Who is Scott Speedman?

The actor does a complete 180 from his Felicity days as Matthew in You Season 3.

you l to r scott speedman as matthew engler and romy rosemont as detective falco in episode 304 of you cr john p fleenornetflix © 2021
(Image credit: JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX)

Season 3 of the Netflix hit You follows Joe Goldberg and his new wife Love to Northern California, as the killer couple settle in to a quiet suburban life in Madre Linda. As they settle into their new neighborhood of tech moguls and lifestyle influencers, things go sour fast. They end up in the crosshairs of their powerful next-door neighbor Matthew (Scott Speedman), a rich tech CEO whose wife Natalie (Michaela McManus) goes missing in the first episode. He becomes consumed with finding the truth, which isn't great for the serial killers next door.

As Matthew, Scott Speedman does a complete 180 from the romantic roles he's known for, including his runs on Felicity and Grey's Anatomy. Here's what we know about the Hollywood vet who's taken on the intense role.

He was a competitive swimmer as a kid.

The 46-year-old actor was born in London and moved to Toronto when he was four. He was a gifted swimmer as a teenager, placing ninth at the 1992 Olympic Trials as a member of the Canadian Junior National Swim Team. After an injury ended his athletic career, he got into acting, and studied at the University of Toronto and York University.

His breakout role was playing Ben in Felicity.

Speedman's best known for playing Ben Covington, the boy Felicity (Keri Russell) followed to the University of New York on the hit teen drama. His other big roles include playing Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the Underworld films, and Barry "Baz" Blackwell in the TNT drama Animal Kingdom.

He started a new run on Grey's Anatomy shortly before You premiered.

Speedman first appeared on the medical drama in 2018, playing Dr. Nick Marsh for one episode in Season 14. Dr. Marsh, a transplant surgeon who had tons of chemistry with series lead Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), made a surprise return as a series regular this year, and he's expected to be Grey's new love interest.

In a Deadline interview about the Season 18 premiere, Speedman said that he was interested returning to Grey's Anatomy in playing another romantic television role, many years after Felicity. "I’ll just say that I think the romantic comedy aspect of things was interesting to me. I knew Ellen could handle that, and I knew I could do that, and that was fun for me. I used to do a show, way back. It kind of reminded me of that, a little bit, and that’s a really nice suit to put back on, in a way, you know? So, I was excited about that."

He just joined Instagram a month ago.

In an interview with Glamour, Speedman revealed that he's a brand new Instagram user. "I come from a generation with a little more mystery, so sharing is very odd to me. But it’s part of this world and it’s been interesting. I enjoy parts of it, but I see the ups and downs of it too. It’s a weird thing that everybody’s so consumed with it," he said.

"I hate that we’re on our phones all the time," he added. "Me and my girlfriend [Lindsay Rae Hofmann] went down to a restaurant the other day without our phones, and it’s crazy how much you actually need them now. Like we had to do the menu thing. So, social media and phones and our reliance on that just drives me crazy."

He's expecting a baby with his girlfriend, Lindsay Rae Hofmann.

Hoffman, the designer behind the swimwear brand Juliet, has documented her pregnancy through gorgeously lit Instagram pic, including several selfies with Speedman. Some of her sweet captions about the actor include, "can’t wait to see you become a papa," and, for a pic where Speedman is cradling her baby bump, "he’s got the whole world in his hands."

He's also a dog dad.

In addition to some beautiful nature posts, Speedman also has several pics and videos of his adorable pup on his Instagram. He only refers to the dog as "the dude," so we don't know the pup's name. We do know that the bond between the actor and the dog is deep, based on a video where Speedman returns home after six weeks and the pup meets him at the door.

He loves big romantic surprises.

When asked about the most romantic thing he's ever done, Speedman told Glamour that he's a fan of huge surprises. "I woke up my girlfriend a couple years ago and said, 'Okay, you have an hour to pack. I’ve rented our house in Hawaii today and we’re leaving in an hour.' Stuff like that, or I’ll just show up and take her to the airport and we’ll go away. I like big surprises like that. There’s this moment of panic, and then it’s kind of fun and exciting. You don’t think too much about it, and then five hours later you’re in Hawaii."

He wanted his You character, Matthew, to channel his inner Joe Goldberg.

Matthew is a menacing character, from Joe and Love's perspective, and he spends most of the season doing shady surveillance stuff, but he does get out alive without becoming a killer. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Speedman said that he wanted the tech CEO to go a bit further off the deep end.

"I was like, 'Let me kill someone, let me do something. Kill somebody. Let me get in there.' But no, not this time. We'll see. We'll see if he ever comes back, who knows?"

He also said that he's down to return for another season, but that he knows that You's not the kind of show where enemies from past seasons pop back up in Joe's new life.

"I don't know if I'm going to be in a beret, following him around to Paris, you know what I mean? I don't think they're going to have me do that. But I mean, yes. It was somewhat open. I made it towards the end. I didn't close that circle with him. It's possible, but I don't know. I think they might have different storylines involved."

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you l to r victoria pedretti as love quinn in episode 303 of you cr john p fleenornetflix © 2021

(Image credit: JOHN P. FLEENOR)

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Quinci LeGardye
Contributing Culture Editor

Quinci LeGardye is a Contributing Culture Editor who covers TV, movies, Korean entertainment, books, and pop culture. When she isn’t writing or checking Twitter, she’s probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car.