Adam Scott: Jerk of My Dreams

 Not to be confused with the hunky golfer of the same name, Adam Scott is a character actor who has appeared in several movies and TV shows including Knocked Up, Leap Year, and The Aviator.  Scott is most frequently cast playing characters who aren't very nice guys.  Probably because Scott excels at playing hilariously smarmy characters like the coked-up baseball agent Pat Anderson on the TV series Eastbound and Down.  Scott is perhaps best known for his performance in Step Brothers, where he plays Will Ferrell's biological brother Derek.  Derek is annoyingly perfect in every way, but strangely hostile towards his screw-up brother Brennen (Ferrell).  One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Derek and his family sing along to "Sweet Child O' Mine" while driving in their car; there is a YouTube sensation of people re-enacting this scene.

In spite of his propensity for playing jerks, I actually like Scott the best when he is playing straight man roles.  My favorite performance of his is as Henry Pollard from the TV series Party Down.  Henry is an out-of-work actor forced to get a job as bartender with a catering firm.  Like many real life actors, Henry first gained notoriety from a beer commercial, but unfortunately that role didn't lead to much else.  Much to Henry's chagrin, party guests often force him to say his catchphrase from the commercial, "Are we having fun yet?"  Henry and his coworker Casey (Lizzy Caplan) have one of most realistic romances on television, like a less idealistic Jim and Pam before they settled down into smug coupledom.  Recently, Scott has appeared on NBC's Parks and Recreation playing a state auditor named Ben Wyatt sent to Pawnee to deal with the budget crisis in the department.  Scott is signed on to be in more episodes of the show, and I for one couldn't be happier.  Ben seems poised as a love interest for the Parks department deputy director Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), and he's the most exciting prospect she's had yet- except, of course, for her soul mate Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman).  Scott is also appearing in meta-horror film Piranha 3-D out in theaters this summer. 

Watch Adam Scott in one of the DVDs available through the library:

Party Down (2010)*.
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The Vicious Kind (2010).
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Leap Year (2010).
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Eastbound and Down (Season 1, Episode 6) (2009)*.
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The Great Buck Howard (2009).  
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Step Brothers (2008)*. 
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Knocked Up (2007)*. 
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The Return (2006).
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The Matador (2006).  
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Monster-in-Law (2005).  
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Veronica Mars (Episode: "Mars vs. Mars", Season 1, Episode 14) (2005)*. 
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The Aviator (2005).
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*Highly Recommended.