Born: April 3, 1973
Age: 51
Birthplace: Santa Cruz, California, United States
Adam Paul Scott (born April 3, 1973) is an American actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer, and podcaster. He is best known for his role as Ben Wyatt in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. He has also appeared as Derek in the film Step Brothers, and Henry Pollard in the Starz sitcom Party Down.
Scott was born in Santa Cruz, California, the son of Anne (née Quartara) and Douglas Scott. He has two older siblings, Shannon and David. Scott has said that David "looks like me but is far more cerebral and inherited the intellect of our parents", both of whom are retired teachers. He graduated from Harbor High School and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California.
Scott has appeared in several feature films, including Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), The Lesser Evil (1998), High Crimes (2002), The Aviator (2004), Torque (2004), Monster-in-Law (2005), Who Loves the Sun (2006), Knocked Up (2007), Step Brothers (2008), August (2008), Piranha 3-D (2010), and Leap Year (2010).
Scott's name appears next to Jon Hamm's name in the film Anchorman in one of the broadcast's credits. In an appearance on G4's Attack of the Show program on April 21, 2011, he confirmed that this was due to his and Hamm's friendship with producer Shauna Robertson, who put their names in the credits as an Easter egg. He played Ted Hendricks, Walter Mitty's detestable corporate boss, in the 2013 remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Scott appeared in the films Our Idiot Brother (2011) as Jeremy and Bachelorette. He also starred as Jason Fryman in Friends with Kids (2012). He starred as Caleb Sinclaire in the 2010 film The Vicious Kind, a more dramatic role than his previous comedic endeavours, 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 the film Passenger Side, released on DVD on October 26, 2010.
Scott's film A.C.O.D. premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. In 2015, he worked as executive producer and portrayed Alex in the comedy film The Overnight. He also co-starred in the Christmas comedy slasher film Krampus.
On television, he appeared as Griff Hawkins in the series Boy Meets World and Josh on Party of Five, as well as David's love interest, Ben Cooper, on Six Feet Under. He played Palek on the HBO drama Tell Me You Love Me (2007). Scott played a cocaine-addicted, delirious baseball front office representative in the first and second seasons of the HBO series Eastbound & Down. From 2009 to 2010 he appeared on the Starz network show Party Down. His role in Party Down earned him an Entertainment Weekly Ewwy nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009.
In 2010, Scott joined the cast of NBC's acclaimed comedy series Parks and Recreation, in which he played Ben Wyatt, a state auditor who arrives in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana to evaluate the town's funds. He appeared as a guest star along with Rob Lowe in the second season before becoming a main character for the remainder of the series. The show's seventh and final season concluded in February 2015.
Scott has appeared in the Adult Swim comedy Childrens Hospital. He was also on the show NTSF:SD:SUV::, in the episode "The Risky Business of Being Alone in Your Home", and the annual Adult Swim special The Greatest Event in Television History, which he also created and produced. Scott has also appeared in the Comedy Central television show Nick Swardson's Pretend Time, as a newscaster in the episode "Relapse into Refreshment". He has appeared in a series of commercials for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.
Scott is the co-host and co-creator of the Earwolf podcast U Talkin' U2 To Me? with Scott Aukerman. The series is introduced at the outset of each episode as "the comprehensive and encyclopedic compendium of all things U2," but it generally uses discussion of the band as a jumping off point for improv and absurdist humor. Scott has also been a guest on numerous podcasts, including Comedy Bang! Bang!, How Did This Get Made?, and Kevin Pollak's Chat Show.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Cityscrapes: Los Angeles | Joe | |
1996 | Hellraiser: Bloodline | Jacques | |
1996 | The Last Days of Frankie the Fly | Race Track Valet | |
1996 | Star Trek: First Contact | Defiant Conn Officer | |
1997 | Dinner and Driving | Larry | |
1998 | Girl | Scott | |
1998 | The Lesser Evil | Young George | |
1998 | Hairshirt | Fan at Bar | |
2001 | Date Squad | Fred | Short film |
2001 | Seven and a Match | Peter | |
2002 | Ronnie | Ronnie Schwann | |
2002 | High Crimes | Lt. Terrence Embry | |
2002 | Bleach | Fulton | Short film |
2003 | Something More | Saul | Short film |
2003 | Two Days | Stu | |
2004 | Torque | FBI Agent McPherson | |
2004 | Off the Lip | David | |
2004 | The Aviator | Johnny Meyer | |
2005 | The Matador | Phil Garrison | |
2005 | Monster-In-Law | Remy | |
2006 | Art School Confidential | Marvin Bushmiller | |
2006 | First Snow | Tom Morelane | |
2006 | Who Loves the Sun | Daniel Bloom | |
2006 | The Return | Kurt | |
2007 | Knocked Up | Samuel | |
2008 | The Great Buck Howard | Alan Berkman | |
2008 | August | Joshua Sterling | |
2008 | Corporate Affairs | Jack Hightower | |
2008 | Step Brothers | Derek | |
2008 | Lovely, Still | Mike Malone | |
2009 | The Vicious Kind | Caleb Sinclaire | Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead |
2009 | Passenger Side | Michael | Also executive producer |
2010 | Operation: Endgame | Magician | |
2010 | AIDS: We Did It! | Man | Short film |
2010 | Leap Year | Jeremy | |
2010 | Piranha 3-D | Novak | |
2011 | Fight for Your Right Revisited | Cab Driver | Short film |
2011 | The Terrys | Narrator | Short film |
2011 | Our Idiot Brother | Jeremy | |
2011 | Friends with Kids | Jason Fryman | |
2012 | Bachelorette | Clyde | |
2012 | HJ Gloves | Man #2 | Short film |
2012 | See Girl Run | Jason | |
2012 | A.C.O.D. | Carter | Also executive producer |
2012 | The Guilt Trip | Andrew Margolis, Jr. | |
2013 | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Ted Hendricks | |
2014 | They Came Together | Sound Engineer | Cameo |
2015 | The Overnight | Alex | Also executive producer |
2015 | Sleeping with Other People | Matthew | |
2015 | Hot Tub Time Machine 2 | Adam Yates, Jr. | |
2015 | Black Mass | Robert Fitzpatrick | |
2015 | Krampus | Tom | |
2016 | Other People | — | Producer |
2016 | My Blind Brother | Robbie |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Dead at 21 | Dan | Episode: "Pilot" |
1994 | Boy Meets World | Band Member | Episode: "Band on the Run" |
1995 | ER | David Kerstetter | Episode: "Full Moon, Saturday Night" |
1995 | Boy Meets World | Griffin Hawkins | 3 episodes |
1995 | Murder One | Sydney Schneider | 6 episodes |
1996 | NYPD Blue | Gordon Puterbaugh | Episode: "The Nutty Confessor" |
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 |
1999 | Winding Roads | Brian Calhoun | 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 | Mr. Rooks | Episode: "Mars vs. Mars" |
2006 | Law & Order | Robbie Howell | Episode: "America, Inc." |
2007 | Tell Me You Love Me | Palek | 10 episodes |
2009-2010 | Eastbound & Down | Pat Anderson | 2 episodes |
2009-2010 | Party Down | Henry Pollard | 20 episodes Also producer |
2010 | Childrens Hospital | Lt. D'Ghor Koru | Episode: "Joke Overload" |
2010 | The Wonderful Maladys | Alice's Ex-Boyfriend | Pilot |
2010-2015 | Parks and Recreation | Ben Wyatt | 97 episodes Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series |
2011 | NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Van Damm | Episode: "The Risky Business of Being Alone in Your Home" |
2012 | Burning Love | Damien Assante | 6 episodes |
2012-2014 | The Greatest Event in Television History | Himself | 4 episodes also creator, director and executive producer |
2012-2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself / Plumber Pierre | 3 episodes |
2013 | Robot Chicken | Care Bear / Father | Voice Episode: "Botched Jewel Heist" |
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 | Big Little Lies | Ed Mackenzie |