Adam Scott

Adam Scott is an American actor and comedian born on April 3, 1973, in Santa Cruz, California. He became especially well known for playing Ben Wyatt on NBC’s comedy series Parks and Recreation. Introduced in the second season finale in 2010, Ben arrives in Pawnee as a state auditor with Chris Traeger, played by Rob Lowe, to address the city’s financial crisis. Ben’s initially rigid approach, awkward humor, love of accounting, and eventual romance with Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope became central parts of the series. Scott remained with the show through its 2015 finale.

Before Parks and Recreation, Scott had recurring roles in several television comedies and dramas. He played Henry Pollard, the former professional tennis player trying to rebuild his life, in the Starz comedy Party Down. The series, created by John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd, follows a group of aspiring entertainers working for a Los Angeles catering company. Scott returned as Henry when Party Down was revived for a third season in 2023.

Scott portrayed Ed Mackenzie in HBO’s Big Little Lies, adapted from Liane Moriarty’s novel. Ed is the husband of Madeline Martha Mackenzie, played by Reese Witherspoon, and his marriage becomes increasingly strained as secrets involving the Monterey community emerge. He appeared in both seasons of the acclaimed series, which also starred Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz.

In 2022, Scott began starring as Mark Scout in Severance, the Apple TV+ psychological science-fiction drama created by Dan Erickson and directed in large part by Ben Stiller. Mark works for Lumon Industries, where employees undergo a procedure that separates their workplace memories from their personal lives. After his wife’s apparent death, Mark chooses severance to escape his grief, but discoveries within Lumon challenge the division between his “innie” and “outie” selves. Scott received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role.

His film work includes The Aviator, Step Brothers, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Overnight, and The Disaster Artist. In Step Brothers, he played Derek Huff, the smug, successful brother of Mary Steenburgen’s Nancy Huff. In 2010’s Piranha 3D, he played Novak Radzinsky, a filmmaker whose adult-video production becomes part of the film’s chaotic Lake Victoria setting.

Scott has also worked extensively in comedy outside scripted acting. He co-created and hosted the Adult Swim series The Greatest Event in Television History with Naomi Scott, recreating opening credits from older television programs. Alongside Scott Aukerman, he co-hosted the Earwolf podcast U Talkin’ U2 To Me?, later renamed U Talkin’ Talking Heads 2 My Talking Head, combining detailed music discussion with absurd comedy.