Scott Speedman

Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a British-born Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing Ben Covington in the coming-of-age television drama Felicity and Lycan-Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror/action Underworld films.

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. At the age of four, he and his family moved to Toronto, Ontario. 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.

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 Underwold 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. In December 2008, Speedman shaved his head into a buzz cut.

In July 2009, it was reported that Speedman will star alongside Dustin Hoffman among others in the film adaption of Barney's Version. Pre-production began in August 2009, and filming took place in Rome, New York and Canada. Speedman also starred in the independent Western The Last Rites of Ransom Pride alongside Lizzy Caplan and Dwight Yoakum.

More of Scott Speedman's pictures. Click to zoom.