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Charles Martin Smith

A prolific character actor since the early 1970s, Charles Martin Smith essayed bookish, often socially awkward but enthusiastic men in such hit films as "American Graffiti" (1974), "The Buddy Holly Story" (1978), "Never Cry Wolf" (1983), "Starman" (1984) and "The Untouchables" (1987) while maintaining a secondary career as a film and television director. In the early years of his career, Smith was a go-to for untested young men, many of whom met grisly fates in films like "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" (1973) and "The Spikes Gang" (1974); after essaying a near-perfect cinematic nebbish in Lucas' "American Graffiti," he showed enormous range as a biologist who explored his own humanity by studying Arctic wolves in Walt Disney Pictures' "Never Cry Wolf." The late 1980s saw Smith hit his stride as an actor with meaty turns in John Carpenter's "Starman" and Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables," while also honing his directorial skills. He struck box office gold with 1997's "Air Bud" for Disney, and bounced between American and Canadian features while maintaining a regular presence as an actor. Throughout all phases of his career, Smith's sympathetic and thoughtful presence held enormous appeal for audiences, who looked to his appearance in projects as a sign of quality and honesty.