His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Walter Warner in Son in Law, collaborator entrepreneur Nathan Bates in the 1984 NBC television series V, Mayor Bates in the film Red Dawn, Coach Jack Reilly in The Mighty Ducks, district attorney Jim Trotter III in My Cousin Vinny, U.S.
Congressman Dick Dodge in The Distinguished Gentleman, Grantland Rice in The Legend of Bagger Vance, and U.S. President Richard Nixon in The Final Days, for which he received a Golden Globe award nomination.
Smith made a major breakthrough in 1984 with significant roles in Red Dawn, Places in the Heart and the television series V. He also played on Quincy, M.E.
He also appeared in the original Broadway stage production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross as James Lingk.
[2] In 1990, Smith appeared in Air America playing a United States Senator, a role for which he was selected based on his resemblance to then-Minority Leader Bob Dole.
In 1998, Smith appeared in a major role as fictional television anchorman Emmett Seaborn in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.