Articles
Full Speed Ahead (Soap Opera Digest / 13 June 2000)
First, Felicity's Scott Speedman (Ben) stole Keri Russell's heart. Now he's got Gyneth Paltrow in the palm of his hand - or at least in his taxi.
Just the Facts:
Full name: Robert Scott Speedman
Birthdate: Sept. 1.
Favorite actor: Paul Newman
Teen Idol: Angus Young from AC/DC
International blend: His parents are from Scotland, was born in London, raised in Toronto.
Anti-electronics: Since moving to Los Angeles has refused to get a fax machine, computer or cell phone.
"It's not overwhelming at all." Insists 24-year-old Scott Speedman. Maybe that's because despite being labeled one of Hollywood's hot up-and-comers, the Canadian-bred Speedman eschews the wild, high-profile Los Angeles lifestyle. Though he and co-star Keri Russell are reportedly an item. Neither actor will discuss the romance. And you won't find them out on the town. "Big parties make me laugh because my life really is not like that," shrugs Speedman. "It's not crazy, I don't get followed around. It's really quite simple."
Grunberg and Speedman: "We have crazy fun," laugh castmate Greg Grunberg (Sean) "We just goof off all the time. And we improvise. He doesn't know what I'm going to do. And I don't know what he's going to do. At the end of a scene, we'll try to one-up the other. Trying to throw the other off. It keeps it fresh."
"He's always running around the set," laughs series creator/executive producer J.J. Abrams. "You call 'ACTION' and he's not there. You have to yell 'SPEEDY! SPEEDY!' He comes running over. He's always running."
Speedman admits to being "pretty nervous about filming Duets. But he didn't have the time to let it consume him. "I was doing Felicity at the same time so I didn't have a lot of time to think about it. I just went and did it. Everyone was really accepting of me."
On working with Gwyneth Paltrow: "She was great," he gushes. "She is really a good actress. The first time I worked with her I could tell she was right there moment to moment and I really liked that." Felicity is growing on him too. "We started out kind of slow," he admits. "We had some good ideas but didn't commit to them. But the last couple of shows have been really good!"