Scott Speedman Biography

SCOTT SPEEDMAN

Date of Birth: September 1, 1975

This green-eyed, blond hunk is best known for his role as Ben Covington on the TV series Felicity. Born in London, England and raised in Toronto, Scott Speedman was born to a department store buyer father and an elementary school teacher mother and evolved into a championship swimmer.

At ages 12 and 14, Speedman was a part of the relay swim team that held the Canadian national record for the 400-meter medley. Until a neck injury forced a career change, he was even a member of the Canadian national team.

He turned to acting when a high school girlfriend dared him to go on Speaker's Corner and declare his interest in playing the role of Boy Wonder in Batman Forever, which was casting in Toronto at the time. Though he didn't get the part, the casting director put him in touch with an agent.

That, in turn, led to roles in the TV series Nancy Drew and the television film Net Worth. He also started attending classes at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse theater school, but dropped out and ended up crashing on his mother's Toronto couch. He then hooked up with David Rotenberg, a novelist and former Broadway director, and started studying at Toronto's Equity Showcase Theatre.

That commitment led Speedman to a role in the short film Can I Get a Witness, developed at the Norman Jewison Film Center in Toronto, which was screened at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival. And ultimately, in a fortuitous twist of fate, Speedman landed the coveted role of "the sensitive jock" on Felicity.

During his 1999 summer break from Felicity, Speedman returned to his Toronto theater roots, training with his mentor Rotenberg to star in a workshop production of Edward Albee's The Zoo Story. In a far cry from his role on Felicity, Speedman tackled the part of a deranged man.

Moving over to the big screen, Speedman also snagged a plum role in the film Duets, nailing a part that once belonged to Brad Pitt and joining none other than Gwyneth Paltrow. Roles in Hollywood films such as Underworld (2003), XXX: State of the Union (2005) and Underworld: Evolution (2006) followed. He's also returned to Canada to appear in movies such as Barney's Version (2010), based on the novel by Mordecai Richler and starring Dustin Hoffman; and Good Neighbours (2011) alongside fellow Canadian Jay Baruchel. Some of his more recent titles include The Moth Diaries (2011) and The Vow (2012). He also plays the lead role of notorious bank robber Edwin Boyd in the film Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster (2012).