Cory Michael Smith

Cory Michael Smith is an American actor and producer born on November 14, 1986, in Columbus, Ohio, where he was raised. He graduated from Hilliard Darby High School in 2005 and later attended Otterbein University, where he appeared in productions including The Scene, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Tartuffe. During his early years, his ambitions ranged from concert pianist to lawyer before he pursued acting professionally.

Smith spent several years building his stage career before reaching Broadway. Between 2009 and early 2012, he performed in regional theatre productions for organizations including New York Stage and Film. His regional credits include The Fantasticks at both Barrington Stage Company and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, as well as Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them. In 2011, he appeared in the New York City premiere of The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World at Playwrights Horizons.

Smith made his Broadway debut in 2013 in Breakfast at Tiffany's, which starred Emilia Clarke. During the same theatre season, he also appeared Off-Broadway in the U.S. premiere of Cock, also known as The Cockfight Play, written by Mike Bartlett, and in The Whale by Samuel D. Hunter, a production that had its world premiere at Denver Center for the Performing Arts before its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons.

His screen career began with the feature film Camp X-Ray, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and the short horror film Dog Food, co-starring Amanda Seyfried, which premiered at the 2014 South by Southwest festival. Also in 2014, he appeared in the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge and began his recurring role as Edward Nygma, also known as The Riddler, in the Fox series Gotham, a part he held from 2014 through 2019.

Smith developed a recurring working relationship with director Todd Haynes across three films. He appeared in Carol in 2015, took a supporting role in Wonderstruck in 2017, and returned for May December in 2023, which had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival that year. His other film credits include the 2018 independent drama 1985, in which he played an AIDS patient in a leading role, and First Man, also released in 2018. In 2024, he portrayed Chevy Chase in Jason Reitman's ensemble comedy Saturday Night. In July 2018, he narrated an episode of The New York Times Modern Love Podcast, reading an essay by Kalle Oskari Mattila.

In September 2024, Smith was announced as part of the cast of Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier's film Sentimental Value, which premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. In June 2025, it was announced that he would take his first major leading film role in Jeremy Saulnier's thriller October, to be produced by A24. The visual likeness of the character Tanner in the game Scrutinized is based on Smith. In a March 2018 interview, Smith stated that he is queer.