Charles Martin Smith (born October 30, 1953) is an American actor and filmmaker, based in British Columbia, Canada.

After starring in the 1983 film Never Cry Wolf, a biopic of Canadian environmentalist Farley Mowat, Smith moved to British Columbia, where he has since resided.

[citation needed] Smith spent three years of his youth in Paris, where his father managed the English-language branch of a French animation studio.

In 1979 Smith was cast alongside Barney Martin as the lead in Norman Lear's last television series concept, McGurk: A Dog's Life, which never progressed beyond the pilot.

After this, he co-starred in The Hot Spot and Deep Cover, and in the mid-1990s, he appeared in films such as Speechless, I Love Trouble, and Perfect Alibi.

Smith devoted almost three years to filming Never Cry Wolf, adapted from a memoir by environmentalist Farley Mowat.

[citation needed] Carroll Ballard, director of Never Cry Wolf, asked Smith to write much of the narration for the film.

His first film as director was the camp horror story Trick or Treat (1986) for Dino De Laurentiis, in which he also appeared.

In 2003, he wrote and directed the acclaimed Canadian feature film The Snow Walker for Lions Gate Films, based on a story by Farley Mowat, which marked a return to the Arctic for Smith and garnered nine Genie Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director for Smith.

In 2007, Smith wrote and directed the British/Canadian co-production Stone of Destiny for Mob Films, and Infinity Features, starring Charlie Cox, Robert Carlyle and Kate Mara.

The film, based on a true story, stars Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson, Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff, and was released on September 23, 2011, by Warner Bros. To date, the film has grossed over $70 million at the domestic box office and over $100 million worldwide.