[citation needed] Smith began acting when he was fourteen months old, and appeared in a Tide television commercial and in store catalogues.

[citation needed] After a role in the 1994 children's film Andre, he starred in the 1995 direct-to-video release Leapin' Leprechauns!

[4] During the 2000s, Smith appeared in the Mel Gibson-led The Patriot (2000), played outlaw Jim Younger in the western American Outlaws (2001), was featured in the short-lived 2001 CBS drama series Kate Brasher, and was cast in a lead role on The WB Television Network show, Everwood, which became a success and ran from 2002 until June 2006.

Smith next appeared in the Richard Attenborough-directed period romance Closing the Ring, playing a younger version of Christopher Plummer's character Young Jack, as well as in the thriller Boot Camp, which co-stars Mila Kunis.

In 2008, Smith produced the direct release-to-DVD film Wieners, and made a guest appearance on the series Eli Stone.