his family first.

"My sister, he remortgaged the house to put her through dance school and he never missed anything."

Matt Smith with his late dad, David, and mum, Lynne

Matt also credited his dad for helping to steer him through some of the toughest moments of his career following his casting as the youngest Doctor in 2009.

He added: "When I got Doctor Who, I rang him like two months in and I said 'I can't do this' and he said 'you can, the hardest thing in life is to adapt and you will adapt and you've got to adapt' and I did, I adapted.

"He always said it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you enjoy it."

HELLO! Online has contacted Matt Smith's representatives for comment

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