Biography
Patrick Milling-Smith is a film, theatre, and immersive experience producer and the co-founder and CEO of international production company Smuggler. He has produced Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning work along with two decades of festival-winning commercials, virtual reality, and music videos.
Smuggler has won five Palme d’Or and thirteen Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival, and was once again awarded the Production Company of the Year accolade by Ad Age, Clios, ADC, One Show, Ciclope Festival, and the British Arrows.
Notable projects include the 5x Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway musical, Buena Vista Social Club; the Broadway run of Macbeth starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga; Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV+ commissioned limited series, including the Emmy-nominated documentary series about soccer superstar Lionel Messi for Apple and the IDA and Emmy-nominated Netflix limited series Evil On Trial; Emmy Award-winning commercials for Squarespace and Sandy Hook Promise; the internationally acclaimed and 8x Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway musical, Once; and the stage adaptation of Robert Evans’ memoir, The Kid Stays in the Picture. Current theatre productions include Girl, Interrupted at the Public Theatre and the revival of Once at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland.
In 2024, Smuggler partnered with Lionel Messi to launch 525 Rosario, a joint venture studio developing TV, film, festivals, events, and branded partnerships globally. 525 Rosario debuted the inaugural Messi Cup in Miami in December 2025 - an international youth soccer tournament bringing together elite global academies for competition, community, and immersive fan experiences. The platform is built to scale globally ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics.
Patrick sits on the board of Punchdrunk International, the world’s leading immersive theatre company (Sleep No More, Burnt City). Patrick has served as the Jury Chairman at the Clio Awards, President of Film Craft at Cannes Lions, Jury President at Ciclope Festival, and was the 2025 Chairman of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP).
