Like many of today’s success stories out of Hollywood, Riley Smith was born and raised in a community far from the lights, glamour and soundstages of Hollywood. The majority of Smith’s youth was not spent at acting and dancing classes, but doing farm chores, tending to farm animals and going to school. Smith was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was exposed to horses at an early age due to his parents’ horse ranch. At the age of 16, he won an American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship Title. He went on to serve as the Corresponding Vice President, and then President, of this association from 1995 to 1997. Smith had no idea, at the time, how well these experiences would serve him in an entertainment career.
In his senior year of high school, he was discovered by a talent scout in a local mall, and went on to New York City to compete at an International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) convention. (In January of 2008 over 60 students from the Academy of Cinema and Television competed at the Los Angeles IMTA convention and several were signed by talent agencies.)
Smith’s experience at the IMTA convention led him to be selected for a Tommy Hilfiger modeling campaign, but he also was spotted by a LA agent Abby Bluestone, at Innovative Artist. Smith remains a top talent at Innovative Artist today, as Riley used the money he earned from the Tommy Hilfiger campaign to pay for acting classes. Only three months into class and in the middle of a successful run in modeling, Riley was flown to Los Angeles, for a screen test for the 1998 WB pilot “Minor Threat”.
“Minor Threat” was not picked up, but the set-back did not stop him. After “Minor Threat” he went on to appear in no less than five prime time network pilots, more than a dozen guest-starring roles, and a number of series (”Freaks and Geeks,” “Raising Dad, 24,” “Joan of Arcadia,” “Drive”). Movies Smith has appeared in include: “Motocrossed,”
Like all students selected for acceptance to the Academy of Cinema and Television, Smith is loaded with natural talent. He is also a songwriter and guitarist, and will soon be releasing an album of original material.
Smith is a perfect match for the Academy’s new online Q&A educational series. According to Academy Director Jack White, the new Q&A series idea came about because the school wants to let kids, teens and their parents know that entering the world of entertainment is possible if the raw talent is in place. “We wanted to show both students and non-students that making it in the entertainment industry is doable.”
The success of rising stars like Riley Smith is the proof.
