Scott Speedman

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Scott Speedman
Born Robert Scott Speedman
September 1, 1975 (1975-09-01) (age 33)
London, England, U.K.
Occupation Actor

Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is an UK-born Canadian film and television actor. He played Ben Covington in the coming-of-age television drama Felicity and werewolf Michael Corvin in the gothic horror/action Underworld films.

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[edit] Biography

[edit] 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.[1][2][3] At the age of four, he and his family moved to Toronto, Canada. 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.

[edit] Career

Encouraged by a friend to appear on Speaker’s Corner, a viewer open-forum run by Toronto’s City TV, 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 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.

[edit] Personal life

During his run on Felicity, he and actress Keri Russell began dating. They broke up in 2001.[4]

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Net Worth Rookie
1995 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (TV) Cam Nillson Episode: Goodbye Mr. Caine
1996 Goosebumps (TV series) Officer Madison Episode: Say Cheese and Die
1996 A Brother's Promise: The Dan Jansen Story (TV) Jan's Friend
1996 Nancy Drew (TV) Ned Nickerson
1996 Can I Get a Witness?
1996 Giant Mine (TV) Spanky Riggs
1997 Ursa Major Jason
1997 Dead Silence (TV) Officer Stevie Cardy
1997 What Happened to Bobby Earl? (TV) Steve Talbert
1997 Kitchen Party Scott
1997 Every 9 Seconds (TV) Greg
1998 Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples (TV) Patric Segment: Marie Taquet
1998 Felicity (TV) Ben Covington
2000 Duets Billy Hannan
2003 Dark Blue Bobby Keough
2003 My Life Without Me Don
2003 Underworld Michael Corvin
2004 The 24th Day Tom
2005 xXx: State of the Union Agent Kyle Steele
2006 Underworld: Evolution Michael Corvin
2007 Weirdsville Dexter
2008 Anamorph Carl
2008 The Strangers James Hoyt
2008 Adoration Tom
2009 The Last Rites of Ransom Pride Ransom Pride

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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