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Adam Paul Scott (born April 3, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ben Wyatt in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2010–2015), for which he was twice nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as Mark Scout in the Apple TV+ sci-fi thriller series Severance (since 2022), for which he was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards – two for acting and two for producing – and a Golden Globe Award.
Scott has also appeared in the films The Aviator (2004), Step Brothers (2008) and Flower (2017), as well as the Starz sitcom Party Down (2009–2010; 2023), the HBO drama series Big Little Lies (2017–2019), and the NBC comedy series The Good Place (2016–2018).
He graduated from Harbor High School and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, California.
During this period Scott appeared in the films Step Brothers (2008), The Vicious Kind (2009), Piranha 3D (2010), Friends with Kids (2012) , The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), and Krampus (2015). Scott attributes his pivot from dramatic to comedic roles to landing the part of Derek Huff in Step Brothers, as he learned comedic improvisation from his co-stars Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Kathryn Hahn.
Scott has appeared in and produced numerous independent films. He starred as Caleb Sinclaire in the 2010 film The 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) and Passenger Side (2009), released on DVD on October 26, 2010. He appeared in the films Our Idiot Brother (2011) with Paul Rudd and Leslye Headland's Bachelorette (2012). He had lead roles in Friends with Kids (2012) and A.C.O.D. (2013).
He played antagonist Ted Hendricks, Walter Mitty's boss, in the 2013 Ben Stiller remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. His other major studio comedies include Hot Tub Time Machine 2 and the Christmas comedy-horror film Krampus, both in 2015. That same year, he executive produced and starred in the comedy film The Overnight. 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 of Ken Marino's The Bachelor parody Burning Love, as well as making guest appearances in the Adult Swim comedies Childrens Hospital and and the Comedy Central television show Nick Swardson's Pretend Time as a newscaster in the episode "Relapse into Refreshment". He also appeared in a series of commercials for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.
Scott and Paul Rudd teamed up again to act in and produce the indie comedy Fun Mom Dinner (2017). Scott starred with Craig Robinson in the sitcom Ghosted, which premiered on October 1, 2017, on Fox, lasting just one season. He and his wife executive produced the show. In 2020, Scott hosted the one-season ABC game show Don't, executive produced by Ryan Reynolds.
In 2022, Scott began starring in and executive producing the Apple TV+ show Severance, which is executive produced and directed by Ben Stiller. His performance was critically acclaimed and has earned him 2 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2022 and 2025 respectively, and 2 more nominations for Outstanding Drama Series in those same years as Executive Producer. The cult hit Party Down was revived in 2023, with Scott reprising the character of Henry Pollard. In Sony's Spider-Man Universe, Scott appeared in Madame Web (2024) as a young Uncle Ben.
In 2024, it was announced that Scott would star alongside Danielle Deadwyler in the independent thriller, The Saviors. He is featured along with Adam Brody in the BBDO-created “It’s Time for WhatsApp” advertising campaign which debuted on 3 September 2025. Herrera, Tilde. "Adam vs. Adam: Scott and Brody Face Off in WhatsApp's Group Chat Test," Adweek, Wednesday 3 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
Scott has been a guest on many podcasts, including Comedy Bang! Bang!, Never Not Funny, How Did This Get Made?, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, and Smartless.
On May 4, 2017, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Scott revealed he invited actor Mark Hamill to one of his childhood birthday parties. Guest host Kristen Bell surprised Scott with the guest appearance of Hamill wielding a lightsaber in observance of Star Wars Day.
| 1994 !scope="row" | Cityscrapes: Los Angeles | Joe | |
| 1996 !scope="row" | Jacques | ||
| 1997 !scope="row" | Dinner and Driving | Larry | |
| 1998 !scope="row" | Girl | Scott | |
| 1999 !scope="row" | Winding Roads | Brian Calhoun | |
| 2001 !scope="row" | Date Squad | Fred | Short film |
| 2002 !scope="row" | Ronnie | Ronnie Schwann | |
| 2003 !scope="row" | Something More | Saul | Short film |
| 2004 !scope="row" | Torque | FBI Agent Jay McPherson | |
| 2005 !scope="row" | The Matador | Phil Garrison | |
| 2006 !scope="row" | Art School Confidential | Marvin Bushmiller | |
| 2007 !scope="row" | Knocked Up | Nurse Samuel | |
| 2008 !scope="row" | The Great Buck Howard | Alan Berkman | |
| 2009 !scope="row" | The Vicious Kind | Caleb Sinclaire | |
| 2010 !scope="row" | The Magician | ||
| 2011 !scope="row" | Fight for Your Right Revisited | Cab Driver | Short film |
| 2012 !scope="row" | Bachelorette | Clyde Goddard | |
| 2013 !scope="row" | A.C.O.D. | Carter | Also executive producer |
| 2014 !scope="row" | They Came Together | Sound Engineer | Cameo |
| 2015 !scope="row" | The Overnight | Alex | Also executive producer |
| 2016 !scope="row" | Other People | — | Producer |
| 2017 !scope="row" | Fun Mom Dinner | Tom | Also executive producer |
| 2019 !scope="row" | Himself | ||
| 2020 !scope="row" | After School Special Host | ||
| 2023 !scope="row" | First Time Female Director | Acting Coach | Uncredited cameo |
| 2024 !scope="row" | Madame Web | Uncle Ben | |
| 2025 !scope="row" | The Monkey | Capt. Petey Shelburn | |
| TBA !scope="row" | The Saviors | Post-production; also producer | |
| 1994 !scope="row" | Dead at 21 | Dan Bird | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1994–1995 !scope="row" | Boy Meets World | Band Member / Griff Hawkins | 4 episodes |
| 1995 !scope="row" | ER | David Kerstetter | Episode: "Full Moon, Saturday Night" |
| 1995 !scope="row" | Murder One | Sydney Schneider | 6 episodes |
| 1996 !scope="row" | NYPD Blue | Gordon Puterbaugh | Episode: "The Nutty Confessor" |
| 1996 !scope="row" | High Incident | Walter Gonning Jr. | Episode: "Change Partners" |
| 1997 !scope="row" | Payback | Adam Stanfill | Television film |
| 1998–1999 !scope="row" | Party of Five | Josh Macon | 7 episodes |
| 1999 !scope="row" | Wasteland | Phillip, The Coffee Boy | 7 episodes |
| 1999 !scope="row" | Sagamore | Alex | Television film |
| 2002 !scope="row" | Glory Days | Howard Dichotsky | Episode: "Everybody Loves Rudy" |
| 2002 !scope="row" | Six Feet Under | Ben Cooper | 2 episodes |
| 2004 !scope="row" | Danny Cato | Episode: "Stalkerazzi" | |
| 2005 !scope="row" | Veronica Mars | Chuck Rooks | Episode: "Mars vs. Mars" |
| 2005 !scope="row" | Himself | Episode: "Hot to Tot" | |
| 2006 !scope="row" | Law & Order | Robbie Howell | Episode: "America, Inc." |
| 2007 !scope="row" | Tell Me You Love Me | Palek | 10 episodes |
| 2009 !scope="row" | Trust Me | Josh Burkett | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2010 !scope="row" | Eastbound & Down | Pat Anderson | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2010, 2023 !scope="row" | Party Down | Henry Pollard | 26 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2010 !scope="row" | The Sarah Silverman Program | Agent Schroeder | Episode: "Just Breve" |
| 2010 !scope="row" | Childrens Hospital | Lieutenant D'Ghor Koru | Episode: "Joke Overload" |
| 2010 !scope="row" | Nick Swardson's Pretend Time | News Anchor | Episode: "Mudslide Junction" |
| 2010 !scope="row" | The Wonderful Maladys | Alice's Ex-Boyfriend | Pilot |
| 2010 !scope="row" | American Dad! | Marshall | Voice Episode: "The People vs. Martin Sugar" |
| 2010–2015, 2020 !scope="row" | Parks and Recreation | Ben Wyatt | 98 episodes Directed episode: "Farmers Market" |
| 2011 !scope="row" | Funny or Die Presents | Narrator | Episode #2.10 |
| 2011 !scope="row" | Van Damm | Episode: "The Risky Business of Being Alone in Your Home" | |
| 2012–2013 !scope="row" | Burning Love | Damien Assante | 6 episodes |
| 2012–2014 !scope="row" | The Greatest Event in Television History | Himself | 4 episodes; also creator, director and executive producer |
| 2012–2016 !scope="row" | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself / Plumber Pierre | 4 episodes |
| 2013 !scope="row" | Robot Chicken | Care Bear / Father | Voice Episode: "Botched Jewel Heist" |
| 2013 !scope="row" | Maron | Himself | Episode: "Mexican Angel" |
| 2013 !scope="row" | Drunk History | John Wilkes Booth | Episode: "Washington D.C." |
| 2013 !scope="row" | Timms Valley | US Marshal Lonny | Voice Pilot |
| 2016 !scope="row" | Angie Tribeca | Surgeon | Episode: "The Wedding Planner Did It" |
| 2016 !scope="row" | Animals. | Shane | Voice Episode: "Cats." |
| 2016 !scope="row" | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | Johnny Dunne | Episode: "Meet Platinum" |
| 2016 !scope="row" | The Adult Swim Golf Classic | Adam Scott | TV special |
| 2016–2018 !scope="row" | The Good Place | Trevor | 5 episodes |
| 2017 !scope="row" | Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special | Himself | Variety special |
| 2017, 2019 !scope="row" | Big Little Lies | Ed MacKenzie | 14 episodes |
| 2017 !scope="row" | Veep | Tonight Show Host | Episode: "A Woman First" |
| 2017 !scope="row" | Ben | 7 episodes | |
| 2017–2018 !scope="row" | Ghosted | Max Jennifer | 16 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2017 !scope="row" | Do You Want to See a Dead Body? | Himself | Episode: "A Body and a Puddle" |
| 2018 !scope="row" | I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman | George Washington | Episode: "Hall of Presidents" |
| 2019 !scope="row" | I'm Sorry | Dr. Steve Goldberg | Episode: "These Are My Fingers" |
| 2019 !scope="row" | The Twilight Zone | Justin Sanderson | Episode: "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" |
| 2020 !scope="row" | Nailed It! | Himself (guest judge) | Episode: "Howdy, Failure!" |
| 2020 !scope="row" | Celebrity Escape Room | Himself | TV special |
| 2020 !scope="row" | Don't | Himself (host) | 8 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2021 !scope="row" | Duncanville | Nick | Voice Episode: "Das Banana Boot" |
| 2021 !scope="row" | Big Mouth | Mr. Keating | Voice Episode: "Green-Eyed Monster" |
| 2022–present !scope="row" | Severance | Mark Scout | Main role; also producer/executive producer |
| 2022–2024 ! scope="row" | Loot | John Novak | 7 episodes |
| 2022 !scope="row" | Inside Job | Ron Staedtler | Voice 5 episodes |
| 2024 !scope="row" | David Chang | Himself | Episode: "United Plates of America" |
| 2025 !scope="row" | Bianca by Night | Himself | Episode: "On the Phone with Hollywood" |
| 2025 !scope="row" | The Studio | Himself | Episode: "The Golden Globes" |
| 2010 ! scope="row" | Friends with Kids | Jason | Jennifer Westfeldt | Vassar College, New York | |
| 2014 | ||||
| 2023 | Best Actor in a Drama Series | Severance | ||
| 2023 | Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series | |||
| 2025 | Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series | |||
| 2016 | Best First Feature | Other People | ||
| 2022 | Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series | Severance | ||
| 2023 | Best Actor in a Cable Series, Comedy | Party Down | ||
| Best Comedy Cable Series | ||||
| 2025 | Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | The Studio | ||
| Best Drama Series | Severance | |||
| Best Cast Ensemble in a Drama Series | ||||
| Best Actor in a Drama Series | ||||
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Severance (episode: "Good News About Hell") | |||
| 2025 | Outstanding Drama Series | Severance (season two) | ||
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Severance (episode: "Cold Harbor") | |||
| 2022 | Severance (season one) | |||
| Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | ||||
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