Born
John Marcus McNairy
Occupation(s)
Actor, film producer
Years active
2001–present
Spouse
(m. 2010; div. 2019)Children
2
John Marcus "Scoot" McNairy[1] (born November 11, 1977[1]) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles in Monsters, Argo, Killing Them Softly, 12 Years a Slave, Gone Girl, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[2] In television, he starred in the AMC period drama Halt and Catch Fire, True Detective, Narcos: Mexico, and the Netflix western miniseries Godless.
McNairy was born on November 11, 1977, in Dallas, Texas, to Alicia Ann McNairy (née Merchant) and Stewart Hall McNairy.[1] In addition to a house in Dallas, the family had a ranch in rural Paris, Texas, where they spent time on weekends and holidays.[3][4] Growing up, he did theater in after-school programs.[2] His father began calling him Scooter when he was about two years old. "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", says McNairy.[5]
McNairy has stated that he is "highly dyslexic" and that he had to "go to dyslexia school for four years." He describes himself as a visual learner and was attracted to films for that reason.[6] McNairy attended Lake Highlands High School.[7]
McNairy moved to Austin, Texas, when he was 18 to attend the University of Texas at Austin.[8] In 2001 he appeared in Wrong Numbers, written and directed by Alex Holdridge, which won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival.[4] Holdridge was hired to remake Wrong Numbers into a studio picture, which was never made.[5] Interested in cinematography and photography, McNairy moved to Los Angeles to go to film school.[4] He attended for a year,[9] then dropped out and began working in film production, doing carpentry and building film sets. He then worked as an extra before eventually securing a consistent job in more than 200 TV commercials. He eventually was offered roles in feature films, a career he has been pursuing since 2001.[2][10]
During the early 2000s, McNairy portrayed colorful and individualistic young men with a rebellious edge. He had small parts in films, including Wonderland, Herbie: Fully Loaded, and Art School Confidential. 2010 saw the release of the alien invader film MonstersbyGareth Edwards, in which McNairy starred and featured largely improvised dialogue and was shot in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Texas.[11][12][13]
In 2012, McNairy played Frankie in director Andrew Dominik's film Killing Them Softly opposite Brad Pitt.[14] This led to a string of high-profile roles, including Ben Affleck's Argo,[3] Gus Van Sant's Promised Land, and Lynn Shelton's Touchy Feely opposite Rosemarie DeWitt.[15] For his role as Joe Stafford in Argo, he studied Persian, which he spoke in his final monologue in the film.[16] In 2013, he appeared in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, which again included Pitt. McNairy filmed his second movie with Michael Fassbender, Leonard Abrahamson's Frank, and co-starred in Jaume Collet-Serra's Non-Stop, opposite Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore.[16]
He appears in David Michod's The Rover opposite Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce. McNairy starred as computer engineer and internet pioneer Gordon Clark in the AMC Network drama Halt and Catch Fire, about the personal computer business in the 1980s and 1990s.[17][18] The series ran for four seasons from 2014–2017 to high critical acclaim.[19] By coincidence, his character's wife in Halt and Catch Fire is portrayed by actor Kerry Bishé, who also played his spouse in Argo. McNairy played Wallace Keefe in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[20] In September 2016, McNairy was announced as a cast member in the third season of the FX drama Fargo.[21]
In 2017, McNairy played crime boss Novak in the crime drama Sleepless and returned to television when he co-starred in the Netflix western-miniseries Godless as shortsighted sheriff Bill McNue. Since 2018, he has also portrayed DEA Agent Walt Breslin on Netflix's Narcos: Mexico. He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of troubled father Tom Purcell in the third season of True Detective in 2019.[22]
McNairy next appeared in Taurus, alongside Machine Gun Kelly (who also co-wrote the script) and Megan Fox, which premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.[23] He also reunited with Andrew Dominik in the 2022 film Blonde, an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates's historical fiction novel that chronicles the inner life of Marilyn Monroe. In 2022, McNairy also starred in the Netflix mystery film Luckiest Girl Alive and the live-action/animated hybrid musical comedy Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.[24] Additionally, he voiced a character in AMC's animated series Pantheon.[25]
As of July 2022, McNairy is filming the drama The Line.[26] He will star in the film Fairyland, which concluded production in June 2022. In February 2022, it was announced that McNairy would star alongside Michael Shannon, Emilia Clarke and Dane DeHaan in an upcoming Joseph McCarthy biopic.[27] In May 2022, he reportedly joined Jack Reynor and Emily Browning in psychological thriller Brightwater.[28] That same month, McNairy was announced as part of the cast for Blood for Dust, an action thriller, also including Kit Harington and Josh Lucas.[29] A month later, McNairy also joined Amy AdamsinMarielle Heller's Nightbitch.[30] Filming is set to start in September 2022. As of July 2023, McNairy is set to be in the upcoming third season of the Amazon Prime series 'Invincible'.
McNairy worked as producer for 2007's In Search of a Midnight Kiss, in which he also starred and which is referred to as his breakout film.[31][32] He has worked on a number of other projects as an actor and producer, including 2012's A Night in the Woods; and Angry White Man, Dragon Day, and The Off Hours, all released in 2011.[15]
McNairy married actress Whitney Able in 2010. They initially started dating in Los Angeles about six months before co-starring in Monsters.[34] They have two children.[35] On November 19, 2019, Able announced that they had divorced.[36] McNairy and Sosie Bacon (Kevin Bacon's daughter) have been dating since 2021 after meeting during filming Narcos together.
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2001
Wrong Numbers
Russell
2002
Plugged In
Raver Kid #1
Short film
2003
Sexless
Ryan
Jack
Silenced
Friend #1
Short film
2004
Stoner
White Men in Seminole Flats
Dale
Short film
DJ at Club
2005
Augie
2006
Marcus
Charles
Army-Jacket
Beatnik
The Shadow Effect
Harold Grey
Short film
Dan
2007
Wilson
Also producer
Blind Man
Sparky Collins
2008
Wednesday Again
Peter
2009
Shipping and Receiving
Steve Porter
Short film
Cop Out
Mike Singbush
The Resurrection of Officer Rollins
Shooter
Mr. Sadman
Stevie
2010
Wreckage
Frank Jeffries
Everything Will Happen Before You Die
Matt
Andrew Kaulder
Wes and Ella
Wes
2011
Amor Fati
Teddy
Short film
Corey
Brody Cartwright
Angry White Man
Walt
2012
Frankie
Joe Stafford
Jeff Dennon
2013
Jesse
Dragon Day
Phil
Merrill Brown
2014
Tom Bowen
Jackson Norriss
Short film
Henry
Don
Tommy
Daniels
Mark DeFriest (voice)
Documentary
2015
Jesse
Rich
2016
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Wallace Keefe
2017
Rob Novak
Jacob "Jake" Bonanos
Sean Cullen
2018
The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter
Greg
Ethan
2019
Ronnie
2020
Marina Man
Cameo
2021
Paul
2022
Ray
Tommy "Tom" Ewell / Richard Sherman
Andrew Larson
Mr. Primm
2023
Steve Abbott
Cliff
2024
Ben Dalton
Post-production
Post-production
2025
Filming
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2004
Henry
Episode: "My Best Friend Is a Big Fat Slut"
2005
Trevor
Episode: "All Alone"
T.J.
Episode: "Meth Murders"
2006
More, Patience
Jake
Television film
Panache
Television film
Dean Thomas Stilton
Episodes: "Eyebrow Girl vs. Smirk Face", "The Hot One"
2007
Fast Food Worker
Episode: "Something Blue"
2007–2011
Noel Liftin
Episodes: "The Secret in the Soil", "The Man in the Outhouse", "The Daredevil in the Mold"
2008
Murder 101: New Age
Panache
Television film
Doug Obermyer
Episode: "Snitch"
Bed Bug
Episode: "Quit Your Snitchin'"
Rudy Callistro
Episode: "Surge"
2009
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Vitas Long
Episode: "Lover's Lanes"
2011
Larry Thompson
Episode: "Lost in Translation"
2013–2015
Scoot / Sun Thief (voice)
3 episodes
2014–2017
Gordon Clark
Main role (40 episodes)
2017
Maurice LeFay
2 episodes
Bill McNue
Miniseries (7 episodes)
2018–2021
D.E.A Special Agent Walt Breslin
20 episodes
2019
Tom Purcell
Season 3 (8 episodes)
2020
Bradley Field
2 episodes
Miniseries (2 episodes)
2022–2023
Cody Lowell, Kurt (voice)
9 episodes
2023
King Lizard (voice)
Season 2 [37]
Producer
Year
Title
Notes
2007
2012
Please, Alfonso
Short film
2013
2014
Association
Year
Category
Work
Result
Ref(s)
Nominated
2013
Breakthrough Award
Argo, Killing Them Softly and Promised Land
Nominated
Best Ensemble
Nominated
2014
Best Ensemble
Nominated
2012
Variety's Ten Actors to Watch
Won
2012
Ensemble of the Year
Won
Won
Nominated
2012
Ensemble Cast Award
Won
Best Performance by an Ensemble
Nominated
Best Performance by an Ensemble
Nominated
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Won
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated
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International
National
Artists
Other