Between his roles as Prince Philip on The Crown and Prince Daemon Targaryen on House Of The Dragon, Matt Smith has been working hard to establish himself as the top choice for any production that requires an actor to really inhabit the part of “incestuous royal jerk.”
In an effort to remind us that he is not, in fact, a self-important, blue-blooded, family-kissing creep in real life, though, Smith stopped by Today this morning in order to talk about his career and help Al Roker with the weather forecast.
Smith spent the first bit of his appearance doing what you’d expect an actor on a morning show to do: Discussing his recent work, including, of course, the time he spent playing Prince Philip on The Crown and Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
After complimenting hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie on how hard the Today crew works, Smith is invited to read his own segment outro from the teleprompter, then gets up to help a man he introduces as “Mr. Al Rocker, who’s a dude by the way” with the forecast.
Taking to the job like a true natural, Smith first checks that he’s not in front of a green screen before getting into the precise meteorological details that the show’s viewers were expecting.
He points to the giant words “HEAVY RAIN” and says, “Well, there’s heavy rain up here obviously.” He gestures to “STRONG STORMS” and says, “Strong storms in the middle of the country.” Where the screen displays “PLAINS HEAT,” he tells us that “the plains have got a lot of heat, but we expected that.” Wrapping up the segment, Smith notices “a bit of a thunderstorm” brewing in the northwest, hedges his bets on a southward trajectory, and informs viewers that “people can’t drive in L.A.” so everyone should “watch out” and “be careful.” Smith then slaps hands with Roker—or Rocker—and gives him a hug, calling him “my man.”
It’s a well-done bit and one that we imagine could have given Today the highest ratings in its history if only Smith trotted out a close, blood-related family member to make out with shortly after finishing the forecast.
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