--- name: "Adam Smith" canonical: "https://film.one/person/adam-smith" fi1m_id: "adam-smith" imdb_id: "nm2553744" tmdb_id: 1261117 wikidata_id: "Q16255210" roles: ["Director"] born: "1 January 1953" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 75 average_as: "director" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-18T10:39:44.410837+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Adam Smith ## Identity Adam Smith - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/adam-smith - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** adam-smith - **IMDb ID:** nm2553744 - **TMDB ID:** 1261117 - **Wikidata ID:** Q16255210 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16255210, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2553744/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1261117 Director. Born 1 January 1953. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 1 January 1953 - **Active:** 2005–2008 - **Frequently works with:** [Daniel O'Hara](https://film.one/person/daniel-ohara.md), [Ed Hime](https://film.one/person/ed-hime.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as director, over 3 titles - **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Drama 3, Action & Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1 - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16255210, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2553744/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1261117 ## Streaming the US now - **AMC+:** [*Doctor Who*](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) (78) - **BritBox:** [*Little Dorrit*](https://film.one/tv/little-dorrit.md) (76) - **Disney+:** [*Skins*](https://film.one/tv/skins.md) (72) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Adam Smith > Adam Smith brings the energy of live visuals to drama without losing interest in people. We like the sympathy beneath the provocations in *Skins*, though its predictable plotting puts a limit on what that energy can achieve. In *Skins* (2007), the teenagers can be funny and abrasive without forfeiting our sympathy. We laughed, then cared more than we expected, because the dialogue and performances gave us reasons to stay with them beyond the provocations. Adam Smith directed four episodes of the first series, and that combination of energy and attention to people is a useful starting point for his work. We recommend the programme with a reservation: the plotting is often predictable, however engaging the company. Smith began making rave and nightclub visuals with Vegetable Vision in the early 1990s, and directing music videos for The Chemical Brothers from 1994. The concert film *Don't Think* (2012) continued that collaboration after his move into television. Marcus Lyall has also been a creative partner on visuals and tours. These collaborations make live music an ongoing part of Smith's work, rather than an early credit to be left behind once the drama commissions arrive. *Little Dorrit* (2008) brought period drama, while *Doctor Who* (2010) included *The Eleventh Hour*, Matt Smith's first episode. Smith's interest in making choices around character and story matters more to us than the change of setting. His use of prime lenses for shallower focus is one practical expression of that approach: the technique serves the person we need to watch. It helps explain why the music-video background is an incomplete description of a director who also brings attention to an ensemble. *Trespass Against Us* (2016), his first narrative feature, stars Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson. Its documentary-derived story takes up family ties and the difficulty of escaping the life someone has been brought up to lead, subjects that fit Smith's interest in outsider communities. For an introduction to what we value in his work, start with *Skins*, accepting that its dialogue and performances are more rewarding than its plotting. ## Biography Adam Smith is an English film, television, documentary and music video director. He began making visuals for raves and nightclubs as a teenager and co-founded the creative collective Vegetable Vision. He has worked closely with The Chemical Brothers since 1994, designing visuals for their live shows and directing their 2012 concert film *Don't Think*. Smith began directing television drama in 2007 with four episodes of the series *Skins*. He subsequently directed episodes of the BBC adaptation *Little Dorrit* (2008) and three episodes of *Doctor Who* (2010), including the premiere 'The Eleventh Hour'; readers of *Doctor Who Magazine* voted him best director of the fifth series. His first feature film, the crime drama *Trespass Against Us* starring Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson, was released in 2016. He has also directed episodes of *World on Fire* (2019). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Little Dorrit* (2008), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/little-dorrit.md) - *Skins* (2007), Fi1m 72, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/skins.md) - *Doctor Who* (2005), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) ## Complete filmography (10) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *World on Fire* (2019), series, Director - *Trespass Against Us* (2016), Director - *Desire* (2013), Director - *The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think* (2012), Director - *Chemical Brothers: Live At Fujirock Japan 2011* (2011), Director - *Little Dorrit* (2008), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/little-dorrit.md) - *Skins* (2007), series, Director — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/skins.md) - *Doctor Who* (2005), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/doctor-who-2005.md) - *Tower Block Dreams* (2004), series, Director - *Wiley*, Director --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/adam-smith