How does anyone get into acting? The answer to the question is as varied as the performers. Matt Smith’s sister Laura apparently gave him a shove in the right direction.

It’s commonly known that Matt Smith’s first love was football and that he was quite a highly skilled player until an injury ended his professional aspirations. Now his sister, cabaret performer Princess Girly (AKA Laura Jayne Smith), tells a tale of setting up her brother’s success.

According to the Daily Mail

“He was distraught because football was the only thing he’d seen in his future,” the 31-year-old told The Mail on Sunday. “And when that was taken away from him I was determined he had to find something else he could feel as passionate about.”

“When I was 18 I landed a lead role in the West End production of Saturday Night Fever,” she said. “Matt came to see the show 57 times and I knew he had to have more than a passing interest in performing so I persuaded him to pursue it.”

The article then goes on to list Matt Smith’s journey to drama school, his early productions treading the boards, and one audition for Footballers’ Wives gone awry with a dodgy spray tan and bad hair gel.

Before landing Doctor Who, Matt Smith appeared on stage and in two very different productions that also had former Doctor Who companion Billie Piper in the cast, just to name two.

The first was an appearance on Piper’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl(we are unable to embed the link, but it’s worth the watch)

The second is Ruby in the Smoke.

Are you glad that Matt Smith’s sister gave him the push into the right direction?