[2] He is the author of three books and numerous articles on film and aesthetics, and the co-editor of three collections of essays.
[13] His approach to our emotional responses to characters draws on cognitive science and philosophy of mind.
[16][17] Smith attended Dame Alice Owen's School in Potters Bar,[18] and studied English Language and Literature at the University of Liverpool.
[19] He began his career as a film theorist as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he completed his PhD under the supervision of David Bordwell.
[20] Smith plays bass in the Free Range Orchestra, avatars of the New Canterbury Scene.