Tom Everett Scott

Thomas Everett "Tom" Scott (not to be confused with the actor Tom Everett) is an American actor best known for his role as Detective Russell Clarke in Southland.

Biography
Scott was born in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, on September 7, 1970. He was the third of four children born to Cynthia and William Joseph Scott. Tom spent his childhood in a "nice house in the woods", with a pond nearby, which he used to go canoeing and camping. He acted in high school plays, but Scott planned to quit acting and take a more serious look at the world. As a result, he enrolled in communications at Syracuse University in 1988. During his sophomore year, he went down to the school theater and saw people acting, which impressed him enough to change his mind about his career. He switched his major to drama, and upon graduating, he moved to New York City. There, he waited tables before landing his first acting role.

His first notable role was as Matthew on the television sitcom Grace Under Fire. He portrayed the titular character's out-of-wedlock son, whom she had placed for adoption. After starring several seasons on the show in a recurring role, Scott acquired the role of Guy Patterson in That Thing You Do!. During auditions, he was almost passed over because of his resemblance to the film's director, actor Tom Hanks, but Hanks's wife, Rita Wilson, encouraged Hanks to cast Scott in the role.

Since then, Scott has had several other notable roles. He was the lead star in the films An American Werewolf in Paris and Dead Man on Campus, and also starred in The Love Letter. He also had a recurring role on the TV series ER and has played numerous minor parts in other films and TV shows. He starred in Saved and as one of Mandy Moore's character's boyfriends in the comedy Because I Said So. In addition, Scott appeared in a Broadway-theatre comedy called The Little Dog Laughed, portraying closeted film star Mitchell Green.

Scott also appeared as Zip in an off-Broadway production of The Country Club, and starred as Jack Cutting on the ABC-produced comedy-drama series Cashmere Mafia. In 2009, he appeared in four episodes of Law & Order, in which he portrayed the fictional Governor of New York, Don Shalvoy. He also portrayed Detective Russell Clarke in all seven episodes of the first season of Southland, which was dropped by NBC and subsequently picked up by TNT. At the start of second season, Scott's character became a recurring character, appearing in three of six episodes. In the third season of the series, he has continued to appear in selected episodes.

In his personal life, he married Jenni Gallagher in 1997 and had two children with her. He and three other college friends eventually founded a theater company that they named aTheaterco.

On Criminal Minds
Scott will portray Greg Sullivan in the Season Ten episode Beyond Borders.

Filmography
For an up-to-date filmography, see here.