'Caught Stealing is Matt Smith at his wildest, and his best role yet'

Since debuting in Doctor Who, Matt Smith has had an impressive career, with the likes of House of the Dragon and The Crown giving him the chance to show his acting skills to the world. But Caught Stealing is perhaps his best role yet, because it is so unexpected.

The actor stars in Darren Aronofsky's thriller as Russ, a cockney punk-rocker living in New York City. He asks his neighbour Hank (Austin Butler) to take care of his cat while he returns home to London to look after his dad, who just had a stroke. What he didn't mention is that he's crossed some of the most dangerous bosses of the city's criminal world, and when they come knocking on Russ' door, they find Hank instead.

When filming began on the dark comedy there was a lot of talk on the internet about how the actor looked "unrecognisable" in the role, mainly because he sported a bright blond mohawk. But it's not just Smith's new look that makes Caught Stealing a standout project in his filmography.

Russ gives Smith the opportunity to let loose in ways he hasn't been able to do in quite some time. The character embodies the comedy of The Doctor whilst still having a hint of the darkness of his villainous roles. The actor has to perform a fine balancing act between the two to bring Russ to life, he's playing him for laughs as well as the drama.

The punk rocker is a sweary, unapologetic character, he's the kind of person you wouldn't want to cross but who would be a great person to have a drink with if you're friends. The fact he loves his cat and his dad adds an unexpectedly sweet level to him, which balances out the spiky exterior.

Smith approaches the character with no holds barred approach, allowing himself to be grungy but also silly during the fun back-and-forth he shares with Butler in later scenes. Aranofsky's sharp script lifts the performances up, giving them the opportunity to shine even if, like Russ, they only make fleeting appearances in Hank's life.

Even if Smith is a supporting actor to Butler he still emerges the standout of the piece, and with a relatively short amount of screentime at that. Smith is in good company with the likes of Regina King, Zoe Kravitz, Vincent D'Onofrio and Liev Schreiber, but he proves the most memorable figure in Hank's life — probably because Russ is so different to what we expect Smith to deliver.

Over the years Smith has dominated the Hollywood landscape, becoming one of the biggest British stars in the world thanks to Doctor Who and The Crown. Recent projects like Last Night in Soho and House of the Dragon gave Smith the chance to do something different, to create performances that unsettle the viewer in ways other films of his have not.

The actor hasn't always been given the best material to work with in Hollywood, though, for every Last Night in Soho there is the truly terrible Terminator Genysis, and don't even get us started on Morbius. The sooner we can forget that movie exists the better.

But with Caught Stealing it seems Hollywood has figured out exactly what Smith is capable of and given him a character he can sink his teeth into. He will have audiences laughing one moment and gasping the next, and we have fun watching him because it's clear he's having fun doing it.

Smith might not be the lead but he's the star, to quote Pearl, and we can only hope that there are more unpredictable roles like this in his future.

Caught Stealing premieres in UK cinemas on Friday, 29 August.