Ian Michael Smith

{{Infobox person

| name = Ian Michael Smith

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1987|5|5}}

| birth_place = Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.

| birth_name =

| height = {{height|ft=3|in=1}}

| occupation = Actor, software engineer

| years_active =

| website =

}}

Ian Michael Smith (born May 5, 1987) is an American software engineer and former child actor, known for his sole starring role in Simon Birch.{{cite web|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D03E5DE1F3EF932A2575AC0A96E958260|title=FILM REVIEW; Tiny Boy With an Enormously Consuming Quest|first=Stephen|last=Holden|date=September 11, 1998}}{{cite web|title=SIMON BIRCH|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/simon-birch-1970-4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308105549/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/simon-birch-1970-4|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 8, 2014|work=British Board of Film Classification|date=1998-10-06|access-date=2012-12-20}}

His short physical stature ({{height|ft=3|in=1}}) is a result of Morquio syndrome,[https://archive.today/20130125093453/http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/detail/id/192291 Ian Michael Smith] at Hollywood.com a rare enzymatic disorder affecting the circulatory, muscular and skeletal systems.

Life and work

Smith was born in Elmhurst, Illinois. A Chicago-area hospital worker approached his parents about him auditioning for the leading role in The Mighty, a feature film about a character with Morquio Syndrome. Kieran Culkin was cast instead, but Smith was recommended for the title role of Simon Birch (1998), a film based loosely on John Irving's novel A Prayer for Owen Meany, which also called for a small child actor. This was Smith’s sole acting role.

After acting, he graduated from York Community High School in Elmhurst in 2005. He has undergone several operations including a spinal fusion and two bilateral osteotomies. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009, and Gallaudet University in 2012 and now works as a software engineer. He is a co-founder of a nonprofit organization, Project Alloy, that gives assistance to underrepresented people in tech fields.{{Cite web|url=https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/beyond-disability-101-ian-smith%E2%80%99s-hopes-tech|title=Beyond Disability 101: Ian Smith's Hopes for Tech {{!}} Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability|website=longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu|access-date=2019-11-23|archive-date=2020-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928075929/https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/beyond-disability-101-ian-smith%E2%80%99s-hopes-tech|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/30/reasons-to-be-cheerful/|title=Reasons to be cheerful|website=TechCrunch|date=30 April 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-23}} In 2019, he joined a class action lawsuit against the City of Oakland for excluding people with disabilities from the city’s rent control program. {{Cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/28/renters-with-disabilities-sue-oakland-for-housing-discrimination/|title=Renters with disabilities sue Oakland for housing discrimination|date=2019-08-28|website=The Mercury News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-23}}{{Cite web|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/08/28/disabled-tenants-sue-oakland-over-rent-control-laws-high-cost-of-accessible-homes/|title=Disabled Tenants Sue Oakland Over Rent Control Laws, High Cost Of Accessible Homes|date=2019-08-28|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-23}}

References

External links

{{IMDb name|0808508}}
[https://archive.today/20130125093453/http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/detail/id/192291 Ian Michael Smith] at Hollywood.com

Category:1987 births

Category:Male actors from Illinois

Category:American male child actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:Living people

Category:People from Elmhurst, Illinois

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni

Category:Gallaudet University alumni