Claim: Actors have played the Doctor.

Matthew Robert `` Matt '' Smith -LRB- born 28 October 1982 -RRB- is an English actor . He is best known for his role as the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who , for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination in 2011 .   Smith initially aspired to be a professional footballer , but spondylolysis forced him out of the sport . After joining the National Youth Theatre and studying Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia , he became an actor in 2003 , performing in plays like Murder in the Cathedral , Fresh Kills , The History Boys , and On the Shore of the Wide World in London theatres . Extending his repertoire into West End theatre , he has since performed in the stage adaptation of Swimming with Sharks with Christian Slater , followed a year later by a critically acclaimed performance as Henry in That Face .   Smith 's first television role came in 2006 as Jim Taylor in the BBC adaptations of Philip Pullman 's The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North , while his first major role in television came as Danny in the 2007 BBC series Party Animals . Smith , who was announced as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in January 2009 , is the youngest person to play the character in the British television series . He left the series at the end of the 2013 Christmas Day special , `` The Time of the Doctor '' . He portrayed both the physical embodiment and a holographic version of Skynet in Terminator Genisys -LRB- 2015 -RRB- . Since 2016 , he portrays Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh in Peter Morgan 's Netflix biographical drama series The Crown , opposite Claire Foy as Elizabeth II .