Scott's first film appearance was in the 1987 movie
Five Corners, as a policeman. In 1990, Scott played a lead role in the ground-breaking film
Longtime Companion, which chronicles the early years of the AIDS/HIV epidemic and its impact upon a group of American friends. In the following year he appeared briefly in
Kenneth Branagh-directed,
Dead Again, and co-starred in the movie
Dying Young (in which his mother also appeared) alongside
Julia Roberts. He also appeared in the 1992
Cameron Crowe movie
Singles alongside
Bridget Fonda and
Kyra Sedgwick, and in 1996, he teamed up with
Stanley Tucci to direct the film
Big Night. The film met with critical acclaim and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the
Sundance Film Festival. For their work, Scott and Tucci won both the
New York Film Critics Circle Award and the
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best New Director. Scott starred in
Six Degrees on
ABC in 2006. In 2004, he starred alongside
Adam Butcher, in
Saint Ralph. In 2005–2006, Scott served as the reader for the audiobook versions of
Stephen King's bestsellers
The Shining and
Cell, and for
Ernest Hemingway's
For Whom the Bell Tolls. In 2007, Scott lent his voice for the narration of a
Chevron Corporation television ad, as well as the
Iraq War documentary film,
No End in Sight. He also appeared in the romantic comedy
Music and Lyrics, starring
Hugh Grant and
Drew Barrymore. Next up for Scott was the 2009 drama
Handsome Harry. Scott also had a recurring role on the USA drama
Royal Pains, as Boris Kuester von Jurgens-Ratenicz. From 2009 to 2010, Scott had a recurring role in the third season of
Damages, playing Joe Tobin, the son of indicted
Bernie Madoff-like Louis Tobin (
Len Cariou). In 2010, Scott provided the voice-over for a new
Häagen-Dazs TV commercial called "Ode to Flavor". The ad was created by
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, directed by Noah Marshall with art direction by Croix Gagnon. He played the role of
Richard Parker, the father of
Peter Parker, in the 2012 film
The Amazing Spider-Man. Scott reprised his role in the 2014 film
The Amazing Spider-Man 2. From 2015 to 2016, Scott appeared as Lloyd Dallas in the Broadway revival of
Noises Off. In 2017, he collaborated with Dutch DJ and producer
Ferry Corsten on
Blueprint, an album combining
Trance music and science fiction, in which he can be heard as the story's narrator. In 2019 Scott portrayed the lead role of
Ebenezer Scrooge in a Broadway adaptation of
Charles Dickens's
A Christmas Carol written by
Jack Thorne and directed by
Matthew Warchus. Scott plays
Dr. Lewis Dodgson (replacing
Cameron Thor) in
Jurassic World Dominion (2022), the sixth film in the
Jurassic Park franchise. ==Personal life==