Although he had played a leading role in the little-seen 1998 film "Straight Through the Heart/The Climb", Smith went on to prove he could carry a feature as Alan Abernathy, a bright teen who teams up with his neighbor (Kirsten Dunst) to battle toy action figures that have run amuck in "Small Soldiers" (also 1998). The actor was next seen on the big screen as one of Mel Gibson's brood in the Revolutionary War drama "The Patriot" (2000) and then as the youngest member of the James-Younger gang in "American Outlaws" (2001). In between, Smith made his primetime series debut as a regular playing Mary Stuart Masterson's teenage son in the short-lived CBS series "Kate Brasher".