Scott Speedman

Scott Speedman
Speedman at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Robert Scott Speedman
Occupation	Actor

Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a British-born Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing Ben Covington in the coming-of-age television drama Felicity and Lycan-Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror/action Underworld films.

Early life

Speedman was born Robert Scott Speedman in London, England, to Scottish parents Mary Campbell, an elementary school teacher and champion runner, and Roy Speedman, a department store buyer. At the age of four, he and his family moved to Toronto, Ontario. He was a competitive swimmer who attended Earl Haig Secondary School's now defunct gifted athlete program. As a member of the Canadian Junior National Swim Team, Speedman placed ninth at the 1992 Olympic trials. Suffering a neck injury soon after, he was forced to leave the sport. To find a new focus outside of athletics, Speedman became interested in acting. He went on to attend the University of Toronto and York University to study his craft.

Career

Encouraged by a friend to appear on Speaker’s Corner, a viewer open-forum run by Toronto’s Citytv, Speedman professed interest in auditioning for the role of Robin in the film Batman Forever, which was being cast in Toronto at the time. Though the appearance did earn him an audition for the role, Speedman was not cast in the role. As the role of Robin was given to Chris O'Donnell, the audition did give Speedman the exposure he needed and quickly landed an agent and began auditioning for Canadian television and film roles.

Speedman's television debut came in 1995 on the Canadian series Net Worth. After appearing in several small television roles, Speedman decided to go to New York to study for a short time at the Neighborhood Playhouse before dropping out and returning home to Toronto.

His big break came when he got a call from a casting agent in the United States that wanted him to audition for a new television series called Felicity. Portraying brooding college student Ben Covington opposite overnight star Keri Russell as Felicity, Speedman received much acclaim on the popular series. Soon after Felicity, Speedman began to get offers for more prominent roles while working on the series. In 2000, Speedman landed the role of Billy Hannan opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in the film Duets.

After ending a four-year run on Felicity, Speedman quickly found success on the big screen. In 2003 he landed a role opposite Kurt Russell in the critically acclaimed cop-drama Dark Blue, portraying an inexperienced L.A.P.D. detective caught in a web of corruption. Next, Speedman portrayed the husband of a terminally ill woman opposite fellow Canadian and high-school alum Sarah Polley in the critically acclaimed independent drama My Life Without Me. Speedman won a "Golden Wave Award" for his work on the film.

Landing his first major starring role in a feature that same year, Speedman appeared opposite Kate Beckinsale in the supernatural thriller Underworld. Making an impression on audiences in the stylized vampire-werewolf pic, Speedman was honored with a Saturn Award in the category "Cinescape Face of the Future Award". Then, he went on to star alongside James Marsden in the thriller The 24th Day and opposite Ice Cube in XXX: State of the Union. Upon the success of the first Underwold film, Speedman reprised his role as Michael Corvin in the 2006 sequel Underworld: Evolution.

Speedman appeared with Liv Tyler in the 2008 horror thriller The Strangers, and also alongside Rachel Blanchard in Adoration, directed by Atom Egoyan.

In July 2009, it was reported that Speedman will star alongside Dustin Hoffman among others in the film adaption of Barney's Version. Pre-production began in August 2009, and filming took place in Rome, New York and Canada. Speedman also starred in the independent Western The Last Rites of Ransom Pride alongside Lizzy Caplan and Dwight Yoakum.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Net Worth	Rookie	Television film
1995	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Cam Nillson	Television series - Episode: "Goodbye Mr. Caine"
1995	Nancy Drew	Ned Nickerson	Television series - 5 episodes
1996	Goosebumps	Officer Madison	Television series - Episode: "Say Cheese and Die"
1996	A Brother's Promise: The Dan Jansen Story	Andy Gables	Television film
1996	Can I Get a Witness?	Unknown
1996	Giant Mine	Spanky Riggs	Television film
1997	Ursa Major	Jason
1997	What Happened to Bobby Earl?	Steve Talbert	Television film
1997	Kitchen Party	Scott
1997	Every 9 Seconds	Greg	Television film
1998	Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples	Patrick	Television film - segment "Marie Taquet"
1999	Dawson's Creek	Ben Covington	Television series - Episode: "None of the Above"
2000	Duets	Billy
1998–2002	Felicity	Ben Covington	Television series - 75 episodes Nominated — Teen Choice Award for TV - Choice Actor Nominated — Teen Choice Award for TV - Choice Actor, Drama Nominated — Teen Choice Award for TV - Breakout Performance
2002	Dark Blue	Detective Bobby Keough
2003	My Life Without Me	Don	Won — Golden Wave for Best Actor
2003	Underworld	Michael Corvin	Won — Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award for Male
2004	The 24th Day	Tom
2005	xXx: State of the Union	Agent Kyle Christopher Steele
2006	Underworld: Evolution	Michael Corvin
2007	Weirdsville	Dexter
2007	Dead Silence	Officer Stevie Cardy	Television film
2007	Anamorph	Carl Uffner
2008	Adoration	Tom
2008	The Strangers	James Hoyt	Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Horror/Thriller
2009	The Last Rites of Ransom Pride	Ransom Pride
2010	Barney's Version	Boogie
2010	Good Neighbours	Spencer
2010	The Moth Diaries	Unknown
2012	The Vow

External links

• Scott Speedman at IMDb
• Yahoo! Movies