Scoot McNairy

Biography

American actor Scoot McNary appeared in dozens of high-profile films and TV shows, including the Oscar-winning movies "12 Years a Slave" and "Argo," as well as the critically-acclaimed Netflix western series "Godless" (Netflix, 2017). Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, McNairy (who was given the nickname "Scoot" as a child because he'd scoot around a lot on his behind) began acting at a very young age. 

He appeared in plays in local theater companies throughout his hometown and dreamt of one day making a living as a film and television actor. His dream stayed with him throughout his teens, and after moving to Austin in his early 20s, McNairy nabbed his first acting role in the film "Wrong Numbers" (2001). Being on a film set for the first time was an incredibly inspiring experience for McNairy, and shortly after he moved to Los Angeles to study cinematography at film school. 

He dropped out after a year, however, after deciding that his true motivation was to act. While pursuing a career in acting, McNairy took whatever odd jobs he could find, including extra work and building movie sets. He began landing work in the early 2000s with parts in films like "Wonderland" (2003), "Herbie Fully Loaded" (2005), and "Art School Confidential" (2006). He continued working steadily throughout the decade. 

By the early 2010s, McNairy began appearing in prestige films like "Argo," "12 Years a Slave," and "Gone Girl" (2014) - all three of which either won an Oscar or were nominated for an Academy Award. Then in 2014, McNairy landed the role of Gordon Clark on the AMC series "Halt and Catch Fire" (AMC, 2014-17). 

He appeared in all 40 episodes of the acclaimed series, which only raised McNairy's acting profile. After his part on "Halt and Catch Fire" ended, McNairy continued making a name for himself on television. In addition to nabbing roles in "Godless" and the third season of "True Detective" (HBO, 2014- ), he also narrated the Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico" (Netflix, 2018- ). 

That series, which served as a companion show to the hugely popular historical drama "Narcos" (Netflix, 2015-17), premiered on the streaming service in November of 2018. Between seasons, McNairy appeared in a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" (2019).