Scott Speedman, born Robert Scott Speedman on September 1, 1975, in London, England, is a Canadian actor and model
Raised by Scottish parents, his mother, Mary Campbell, a primary school teacher and accomplished runner, and his father, Roy Speedman, a department store buyer who passed away in 1999, Speedman moved with his family to Toronto, Canada, at the age of four.
There, he developed a passion for competitive swimming, even holding records in distance freestyle and placing ninth at the 1992 Olympic trials as part of the Canadian Junior National Swim Team.
However, a neck injury in his teens derailed his athletic aspirations, leading him to pivot toward acting.
Speedman attended Earl Haig Secondary School and briefly studied at the University of Toronto and York University before fully committing to his craft.
Siblings
Scott had one sibling, his older sister Tracey Speedman, who tragically passed away from cancer on February 8, 2016.
Tracey was deeply cherished by her family, including her husband Andy and their two children, Jamie and Jessica.
Career
Speedman’s actin acting career began in the mid-1990s after a dare led him to audition for roles on Canadian television.
His early appearances included small parts in shows like “Net Worth” and “Nancy Drew,” as well as TV movies such as “A Brother’s Promise: The Dan Jansen Story” and “Dead Silence.”
He gained initial recognition with the independent film “Kitchen Party” in 1997, but his breakthrough came in 1998 when he landed the role of Ben Covington on the WB series “Felicity,” opposite Keri Russell.
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The show’s success, which ran until 2002, catapulted him to fame and opened doors to film opportunities.
In 2000, he starred alongside Gwyneth Paltrow in “Duets,” followed by roles in “Dark Blue” with Kurt Russell in 2003 and the indie drama “My Life Without Me” opposite Sarah Polley.
Speedman achieved blockbuster status that same year as Michael Corvin in the gothic action-horror film “Underworld,” reprising the role in its 2006 sequel “Underworld: Evolution.”
He continued to diversify with projects like “XXX: State of the Union” in 2005, the thriller “The Strangers” in 2008, and “Barney’s Version” in 2010.
In 2016, he joined the TNT crime drama “Animal Kingdom” as Barry “Baz” Blackwell, a role he held through 2022.
More recently, Speedman has appeared in Netflix’s “You” in 2021, returned to “Grey’s Anatomy” as Dr. Nick Marsh starting as a guest in 2018 and becoming a main cast member in 2021, and featured in films such as David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” in 2022 and Lena Dunham’s “Sharp Stick.”
Accolades
In 2003, Speedman won the Golden Wave Award for Best Actor at the Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema for his performance in “My Life Without Me.”
The following year, he received the Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award (Male) from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his role in “Underworld.”
For his work on “Felicity,” Speedman garnered multiple Teen Choice Award nominations, including Choice TV Breakout Performance in 1999, Choice TV Actor in 2000, and Choice TV Actor – Drama in 2002.
He was also nominated for Genie Awards (now Canadian Screen Awards) twice: in 2010 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in “Adoration,” and in 2012 for the same category in “Citizen Gangster” (also known as “Edwin Boyd”).
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