Christopher Nicholas Smith

{{Infobox person

| image = Christopher Nicholas Smith 2013.jpg

| caption = Smith in 2013

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 2006–present

}}

Christopher Nicholas Smith is an American television and film actor. He is best known for playing Dennis in the 2011 horror movie Paranormal Activity 3. He also played Josh Merit in the 2017 romantic comedy film Non-Transferable.{{cite news|title=Nontransferable transfers the love in this modern Internet age|url=http://hollywoodpresscorps.com/nontransferable-transfers-the-love-in-this-modern-internet-age/|accessdate=March 22, 2017|work=Hollywood Press Corps|date=February 15, 2017}}

Life and career

Smith starred as Potiphar in the Chaminade High School production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat alongside future Broadway actor Jason Zammit. He attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and trained at the Atlantic Theater Company acting school in New York City. Smith is the founder, head writer and principal performer of the sketch comedy troupe Harvard Sailing Team.

Smith's first real acting gig was in a short movie produced by Tisch School of the Arts titled I Killed Zoe Day.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1555010/ I Killed Zoe Day @IMDb] He had a small role in the drama, Little Children. He made his television debut in 2009 in the third season of 30 Rock in an episode titled "Goodbye, My Friend", where he played Tim. He later joined ESPN's Mayne Street, a web comedy series starring sports journalist Kenny Mayne. He made guest appearances on The Office, The Mindy Project and How I Met Your Mother.

In 2011, he was cast in Paranormal Activity 3. He was also cast in the political thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist.{{cite news|last=McNary|first=Dave|title='Paranormal' thesp joins 'Fundamentalist' cast|url=https://variety.com/2011/film/news/paranormal-thesp-joins-fundamentalist-cast-1118045119/|accessdate=September 14, 2013|newspaper=Variety|date=October 26, 2011}} In 2013, he appeared in the film Enough Said.{{cite news|last=Dionne|first=Zach|title=Paranormal Activity 3's Chris Smith Joins James Gandolfini, Julia Louis-Dreyfus Film|url=http://www.vulture.com/2012/07/paranormal-activity-3-chris-smith-joins-film.html|accessdate=September 14, 2013|newspaper=Vulture|date=July 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005002305/http://www.vulture.com/2012/07/paranormal-activity-3-chris-smith-joins-film.html|archive-date=October 5, 2013|url-status=dead}} In 2013, he was cast in a CBS television pilot Ex-Men (renamed to We Are Men){{cite news|last=Lyons|first=Margaret|title=Paranormal Activity 3 Star Lands CBS Sitcom|url=http://www.vulture.com/2012/07/chris-smith-paranormal-activity-ex-men.html|accessdate=September 14, 2013|newspaper=Vulture|date=July 25, 2012}} which was then picked to series and cancelled after two episodes.{{cite news|title='We Are Men' preview: Jerry O'Connell and Tony Shalhoub head a band of single bros for CBS|url=http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2013/05/we-are-men-preview-jerry-oconnell-and-tony-shalhoub-head-a-band-of-single-bros-for-cbs.html|accessdate=September 14, 2013|newspaper=Zap2it|date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914001905/http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2013/05/we-are-men-preview-jerry-oconnell-and-tony-shalhoub-head-a-band-of-single-bros-for-cbs.html|archive-date=September 14, 2013|url-status=dead}}

He co-wrote the comedy-drama film Sacramento, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and stars Michael Angarano, Michael Cera, Maya Erskine, and Kristen Stewart.{{cite news |last1=Complex |first1=Valerie |title=‘Sacramento’ Review: A Charming Exploration Of Anxiety, Friendship And Fatherhood |url=https://deadline.com/2024/06/sacramento-review-charming-exploration-fatherhood-tribeca-festival-1235961263/ |access-date=16 April 2025 |publisher=Deadline |date=8 June 2024}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
rowspan="2" \| 2006 \| I Killed Zoe Day \| Wyatt \| Short
Little Children \| Steak House Waiter \|
2007 \| Aquarium \| Jared \| Short
2010 \| Another Psycho \| Chris Burns \| Short
2011 \| Paranormal Activity 3 \| Dennis \|
2012 \| The Reluctant Fundamentalist \| Mike Rizzo \|
2013 \| Enough Said \| Hal (Massage Client) \|
2016 \| Storks \| Dougland \| Voice
2017 \| Non-Transferable \| Josh Merit \|
2021 \| Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity \| Himself \| Documentary film

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

rowspan="2" | 2006

| I Killed Zoe Day

| Wyatt

| Short

Little Children

| Steak House Waiter

2007

| Aquarium

| Jared

| Short

2010

| Another Psycho

| Chris Burns

| Short

2011

| Paranormal Activity 3

| Dennis

2012

| The Reluctant Fundamentalist

| Mike Rizzo

2013

| Enough Said

| Hal (Massage Client)

2016

| Storks

| Dougland

| Voice

2017

| Non-Transferable

| Josh Merit

2021

| Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity

| Himself

| Documentary film

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
2009 \| 30 Rock \| Tim Baker \| Episode: "Goodbye, My Friend"
rowspan="2" \| 2010 \| Mayne Street \| Chris \| 12 episodes
Fake It Til You Make It \| Darren Kernin \| 5 episodes
2011 \| The Office \| Credit Card Guy \| Uncredited Episode: "The Seminar"
rowspan="3" \| 2013 \| The Mindy Project \| Mike Menken \| 1 episode
How I Met Your Mother \| Strickland Stevens \| Episode: "Weekend at Barney's"
We Are Men \| Carter Thomas \| Series regular
rowspan="2" \| 2014 \| The Newsroom \| Randy Lansing \| Episode: "Run"
Garfunkel and Oates \| Darren \| Episode: "Speechless"
2015 \| Mom \| Douglas Biletnikoff \| Episodes: "Three Smiles and an Unpainted Ceiling" and "Kitty Litter and a Class A Felony"
2017 \| Friends from College \| Beta Dog \| Episodes: "Mission Impossible", "Grand Cayman" and "Connecticut House"
rowspan="2" \| 2018 \| Lonely and Horny \| Luke \| Episode: "Game Night"
Young & Hungry \| Nick Walker \| 5 episodes
2020 \| The Moodys \| Nick \| 6 episodes
2024 \| Curb Your Enthusiasm \| Ron Harrington \| Episode: "Vertical Drop, Horizontal Tug"

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

2009

| 30 Rock

| Tim Baker

| Episode: "Goodbye, My Friend"

rowspan="2" | 2010

| Mayne Street

| Chris