John Marcus "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor and film producer known for roles in Argo (2012), Killing Them Softly (2012), Promised Land (2012), Monsters (2010), and In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007).
Early life
McNairy was born in Dallas, Texas, to Alicia Ann McNairy (née Merchant) and Stewart Hall McNairy. McNairy has an older brother. Although he grew up in Dallas, he spent holidays and weekends on his parents' ranch in rural Paris, Texas.
Growing up, McNairy did theater in after-school programs.
Name
His father began calling him Scooter when he was about two years old. He has commented on his nickname, saying: "A lot of people are like, oh, it must be some amazing story. But it’s because I used to scoot around on my butt."
Career
Actor
McNairy moved to Austin, Texas in his early 20s, and was cast in his first film role, Wrong Numbers (2001), a teen drinking comedy written and directed by friend and frequent collaborator Alex Holdridge. The film won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival. Holdridge was hired to remake Wrong Numbers into a studio picture, but things didn't work out.
McNairy wasn't sure of being an actor: "I thought I wanted to be a wildlife photographer or cinematographer," he says, citing a love for the great outdoors. "So I moved [to LA] to go to film school." After a year of film school working to become a cinematographer, McNairy dropped out and began working in film production (carpentry, building film sets). Then he worked as an extra, until he eventually found steady work starring in over 200 TV commercials. Although initially interested in being behind the camera, he soon found roles as a journeyman actor for over 10 years.
During the early 2000s, McNairy was known for his specialization in portraying colorful and individualistic young men with a slightly rebellious edge. McNairy began with small parts in films, including Wonderland (2003), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), and Art School Confidential (2006).
In 2010, McNairy worked on The Listening Party as Ferret and Everything Will Happen Before You Die as Matt. 2010 also saw the release of the alien invader film by Gareth Edwards called Monsters, which featured largely improvised dialogue and was shot in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Texas.
In 2011, McNairy played Frankie, a scrawny motormouth, in director Andrew Dominik's film Killing Them Softly (2012), playing opposite Brad Pitt. The film is based on the 1974 novel, Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins, re-envisioned to the 2008 election season.
The role led to a successive string of high-profile roles in films, including Ben Affleck's Argo (2012), Gus Van Sant's Promised Land (2012), and Lynn Shelton's Touchy Feely (2013) opposite Rosemarie DeWitt and also stars Ellen Page, Josh Pais, and Allison Janney.
For his role as Joe Stafford in Argo, he studied Farsi, which he spoke in his final monologue in the film.
In 2013, he appeared in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, which again also featured Brad Pitt. McNairy also filmed his second movie with Michael Fassbender, Leonard Abrahamson's Frank, and co-starred in Jaume Collet-Serra's Non-Stop (2014), opposite Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore.
In January 2013, he began filming David Michod's The Rover, opposite Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce, which finished filming March 2013. McNairy is currently starring in the AMC Network drama, Halt and Catch Fire, about the personal computer business in the 1980s.
In June 2014, McNairy was cast in an unknown role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Producer
McNairy said he "started out building sets, and that’s how I met my commercial agent who’s now my theatrical manager and my producing partner, John Pierce. I’ve been with him for seven years. Everybody needs to find their one major cheerleader who will stand behind them on anything, and I definitely found that with John."
He has also been a producer with 2007's In Search of a Midnight Kiss, in which he also starred and which is referred to as his breakout film.
He has also worked on a number of projects as an actor and producer, including: A Night in the Woods as Brody Cartwright due for release in 2012, Angry White Man as Walt, Dragon Day as Phil and The Off Hours as Corey, all released in 2011.
Filmography
Awards
McNairy has had one nomination and one win for In Search of a Midnight Kiss.
Personal life
McNairy has been married to actress Whitney Able since 2010. They started dating about six months before making the film, Monsters, initially meeting in Los Angeles at Able's birthday party.
On moving back to East Texas in 2011, McNairy said, "I live in the middle of nowhere; nobody watches movies out there."
Other work
- In 2006, McNairy appeared in the music video for "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor, directed by McNairy's friend Marc Webb
- Scoot McNairy, "A Verge Short Film Directed by Jeff Vespa"
Notes and references
External links
- Scoot McNairy at the Internet Movie Database
- Scoot McNairy at AllMovie