The 20 best Adam Scott movies and TV shows, ranked
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Few actors in Hollywood have mastered the art of deadpan delivery quite like Adam Scott. Equally adept at comedy and drama, he first arrived on screens in the '90s and early aughts in guest-starring roles on shows like Boy Meets World, Party of Five, and Six Feet Under. The quintessential everyman, he's since built a long career by playing a variety of love interests, lovable nerds, and love-to-hate-them creeps.
After gaining a loyal fanbase with the short-lived Starz comedy Party Down, Scott rose to even greater prominence when he joined the cast of Parks and Recreation in 2010, cementing his bona fides as a romantic lead. (And for the record, the NBC sitcom was not responsible for the catering comedy's season 2 cancellation.) With the recent successes of Big Little Lies and Severance, Scott has shown he can hit dramatic beats as well as punchlines, earning Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations in the process.
Party Down recently returned for a third season over a decade after its initial run, and with a second season of Severance on the way, Scott's profile has never been higher. Below, EW takes a look back at the actor's best movies and TV shows. See where each of your favorites ranks.
20. <i>Sleeping With Other People</i> (2015)
In Sleeping With Other People, Lainey (Alison Brie) and Jake (Jason Sudeikis) lose their virginity to each other in college after she is rejected by her T.A., Matthew (Scott). Flash-forward a few years and the pair is unexpectedly reunited when they run into each other in a sex addict support group. The duo forms a platonic friendship, and Lainey tries to extricate herself from the long-term affair she has been in with Matthew, with whom she is still infatuated. The buttoned-up, emotionally manipulative Matthew feels like the kind of guy you would beg your friend to get away from, and Scott excels in this reversal of his usual rom-com roles, delivering a cold, villainous performance in an otherwise lighthearted flick.
19. <i>Drunk History</i> (2013-2019)
Hosted by actor and comedian Derek Waters, Drunk History is a six-season boozy retelling of world history in which guest narrators get inebriated and recount important facts about our collective past. Each story is then re-enacted word for drunken word by a group of famous guest stars, resulting in some outrageously funny renditions.
The inaugural episode featured Scott in the role of presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth, gamely lip-syncing the slurred words of the very sloshed storyteller, Allan McLeod. Using only his talent for physical comedy, he brings the tale to life, creating one of the series' most memorable vignettes, and proving that, as EW said, he is one of a select company of actors "uniquely qualified to be vessels for blitzed bards."
18. <i>Burning Love</i> (2012-2013)
Written and created by Erica Oyama, and co-produced, directed, and starring her husband — and Scott's Party Down costar — Ken Marino, this parody of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette will delight anyone who's ever watched a single rose ceremony. Featuring a stacked cast of stars like June Diane Raphael, Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Brody, Kristen Bell, Ken Jeong, Michael Ian Black, and Jennifer Aniston, it's a delight to see these actors throw themselves into the absurd scenarios reminiscent of actual reality TV dating shows.
Scott plays Damien Assante, an unlicensed therapist turned contestant who's hired in season 1 to help Marino's firefighter Mark Orlando navigate his feelings, but then returns for season 2 to compete for the heart of bachelorette Julie Gristlewhite (Raphael). A send-up of reality TV life coaches, Damien is terrible at his job and doles out nonsensical advice while double-booking clients. Scott's gift for playing ridiculous characters totally straight is in full effect, making this mental health unprofessional one of his most cartoonishly fun roles.
17. <i>Piranha 3D</i> (2010)
A gory, gratuitous camp fest, Piranha 3D was never going to win any major awards, but what it lacks in sophisticated plot and characters, it makes up for by being a killer good time. Helmed by horror director Alexandre Aja and starring Elisabeth Shue, Piranha is a Jaws-inspired creature feature about man-eating fish terrorizing a spring break resort town.
As seismologist Novak Radzinsky, Scott plays the Richard Dreyfuss-esque scientist who explains stuff (Dreyfuss himself makes a cameo) and is an active participant in the mayhem. The actor's trademark dry wit syncs perfectly with the film's winking tone, but Piranha gives him the chance to do more than toss out sharp line deliveries. He dives into danger, rides jet skis, blows up schools of aquatic monsters, and gets to be an action hero in the process.
16. <i>Bachelorette</i> (2012)
Bachelorette is an underrated Bridesmaids-meets-The Hangover 2012 comedy from Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland. Frenemies Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Jenna (Lizzy Caplan), and Katie (Isla Fisher) arrive in L.A. for the nuptials of bride-to-be Becky (Bridesmaids alum Rebel Wilson), with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Drugs, strippers, and shenanigans ensue, turning the simple pre-wedding tradition into a wedding day nightmare, and forcing each of them to wrestle with ghosts from their collective pasts.
One such ghost comes in the form of Adam Scott as Clyde, Jenna's former high school paramour. The actor reunites with Party Down love interest Caplan and delivers a romantic and raunchy wedding toast that subverts the cliché public declarations of love found in most rom-coms. Fans of their easy, natural chemistry will want to take a trip down the aisle with this wicked comedy.
15. <i>Little Evil</i> (2017)
Little Evil, written and directed by Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil), is a Netflix film that begs the question: What if The Omen was funny? When Gary (Adam Scott) marries the woman of his dreams, Samantha (Evangeline Lilly), he prepares to settle into a life of wedded bliss. But as he takes on his new role of stepfather to her 6-year-old son Lucas (Owen Atlas), he begins to suspect that the problem child may literally be the son of Satan. Scott brings real feelings of parental anxiety to Gary's plight, deftly balancing the movie's dueling horror-comedy tones.
14. <i>Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later</i> (2017)
A sequel series to the 2001 movie Wet Hot American Summer and the 2015 prequel show Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, this 1991-set eight-episode Netflix production is a parody of classic reunion films like The Big Chill. Despite flopping at the box office, the original film went on to gain a loyal cult following, thanks in part to its cast of now-famous actors like Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd, Janeane Garofalo, and Christopher Meloni. While the entire original troupe returned for the prequel, Cooper was unable to reprise his role for the sequel series. Enter: Adam Scott.
In a moment EW called "one of the highlights" of Ten Years Later, Scott is revealed as a post-nose job version of Cooper's formerly closeted counselor, Ben. Despite the face swap, he effortlessly slips into this iconic cast populated with a handful of former costars from other projects, including Ken Marino and Michael Ian Black. His wild The Hand that Rocks the Cradle-inspired storyline, featuring a delightfully deranged turn by Alyssa Milano, makes this a reunion worth attending.
13. <i>Krampus</i> (2015)
When young Max Engel (Emjay Anthony) loses his Christmas spirit thanks to his dysfunctional family, he scatters his letter to Santa in the wind and accidentally summons the demonic Krampus. A creature from European folklore, this evil inverse of Santa terrorizes Max and his clan as punishment for their lack of Yuletide cheer. Tom, Scott's workaholic family patriarch, tries to save his family from his awful in-laws, as well as anti-Claus and his horrible little elves, in this holiday chiller that sees him take on a darker horror role with ease.
12. <i>The Greatest Event in Television History</i> (2012)
The Greatest Event in Television History is a series of four short mockumentaries, each hosted by Survivor's Jeff Probst, where Scott and a collection of guest stars attempt to make shot-for-shot re-creations of famous '80s TV show opening credits. Co-created with his wife and producing partner, Naomi Scott, the Adult Swim specials chronicle the fake behind-the-scenes drama, followed by an airing of the actual theme songs themselves.
In each installment, Scott plays… "ex-smoker Adam Scott," or at least a version of himself who can't quite get the respect he deserves as he struggles to make his troubled — and ludicrously expensive dream projects — succeed. The Greatest Event in Television History is a silly good time where the actor proves he's just as good at laughing at himself as he is at making us laugh at him.
11. <i>A.C.O.D.</i> (2013)
An "adult child of divorce," or A.C.O.D., Carter Spencer (Scott) has spent his entire life dealing with the emotional fallout from the nasty end of his parents' (Catherine O'Hara and Richard Jenkins) marriage. When his brother, Trey (Clark Duke), announces he's getting married, it forces Carter to confront all the trauma he's suppressed with the help of a therapist (Jane Lynch) who once wrote a book on the subject.
As EW's critic wrote in his review, "Adam Scott has a controlled, almost overly impeccable charisma. Handsome, with small precise facial features, he has a witty, hiply downcast delivery that, on screen, can make him seem like a unit unto himself. As caustically funny and winning as he is, there's something almost preternaturally detached about him, which is why he's so ideally cast."
10. <i>Eastbound & Down</i> (2009-2013)
The four-season HBO sports comedy Eastbound & Down follows the attempted comeback of former Major League Baseball player Kenny Powers (Danny McBride), who, through his own self-described "jerkiness," was ejected from the ranks. When the series begins, he's a substitute phys-ed teacher at his hometown middle school, desperate for one more shot at the big time.
In season 1, his salvation seemingly comes in the form of a foul-mouthed "assistant to the assistant" general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays named Pat Anderson (Adam Scott). An amphetamine-fueled hotshot with no actual authority, Anderson leads Powers down a path of self-destruction. His recurring two-season stint as the unscrupulous wannabe manager is another strong entry on Scott's list of delightful dirtbags, and we can "100% percent motherf---ing honestly say" he's downright hilarious.
9. <i>The Good Place</i> (2016-2020)
An after-life sitcom following the misadventures of a group of flawed people on the other side, The Good Place — created by Parks and Rec's Michael Schur — ran for four heavenly seasons on NBC. Headlined by Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, this ensemble comedy used punchlines to ask deep questions about philosophy and what we owe to each other — but it was also really forking funny. Any story about such heady topics as the nature of good also needs its counterbalance of evil, and Scott's demonic antagonist, Trevor, filled those hooves with malicious glee. Caustic, misogynistic, and truly just the worst, Trevor is Pat Anderson dialed up to 100.
8. <i>Friends With Kids</i> (2011)
Single best friends Jason (Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) can't help but notice the negative effect that parenting kids has had on their coupled friends Leslie (Maya Rudolph) and Alex (Chris O'Dowd), and Missy (Kristen Wiig) and Ben (Jon Hamm). Lamenting how much better it would be to have the kid first then find a partner later, the platonic duo decides to have one together before it's too late. The arrangement works well at first, but as time goes by, they begin to wrestle with whether it's possible to remain strictly BFFs.
Writer-director-star Westfeldt provides a witty script that adds a child-rearing twist to the "can the opposite sex truly be friends" sector of romantic comedy. In her 2011 EW review, Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, "The observations about parenthood, pro and con, are quick and smart, and Scott effortlessly steals the show."
7. <i>The Overnight</i> (2015)
Emily (Taylor Schilling) and Alex (Adam Scott) have recently arrived in Los Angeles from Seattle with their young son, RJ (RJ Hermes), in tow. They meet an overly friendly couple (Jason Schwartzman and Judith Godrèche) in the park, and eager to make adult friends, arrange a playdate that evening between their sons. When the wine flows and the kids go to bed, however, the night turns into a wild playdate of a different kind between the grown-ups.
The Overnight is a tense and surprisingly sensitive comedy about desire and intimacy, one that allows Scott to play with themes of insecurity and sexual repression to full effect.
6. <i>The Vicious Kind</i> (2009)
In this dysfunctional family drama produced by Neil LaBute, Adam Scott plays Caleb, a sleep-deprived construction worker who has been estranged from his father, Donald (J.K. Simmons), for eight years following the death of his mother. When he picks up his younger brother, Peter (Alex Frost), and his new girlfriend, Emma (Brittany Snow), for the Thanksgiving holiday, the tension begins to boil over as Caleb struggles with the uncanny resemblance she has to his unfaithful ex-girlfriend, Hannah (Jordan Berkow).
The actor gets to channel the viciousness of the title in ways he hasn't in other work, giving life to a complicated, unlikable protagonist full of contradictory emotions and pain. He deftly navigates the nuances of director Lee Toland Krieger's script, giving a performance that earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor.
5. <i>Step Brothers</i> (2008)
Starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, and directed by Adam McKay, Step Brothers is the story of two grown men (Brennan and Dale) who still live with their single parents and are forced to share a bedroom when said parents get married. The pair of middle-aged man-children initially torment each other, but soon are both tortured in kind by Brennan's younger jerk of a brother, Derek (Scott), a helicopter leasing agent "with amusing Tom Cruise mannerisms."
Scott's performance is enjoyably smarmy, simultaneously eliciting laughter and the desire to see him punched square in the face. It takes considerable skill to be so obnoxious that the audience finds themselves rooting for the immature knuckleheads at the center of the film, but Scott expertly pulls it off. His toxic perfectionism is on full comic display when he forces his emotionally checked-out wife, Alice (Kathryn Hahn), and two kids to participate in an a capella rendition of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O'Mine." Rarely has a heel been this funny.
4. <i>Big Little Lies</i> (2017-2019)
A twisty murder mystery from writer David E. Kelley, and based on the book by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies was a zeitgeist-grabbing hit for HBO when it premiered in 2017. Over its two seasons, the "Monterey Five" — Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Madeleine (Reese Witherspoon), Renata (Laura Dern), Jane (Shailene Woodley), and Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz) — find their idyllic lives suddenly entangled in a homicide investigation in their wealthy beachside community.
Madeleine's husband — the self-proclaimed "Steady Eddie" and Wife Guy whose façade of niceness may be a cover for something more sinister — is one of Scott's most layered performances. He vacillates between Ed's agreeable and vindictive sides but never makes them feel like separate people; they are all different sides of the same husband and father who pretends his marriage is a happy one.
3. <i>Parks & Recreation</i> (2009-2015)
Following the comedic trials and tribulations of love, life, and politics through the lens of a fictional small-town bureaucracy, Parks and Recreation initially started out as The Office at a playground. But as the series progresses, the tight-knit group of Pawnee, Ind., friends and co-workers find a voice of their own thanks in part to the season 2 arrival of Rob Lowe's eternal optimist Chris Traeger and his colleague, Adam Scott's nerdy, calzone-loving auditor Ben Wyatt.
Ben was an instant hit with audiences, and Scott officially joined the cast as a series regular for season 3 and beyond, remaining with the show for the rest of its seven-season run on NBC. As the former reckless (and impeached) teenage mayor of Partridge, Minn., the now cautious, by-the-book Ben is the perfect romantic foil for Amy Poehler's overly enthusiastic Leslie Knope. Scott's natural everyman appeal brings a much-needed straight man to the sitcom's heightened world, and when he deploys his sharp comedic skills — like during his season 4 unemployment meltdown — he brings on the belly laughs. Parks and Rec proved that Scott is a bona fide romantic lead, and brought him a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.
2. <i>Severance</i> (2022-present)
In Apple TV+'s stylish sci-fi thriller Severance, Adam Scott plays Mark S., an employee of Lumon Industries, a corporation that takes the concept of work-life balance a step too far. Each employee undergoes a surgery called "severance," in which their personal memories are separated from their office ones via a brain implant. Struggling with the recent loss of his wife, being severed from his outside life for eight hours a day is a welcome relief. But things at the mysterious corporation are not all they're cracked up to be, and his bifurcated world begins to slowly unravel.
In her review, EW critic Kristin Baldwin praised Scott's Emmy-nominated performance, writing, "With his deadpan mien and dark eyes that shift fluidly between blank and befuddled, Scott is a superb fit for Severance's central everyman. Outside of Lumon, Mark is sardonic, reserved, and drink-himself-to-sleep depressed; at work, a gentle sadness thrums beneath his veneer of pleasant politeness."
1. <i>Party Down</i> (2009-2010 & 2023)
This cult Starz sitcom tells the age-old tale of Hollywood wannabes who find themselves toiling for tips in the service industry — in this case, as a troupe of cater waiters shuffling from gig to gig. Each event the staff works at forces them to endure a menagerie of difficult, quirky, and eccentric guests (and guest stars). Originally airing for two seasons in 2009 and 2010, the once-canceled comedy returned for a long-awaited third season 13 years later in 2023.
Starring as Henry Pollard, a struggling actor famous for uttering the line "Are we having fun yet?" in a popular beer commercial, Adam Scott is the comedy's underachieving anchor. Burnt out and trying to survive each workday, he brings the perfect level of "over it" almost everyone has felt at one time or another in a job they hate but desperately need. As EW's wrote in its review of the third season, on Party Down, "Scott announced himself as a TV star… playing bitter irrelevance with low-key romantic charm."
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