Adam Scott | |
|---|---|
 Scott in 2023 | |
| Born | Adam Paul Scott (1973-04-03)April 3, 1973 (age 52) Santa Cruz, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | American Academy of Dramatic Arts |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Adam Paul Scott (born April 3, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role asBen Wyatt in theNBC sitcomParks and Recreation (2010–2015), for which he was twice nominated for aCritics' Choice Television Award, as well asMark Scout in theApple TV+ thriller seriesSeverance (since 2022), for which he was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award and aGolden Globe Award.
Scott has also appeared in the filmsThe Aviator (2004) andStep Brothers (2008), as well as theStarz sitcomParty Down (2009–2010; 2023), theHBO drama seriesBig Little Lies (2017–2019), and the NBC comedy seriesThe Good Place (2016–2018).
Adam Paul Scott[1] was born on April 3, 1973,[2] son of Dougald Scott.[3] His parents, who were both teachers,[4][5] divorced when he was a child.[6] His father is ofScottish descent, while his mother was of halfItalian (Sicilian) and half Irish descent.[7][6] He has two older siblings, Shannon and David.[4]
He graduated fromHarbor High School[8] and theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts inLos Angeles, California.[9]
Scott has appeared in several feature films, includingHellraiser: Bloodline (1996),Star Trek: First Contact (1996),The Lesser Evil (1998),High Crimes (2002),The Aviator (2004),Torque (2004),Monster-in-Law (2005),The Matador (2005),Knocked Up (2007),Step Brothers (2008),The Vicious Kind (2009),Piranha 3D (2010),[10]Friends with Kids (2012),The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), andKrampus (2015).
Scott attributes his pivot from dramatic to comedic roles to landing the part of Derek Huff inStep Brothers (2008), as he learned comedic improvisation from his co-stars,Will Ferrell,John C. Reilly, andKathryn Hahn.[11]
He played antagonist Ted Hendricks, Walter Mitty's boss, in the 2013Ben Stiller remake ofThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty. His other major studio comedies includeHot Tub Time Machine 2 and the Christmas comedy-horror filmKrampus, both in 2015.
Scott has appeared in and produced numerous independent films. He starred as Caleb Sinclaire in the 2010 filmThe Vicious Kind, for which Scott was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor. The film itself received positive reviews, and he won two individual awards at two separate film festivals. He starred in two films by Matt Bissonette,Who Loves the Sun (2006) andPassenger Side (2009), released on DVD on October 26, 2010. He appeared in the filmsOur Idiot Brother (2011) withPaul Rudd[12] andLeslye Headland'sBachelorette (2012). He had lead roles inFriends with Kids (2012)[13] andA.C.O.D. (2013).[14]
In 2015, he executive produced and starred in the comedy filmThe Overnight.[15][16]
Scott and Paul Rudd teamed up again to act in and produce the indie comedyFun Mom Dinner (2017).
InSony's Spider-Man Universe, Scott appeared inMadame Web (2024) as a youngBen Parker.[17]
Scott's early television roles include Griff Hawkins inBoy Meets World, Josh onParty of Five, a law intern onMurder One, as well asDavid's love interest, Ben Cooper, onSix Feet Under.
His first series regular role was on the controversial and sexually-explicit HBO dramaTell Me You Love Me (2007) as Palek, a husband struggling to conceive with his wife. In the first two seasons of theHBO baseball comedy seriesEastbound & Down, Scott played acocaine-addicted baseball front office representative.
From 2009 to 2010, he starred as Henry Pollard in theStarz network showParty Down.[18] For this performance, he earned anEntertainment WeeklyEwwy nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.[19]
In 2010, Scott joined the cast ofNBC's acclaimed comedy seriesParks and Recreation, in which he playedBen Wyatt, astate auditor who arrives in the fictional town ofPawnee, Indiana, to evaluate the town's funds[20] and eventually becomes the love interest ofLeslie Knope. He appeared as a guest star in thesecond season before becoming a main character for the remainder of the series, which ended in 2015.
Scott and his wife created and produced four Adult Swim mockumentary specials,The Greatest Event in Television History, about remaking opening credits sequences of 1980s television shows.
Scott continued his streak of comedic roles in several episodes ofKen Marino'sThe Bachelor parodyBurning Love and onDavid Wain'sWet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. From 2016 to 2018, Scott appeared in five episodes of the acclaimedMichael Schur showThe Good Place as Trevor, a demon.[21]
In 2017 and 2019, Scott took a turn to dramatic work by appearing in HBO'sBig Little Lies as Ed Mackenzie, husband of main character Madeline Mackenzie, played byReese Witherspoon.[22][23]
Scott starred withCraig Robinson in the sitcomGhosted,[24] which premiered on October 1, 2017, onFox, lasting just one season.[25] He and his wife executive produced the show.
In 2020, Scott hosted the one-seasonABC game showDon't, executive produced byRyan Reynolds.[26]
In 2022, Scott began starring in and producing theApple TV+ showSeverance, which is produced and directed byBen Stiller.[27] His performance was critically acclaimed.[28]
The cult hitParty Down was revived in 2023, with Scott reprising the character of Henry Pollard.[29]
Scott has had numerous guest appearances, including in theAdult Swim comedyChildrens Hospital and HBO'sVeep. He has appeared onCSI: Miami andLaw & Order. He was also on the showNTSF:SD:SUV::, in the episode "The Risky Business of Being Alone in Your Home", and has also appeared in theComedy Central television showNick Swardson's Pretend Time, as a newscaster in the episode "Relapse into Refreshment". He has appeared in a series of commercials forESPN'sSunday Night Baseball.
WithScott Aukerman, Scott is the co-host and co-creator of theEarwolfpodcastU Talkin' U2 To Me, launched in February 2014.[30] The series is introduced at the outset of each episode as "the comprehensive and encyclopedic compendium of all thingsU2," though it generally uses discussion of the band as a jumping off point for improv and absurdist humor. In February 2018, Scott and Aukerman launched another podcast in the same format, this time covering the career and work of the bandR.E.M., titledR U Talkin' R.E.M. Re: Me?. A third podcast,R U Talkin' RHCP Re: Me?, debuted in July 2020, in which Scott and Aukerman discuss theRed Hot Chili Peppers; the podcast's format was almost immediately abandoned in favor of discussingTalking Heads and, as of the second episode, was renamedU Talkin' Talking Heads 2 My Talking Head. In September 2023 the show began to focus on discussing the work ofBruce Springsteen, and was renamedU Springin' Springsteen On My Bean?.
Scott has been a guest on many podcasts includingComedy Bang! Bang!,Never Not Funny,How Did This Get Made?,Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard,Kevin Pollak's Chat Show,[31] andSmartless.
In 2025,Time magazine listed him as one ofthe world's 100 most influential people.[32]
Scott married producer Naomi Sablan in 2005. They have two children.[6]
Scott is a fan of the bandR.E.M., much like his character inParks and Recreation.[6] In 1992, he appeared as an extra in the music video to their song "Drive".[33] Throughout 2018, Scott and the comedianScott Aukerman hosted thepodcast series,R U Talkin' R.E.M. Re: Me?, which extensively covered the career and work of R.E.M.[citation needed]
On May 4, 2017, During an appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live!, Scott revealed he invited actorMark Hamill to one of his childhood birthday parties. Guest hostKristen Bell surprised Scott with the guest appearance of Hamill wielding alightsaber in observance ofStar Wars Day.[34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Cityscrapes: Los Angeles | Joe | |
| 1996 | Hellraiser: Bloodline | Jacques | |
| The Last Days of Frankie the Fly | Race Track Valet | ||
| Star Trek: First Contact | Defiant Conn Officer | ||
| 1997 | Dinner and Driving | Larry | |
| 1998 | Girl | Scott | |
| The Lesser Evil | Young George | ||
| Hairshirt | Fan At Bar | ||
| 1999 | Winding Roads | Brian Calhoun | |
| 2001 | Date Squad | Fred | Short film |
| Seven and a Match | Peter | ||
| 2002 | Ronnie | Ronnie Schwann | |
| High Crimes | Lieutenant Terrence Embry | ||
| Bleach | Fulton | Short film | |
| 2003 | Something More | Saul | Short film |
| Two Days | Stu | ||
| 2004 | Torque | FBI Agent Jay McPherson | |
| Off the Lip | David | ||
| The Aviator | Johnny Meyer | ||
| 2005 | The Matador | Phil Garrison | |
| Monster-in-Law | Remy | ||
| 2006 | Art School Confidential | Marvin Bushmiller | |
| First Snow | Tom Morelane | ||
| Who Loves the Sun | Daniel Bloom | ||
| The Return | Kurt | ||
| 2007 | Knocked Up | Nurse Samuel | |
| 2008 | The Great Buck Howard | Alan Berkman | |
| August | Joshua Sterling | ||
| Corporate Affairs | Jack Hightower | ||
| Step Brothers | Derek Huff | ||
| Lovely, Still | Mike Malone | ||
| 2009 | The Vicious Kind | Caleb Sinclaire | |
| Passenger Side | Michael Brown | Also executive producer | |
| 2010 | Operation: Endgame | The Magician | |
| AIDS: We Did It! | Man | Short film | |
| Leap Year | Jeremy Sloane | ||
| Piranha 3D | Novak Radzinsky | ||
| 2011 | Fight for Your Right Revisited | Cab Driver | Short film |
| The Terrys | Narrator | Short film | |
| Our Idiot Brother | Jeremy Horne | ||
| Friends with Kids | Jason Fryman | ||
| 2012 | Bachelorette | Clyde Goddard | |
| HJ Gloves | Man #2 | Short film | |
| See Girl Run | Jason | ||
| The Guilt Trip | Andrew Margolis Jr. | ||
| 2013 | A.C.O.D. | Carter | Also executive producer |
| The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Ted Hendricks | ||
| 2014 | They Came Together | Sound Engineer | Cameo |
| 2015 | The Overnight | Alex | Also executive producer |
| Sleeping with Other People | Dr. Matthew Sobvechik | ||
| Hot Tub Time Machine 2 | Adam Yates Jr. | ||
| Black Mass | Robert Fitzpatrick | ||
| Krampus | Tom Engel | ||
| 2016 | Other People | — | Producer |
| My Blind Brother | Robbie | ||
| 2017 | Fun Mom Dinner | Tom | Also executive producer |
| The Disaster Artist | Himself | Cameo | |
| The Most Hated Woman in America | Jack Ferguson | ||
| Flower | Will Jordan | ||
| Little Evil | Gary Bloom | ||
| 2019 | Between Two Ferns: The Movie | Himself | |
| 2020 | Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics | After School Special Host | |
| 2023 | First Time Female Director | Acting Coach | Uncredited cameo |
| 2024 | Madame Web | Ben Parker | |
| 2025 | The Monkey | Capt. Petey Shelburn | [35] |
| TBA | The Saviors | Post-production; also producer | |
| Hokum | Post production | ||
| The Whisper Man | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Dead at 21 | Dan Bird | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1994–1995 | Boy Meets World | Band Member / Griffin Hawkins | 4 episodes |
| 1995 | ER | David Kerstetter | Episode: "Full Moon, Saturday Night" |
| 1995 | Murder One | Sydney Schneider | 6 episodes |
| 1996 | NYPD Blue | Gordon Puterbaugh | Episode: "The Nutty Confessor" |
| 1996 | High Incident | Walter Gonning Jr. | Episode: "Change Partners" |
| 1997 | Payback | Adam Stanfill | Television film |
| 1998–1999 | Party of Five | Josh Macon | 7 episodes |
| 1999 | Wasteland | Phillip, The Coffee Boy | 7 episodes |
| 1999 | Sagamore | Alex | Television film |
| 2002 | Glory Days | Howard Dichotsky | Episode: "Everybody Loves Rudy" |
| 2002 | Six Feet Under | Ben Cooper | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | CSI: Miami | Danny Cato | Episode: "Stalkerazzi" |
| 2005 | Veronica Mars | Chuck Rooks | Episode: "Mars vs. Mars" |
| 2005 | Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List | Himself | Episode: "Hot to Tot" |
| 2006 | Law & Order | Robbie Howell | Episode: "America, Inc." |
| 2007 | Tell Me You Love Me | Palek | 10 episodes |
| 2009 | Trust Me | Josh Burkett | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | Eastbound & Down | Pat Anderson | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2010, 2023 | Party Down | Henry Pollard | 26 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2010 | The Sarah Silverman Program | Agent Schroeder | Episode: "Just Breve" |
| 2010 | Childrens Hospital | Lieutenant D'Ghor Koru | Episode: "Joke Overload" |
| 2010 | Nick Swardson's Pretend Time | News Anchor | Episode: "Mudslide Junction" |
| 2010 | The Wonderful Maladys | Alice's Ex-Boyfriend | Pilot |
| 2010 | American Dad! | Marshall | Voice Episode: "The People vs. Martin Sugar" |
| 2010–2015, 2020 | Parks and Recreation | Ben Wyatt | 98 episodes Directed episode: "Farmers Market" |
| 2011 | Funny or Die Presents | Narrator | Episode #2.10 |
| 2011 | NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Van Damm | Episode: "The Risky Business of Being Alone in Your Home" |
| 2012–2013 | Burning Love | Damien Assante | 6 episodes |
| 2012–2014 | The Greatest Event in Television History | Himself | 4 episodes; also creator, director and executive producer |
| 2012–2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself / Plumber Pierre | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Robot Chicken | Care Bear / Father | Voice Episode: "Botched Jewel Heist" |
| 2013 | Maron | Himself | Episode: "Mexican Angel" |
| 2013 | Drunk History | John Wilkes Booth | Episode: "Washington D.C." |
| 2013 | Timms Valley | US Marshal Lonny | Voice Pilot |
| 2016 | Angie Tribeca | Surgeon | Episode: "The Wedding Planner Did It" |
| 2016 | Animals. | Shane | Voice Episode: "Cats." |
| 2016 | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | Johnny Dunne | Episode: "Meet Platinum" |
| 2016 | The Adult Swim Golf Classic | Adam Scott | TV special |
| 2016–2018 | The Good Place | Trevor | 5 episodes |
| 2017 | Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special | Himself | Variety special |
| 2017, 2019 | Big Little Lies | Ed MacKenzie | 14 episodes |
| 2017 | Veep | Tonight Show Host | Episode: "A Woman First" |
| 2017 | Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later | Ben | 7 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Ghosted | Max Jennifer | 16 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2017 | Do You Want to See a Dead Body? | Himself | Episode: "A Body and a Puddle" |
| 2018 | I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman | George Washington | Episode: "Hall of Presidents" |
| 2019 | I'm Sorry | Dr. Steve Goldberg | Episode: "These Are My Fingers" |
| 2019 | The Twilight Zone | Justin Sanderson | Episode: "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" |
| 2020 | Nailed It! | Himself (guest judge) | Episode: "Howdy, Failure!" |
| 2020 | Celebrity Escape Room | Himself | TV special |
| 2020 | Don't | Himself (host) | 8 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2021 | Duncanville | Nick | Voice Episode: "Das Banana Boot" |
| 2021 | Big Mouth | Mr. Keating | Voice Episode: "Green-Eyed Monster" |
| 2022–present | Severance | Mark Scout | Main role; also producer/executive producer[36] |
| 2022–2024 | Loot | John Novak | 7 episodes |
| 2022 | Inside Job | Ron Staedtler | Voice 5 episodes |
| 2024 | Dinner Time Live with David Chang | Himself | Episode: "United Plates of America" |
| 2025 | Bianca by Night | Himself | Episode: "On the Phone with Hollywood" |
| 2025 | The Studio | Himself | Episode: "The Golden Globes" |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
