PHILIP R. SMITH

PHILIP R. SMITH

Ensemble Member

Since 2016

Lookingglass Credits include Dr. Astor in Life Sucks, Captain Smollett in Treasure Island, Bass in Big Lake Big City, Ethan in Ethan Frome, Will in Trust and Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov. Other recent regional credits include: Doctor Sartorius in The March, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Reverend Parris in The Crucible (all at Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Captain Smollett in Treasure Island at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days at Baltimore’s Center Stage and James Harthouse in Hard Times at the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia. Additional Lookingglass credits include: The Wooden Breeks, Hillbilly Antigone, Metamorphoses, Hard Times, The Idiot, The Vanishing Twin, The Arabian Nights and Up Against It. Other regional credits include work at McCarter Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music (NYC), and The Actors’ Gang (LA). TV and film credits include: Boss, Prison Break, Friends, Chicago Hope, Early Edition, Kissing a Fool, The Dilemma, The Express, Since You’ve Been Gone, High Fidelity and Widows, directed by Steve McQueen. Involved in the Artistic leadership of the company since 2000, he has helped produce over 70 plays. As Creative Producer, he co-serves as the Lookingglass Casting Director, artistic producer of the unGala, and acts as a primary artistic liaison to the Development Department.

He is married to fellow Ensemble Member Louise Lamson. They have two boys, Guthrie and Wesley. 

Bio as of 2023


In [his] extraordinary central performance in the superb To Kill a Mockingbird, Smith, an intensely authentic actor now moving into the peak of his artistic abilities, was like a rock, full of human cracks.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

Artist Media

Credits And Awards

Theatre Credits

Chicago

  • The MarchTo Kill A MockingbirdThe Crucible (Steppenwolf Theatre Company)

Regional

  • Treasure Island (Berkeley Repertory Theatre)
  • Around the World in 80 Days (Center Stage)

Film Credits

  • Kissing a Fool
  • The Dilemma
  • The Express
  • Since You’ve Been Gone
  • High Fidelity
  • Widows (directed by Steve McQueen)

Television Credits

  • Boss
  • Prison Break
  • Friends
  • Chicago Hope
  • Early Edition

Education

Northwestern University
British American Drama Academy, Oxford University