A boyishly-handsome actor with definite heartthrob appeal, Scott Speedman found success on the small screen portraying Ben Covington on the popular WB coming-of-age drama “Felicity” (1998-2002). A native Canadian, Speedman’s earnest and charismatic persona quickly proved him to be leading man material. He went on to star in the comedy “Duets” (2003), opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, the supernatural thriller “Underworld” (2003) with Kate Beckinsale, and “XXX: State of the Union” (2005). In 2006 he reprised his “Underworld” role in the sequel, “Underworld: Evolution” (2006).
Born Robert Scott Speedman on Sept. 1, 1975 in London, England to Scottish parents, Roy and Mary Speedman, the future actor moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada with his family at the age of four. Growing up in Toronto, Speedman attended the Earl Haig Secondary School and spent his free time training as a competitive swimmer. As a member of the Canadian Junior National Swim Team, Speedman placed ninth at the 1992 Olympic trials. Suffering an unfortunate neck injury soon after, he was forced to give up the sport. Intent on finding a new focus outside of athletics, Speedman became interested in acting. He went on to attend the University of Toronto for a year to study his craft. 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” (1995), 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; it later went to Chris O’Donnell. The audition did give Speedman the exposure that he needed, however, and he 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” (CBC). He was featured in the syndicated series “Nancy Drew” (1996), based on the popular young-adult detective novels and went on to appear in the sports-themed biopic “A Brother's Promise: The Dan Jansen Story” (CBS, 1996) and in the short film “Can I Get a Witness?” which screened at the 1996 Toronto Film Festival. Speedman went on to appear in smaller roles in the HBO thriller “Dead Silence” (1997), the CBS TV-movie “What Ever Happened to Bobby Earl” (1997), and NBC's suspense movie “Every Nine Seconds” (1997). That same year he starred in the Canadian independent feature “Kitchen Party” (1997). After burning out on smaller television roles, Speedman decided to go to New York to study his craft, studying 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 America that wanted him to audition for a new television series called “Felicity” (WB, 1998-2002). Portraying brooding college student Ben Covington opposite overnight star Keri Russell as Felicity, Speedman received much acclaim on the popular series – a good amount of which, came from young female viewers. Carrying their on-screen chemistry over in to real life, Speedman and Russell dated both on and off screen during the series’ run. Providing Speedman with a solid platform from which to branch out from, he 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;” the role had originally been offered to Brad Pitt who exited the film after splitting from Paltrow.
After ending a four-year run on “Felicity,” Speedman quickly found success on the big screen. He landed a role opposite Kurt Russell in the critically acclaimed cop-drama “Dark Blue” (2003), 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 independent drama “My Life without Me” (2003); 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” (2003). Making an impression on audiences in the stylized vampire-werewolf pic, Speedman was honored with the Cinescape Face of the Future Award. He went on to star alongside James Marsden in the thriller “The 24th Day” (2004) and opposite Ice Cube in “XXX: State of the Union” (2005). Upon the success of the first film, Speedman reprised his role as Michael Corvin in the 2006 sequel “Underworld: Evolution.”