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.
Biography
Early life
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.
[In the fast lane - www.theage.com.au][Scott Speedman Biography (1975-)][Gentleman: Scott Speedman fansite Version 2] He has a younger sister, Tracy, who is now a teacher of grade 6 and 7 English. At the age of four, he and his family moved to
Toronto,
Canada. 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.
Career
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.