Scott Speedman is running on no sleep. The Canadian actor and his fiancée, Lindsay Rae Hofmann, just celebrated the arrival of their second child and are once again navigating the beautiful chaos of newborn life. Between soiled diapers and insufficient power naps, he’s balancing a packed work schedule this September afternoon, including publicity for his new Peacock horror series Teacup and his recurring role in ABC’s mainstay medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. Speedman’s plate is the fullest it’s ever been. But rather than feeling overwhelmed, he’s feasting. “If I had had a kid in my 30s or earlier, I would have been a disaster,” admits the 49-year-old actor, who welcomed his first child with Hoffman in 2021.

Though Speedman boasts a CV spanning decades of memorable performances—from his breakout in the college drama Felicity in the late ’90s and early aughts to his powerful turns in 2008’s horror classic The Strangers and Netflix’s hit thriller You—he feels like he’s just starting to hit his stride. “I’m having more fun now than I have probably in my whole career,” he says in the gravelly, lived-in tone of someone who’s seen it all and finally learned to enjoy the ride. “When I go on a project now, I’m excited to be there and to work. It sounds kind of silly, but for me, it took awhile to get there.”

Brunello Cucinelli look; Hermès mules; socks stylists own.

Even in his groggy state, Speedman feels awakened to life’s possibilities. He’s in his most locked-in era. But don’t get fooled by the swift ring of his surname: the journey to this point has been a slow and steady burn. “Not to be too personal, but before, I wasn’t there as a dude, as a guy, as a man. I wasn’t at that point in my life where I was fully walking on my own two feet,” he says.

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“The more I’ve gotten on my own two feet, the more I’ve just been at ease and wanting to participate in all parts of life, whether it’s acting or family or friends.”

 

Speedman’s life was once on a completely different course. Born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, he intended to follow in the footsteps of his mother, a competitive runner, by pursuing an athletic career. He trained rigorously as a competitive swimmer, representing Canada on the junior national swim team and securing ninth place in the 1992 Olympic trials. But after a neck injury dashed his gold-medal dreams, he shifted his focus to acting. On a dare from his then-girlfriend, an 18-year-old Speedman took the plunge on Speaker’s Corner, an open-forum TV program on Citytv, and voiced his desire for the role of Robin in 1995’s Batman Forever. In a testament to the power of shooting your shot, the move landed him an audition. While the role eventually went to Chris O’Donnell, Speedman’s foray into the industry led to gigs in Canadian TV series like Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Goosebumps.

Speedman’s big break came in 1998 when he landed a leading role in Felicity, J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves’s hit WB coming-of-age drama. He played Ben Covington, the brooding hot guy Keri Russell’s titular character decides to follow across the country, beguiled by his quiet charm and magnetic smile. It was his one-way ticket to ’90s heartthrob status.

But Speedman was thrown off balance by the whirlwind of fame that followed, the rapid jump from Olympic hopeful to prime-time TV actor hitting him with the force of a tidal wave. “It was a very fast, weird thing. I was on this other trajectory, and that blew up in my face. I was from a family of athletes,” he says. “And then all of a sudden, I got an agent.”

Regardless, as Felicity gained traction, the offers of more work piled up. He captured his first lead role in the 2002 cop thriller Dark Blue, playing a rookie LAPD detective swept into a corrupt underworld, opposite Kurt Russell. Then he hit box-office paydirt with the first two Underworld films, playing Michael Corvin, a human-turned-immortal hybrid caught in the centuries-long war between vampires and werewolves, and sharing scenes (and spit) with Kate Beckinsale.

Prada look.

His star potential was obvious. With his effortlessly broad range, muscular frame, and emotional depth, he was the type of actor studio-head wet dreams were made of. Still, the glare of the spotlight was more blinding than he’d anticipated. And while he seemed primed for the heartthrob-to-superhero movie pipeline, he quickly realized he didn’t want that level of paparazzi-and-Page Six fame. “I definitely enjoyed acting, but it’s just the other stuff that was always a challenge for me—the extroverted part of the business,” he says. “I think it’s even crazier now for a young actor to jump into it. People’s mystery used to be kind of respected, and introverts were more celebrated, in a sense. Now, if you’re a young dude and you’re not socially sharing part of your life, you’re not really getting ahead. Or at least that’s what they tell you.”

Just as Speedman’s star was ascending, he decided to take a step back and found himself turning down offers more often than not during the aughts and early 2010s. He began gravitating toward small-scale indie projects but also spent a lot of time driving around America, playing basketball, and just vibing.

“To be totally honest with you, it was just life stuff, man,” he says about his decision to gear down his career. “I was dealing with sadness and family stuff. And just being young and thrust into a situation that was amazing but kind of intense, that takes awhile to get back on your feet from. It’s not that new of a story. I see a lot of people self-sabotaging. It’s just how it goes. A lot of people get out of the business. They take off.”

Hermès look.

In the last half-decade, a flip has switched in Speedman’s mind—he’s swapped caution for curiosity, embracing a bold new mantra—“yes”—and reentered the spotlight with a renewed energy. He’s currently Meredith Grey’s main love interest in Grey’s Anatomy, was a trending topic as Joe Goldberg’s nosy neighbour on You, and has pushed the limits of his comfort in films like Lena Dunham’s 2022 sex comedy Sharp Stick. Teacup, meanwhile, marks his most buzzed leading role in years.

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“I feel very new at this still, and I’m enjoying it. Things I would be too scared to do five years ago, I’m able to do more now, and that keeps moving the bar out a little more and more,” he says.

 

Like a seasoned sailor, he’s finally found his true north, confidently charting a course toward his goals. “At some point, you get your shit together as you get older and ask, ‘Do I really want to do this? And if I do want to do this, what kind of career do I want to have?’” he says. “So I came back wanting to participate and have fun with what I’m doing and get better at it rather than having it be such a fraught experience.”

Dior look.

What drew him to Teacup was his admiration for writer Ian McCulloch, whose work he had been following since his days as a producer and writer for the 2010s firefighter drama Chicago Fire. “I just think the world of him as a writer,” he says. “I was very curious when I heard he was doing what they were calling a horror show. Now, when I read it, I didn’t feel it was that. I felt it was this amalgamation of genres, like this sci-fi-horror-western kind of feel that I thought is very original and interesting.”

In the series, Speedman’s James Chenoweth is caught between defending his home from mysterious intruders and salvaging his crumbling marriage to Maggie, portrayed by Yvonne Strahovski. The actor says the show’s layered family drama gave him the perfect opportunity to sink his thespian teeth into.

His goal right now is to do shows that “permeate through pop culture” à la The White Lotus or Yellowstone. “I think my way into more interesting film roles is probably through television,” he says. “What’s cool about getting to where I am is you get more ambitious, not less, and that’s just where I’m at.”

Bottega Veneta look.

While Speedman’s in the “yes” phase of his career, one thing remains non-negotiable for the actor: his reluctance to amplify his social media presence. While he did make his Instagram debut during the pandemic—sharing sweet moments with his daughter alongside photos of himself hiking with his dog—he soon realized he had little patience for the online oversharing machine. It didn’t help that Grey’s Anatomy fans swarmed his Instagram as soon as he became a series regular as Dr. Nick Marsh. “They weren’t thrilled about me,” he says with a laugh, referring to the Meredith Grey hive, who are notorious for scrutinizing every relationship the character enters. “I don’t think they like anybody. I don’t know what the status is now, if I’ve grown on them or not. We should do a New York Times/Siena poll.”

Speedman is experiencing a career renaissance on his own terms. While many of his peers meticulously craft their online personas, the actor lets his work do the talking. He’s embracing a broader range of roles than ever before, but only those that truly resonate with him. By prioritizing authenticity over stardom, he’s carved out a space that reflects both his talent and his individuality, showing that success is sweetest when it’s self-made. “I’ve been getting back into it in a different kind of way, and I’ve just felt more like myself within the whole process,” he says.

Fendi look, Zegna sunglasses.

As he nears 50, he’s living proof that growth and reinvention are lifelong pursuits. “Maybe I’ve averted my midlife crisis,” he chuckles. “Maybe my quarter-life crisis already got me through it. We’ll see.”

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