Recognised for his improv talents, Scott may be viewed by many as a comedic performer (Parks and Rec, The Good Place, and Party Down), but he didn’t start out that way. As an emerging actor, he initially starred in a variety of films as he booked jobs out of necessity. He even auditioned for the sixth Hellraiser film, Hellseeker, hoping that no one would remember that he was in the fourth instalment. Scott only pivoted to comedy at the age of 35, when Dylan McDermott had to drop out as Will Ferrell’s arrogant biological sibling in Step Brothers. The celebrated absurdist comedy is known for being heavily improvised, something that Scott had never done before—he described learning on the job with Ferrell and John C. Reilly as “learning how to do the high jump at the Olympics” on the podcast Big Bro with Kid Cudi. In a film filled with stellar performances, he was a stand-out, and the role led to a comedic career so prolific that he struggled to break away from it.

After auditioning and securing the part of Madeline’s (Reese Witherspoon) husband on Big Little Lies, Scott was proving his dramatic talents on a big stage, but it wasn’t until playing Apple TV’s lead in the hit psychological thriller series Severance that he thoroughly changed his public perception. He was doubtful that he would get the part, but it was a shrewd bit of casting in retrospect. Comedy requires its actors to ground outlandish scenarios in authenticity, a skill that Scott has since applied perfectly to his roles in genre film and television, first in Severance and now in Hokum.