As the object of Keri Russell's affections on the WB Network's TV series Felicity, Scott Speedman displays a laid-back charm that has helped him win over critics and viewers. More than a few fans of the show, upon first glimpsing the handsome actor, could understand why Felicity, in the storyline that formed the show's premise, would follow his character across the entire country.
Born in London, England on September 1, 1975 to Scottish parents, Speedman was raised in Toronto. In high school, he began acting on a dare from a girlfriend. He appeared on Speaker's Corner, a Canadian version of an MTV show in which people paid money to air their views on television. Speedman caught the attention of one of the show's directors, who encouraged him to audition for the role of Robin in the upcoming Batman Forever (1995). Speedman did so and failed to get the part, but he did manage to get an agent in the process.
Speedman acted in a number of Canadian television shows and spent a year at the University of Toronto, where he was an avid swimmer (he once aspired to swim for the Canadian team). After dropping out of the university, Speedman got his first film role in Kitchen Party, a Canadian film released in 1997. More lackluster work in television followed until Speedman, his career at a low, went to Manhattan to audition for the upcoming show Felicity. The show's creators were taken with his performance, and Speedman was soon living in Los Angeles, where the show was filmed. The positive attention that followed Felicity's debut made him and his co-stars the subjects of numerous interviews, articles, and websites, and gave Speedman the opportunities that he once could only dream of during his days of purgatory in Canadian television. Shortly after an appearance in the little seen 2000 comedy drama Duets, Speedman hit the big time when cast opposite Kurt Russell in the police detective thriler Dark Blue (2003). Though he did prove convincing in his role as a slightly naive LAPD homicide detective, the film quickly faded from sight at the box office and his commendable performance went largely unnoticed. His subsequent role in the romantic drama My Life Without Me once again showed his ability to carry a dramatic performance, but later that same year the up and coming actor nevertheless threw all dramatics out the window for a role as one of the sole humans in a neverending battle between vampires and werewolves. In the years to come, Smith would remain active on screen, appearing in films like The Moth Diaries and on the series Last Resort.
