Tyler Jeffrey Smith is an award-winning, festival-selected actor, filmmaker, writer, improviser, and teacher.
As an actor, Tyler can recently be seen recurring in the second season of Made for Love (HBO Max) and the thriller feature A Lot of Nothing (2022 SXSW selection) — co-written and directed by Mo McRae, executive produced by David Oyelowo, acting opposite Y'Lan Noel (Insecure), and starring Justin Hartley (This Is Us). He has also appeared on Silicon Valley (HBO), Shameless (Showtime), Snoop Dogg's music video "Lavender," the award-winning TV pilot Family Heirloom, and performed at the Kennedy Center, Symphony Center, Pritzker Pavilion, The Neo-Futurists, Studio Theatre, Round House Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Annoyance Theatre, iO, Del Close Marathon, Toronto International Improv Festival, Chicago Sketchfest, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, and Chicago Improv Festival.
As a filmmaker, Tyler directed and edited the short film Lunch Break, a workplace dark comedy about sexism, written by and starring Mo Allen and Josh Server (Nickelodeon’s All That), playing at Cleveland International Film Festival, Lady Filmmakers Film Festival (jury-award winning), Twin Cities Film Fest, Catalina Film Festival, and more. In 2016, his web series Goodnight Jeffrey was accepted to the second round of the Sundance YouTube New Voices Lab and the pilot was an official selection at New York Television Festival (NYTVF), Austin Film Festival, Midwest Independent Film Festival (nominated for Best Actor), Chicago Shorts Festival, and Premiere Film Festival (winning Achievement in Best Short Film Writing). In 2013, Tyler co-created the surrealistic sketch comedy TV pilot Exquisite Corpse, winning Best Actor at NYTVF. He was also co-founder of the critically acclaimed comedy group Claymore, having produced dozens of live-written shows and web videos.
As a writer, Tyler's Goodnight Jeffrey TV pilot advanced to the second round of the 2016 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. His feature script Between Wind and Water was in the Top 500 for the 2015 Nicholl Fellowship competition.
With an MFA in screenwriting, Tyler teaches film structure, creativity and ideation, and TV genres for the University of Cincinnati. And he currently lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife, who also happens to be Mo Allen.