At the outset of his career, Smith joined a drama course run by Maori film maker Don Selwyn, and soon thereafter performed in several of Selwyn's theatre productions, among them The Gospel according to Taane (1985), The Maori Merchant of Venice (2002) and Te Whai Ao.
He also featured as an orc in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Smith also appeared in several television programmes, including E Tipu E Rea (1989), Marlin Bay (1992–94), Plainclothes (1995), Shortland Street (1999), Greenstone (1999), and Mataku (2001–04).
[3] Smith won best supporting actor in New Zealand drama feature film Flight of the Albatross (1995).
[4] In 2006, he won Best Performance by a Supporting Actor at the Air New Zealand Screen Awards for his role in The Market.