Scott began his acting career in national theatre, television, and puppet shows. He appeared in his first role on the television series
Soldier Soldier and made his film debut in
Twin Town. His first major film roles were as Prince Henry in
Ever After and the hero in
the film adaptation of the
Robert Harris novel
Enigma. He played the villain in
Mission: Impossible 2 (and was selected to do so by
Tom Cruise). He was cast to play
Wolverine in the feature film version of
X-Men, but
Mission: Impossible 2 went over schedule, and he was injured in a motorbike accident while shooting the chase scene. He was forced to drop out of the project and was replaced by
Hugh Jackman in
X-Men. After the 2002 release of
Die Another Day, Scott was a candidate to replace
Pierce Brosnan as
James Bond. Despite the numerous reports that
Eon Productions was leaning towards naming Scott as the new Bond in the 007 adventure
Casino Royale, the role eventually went to
Daniel Craig. In January 2006, he appeared in the miniseries
The Ten Commandments as
Moses. He also appeared in the
NBC series
Heist, which aired in March 2006 for five episodes. From 2006 until 2007, he starred in the third season of
Desperate Housewives as
Teri Hatcher's character's new love interest. In 2007, he played the primary antagonist in the film
Hitman, based on the
Hitman video games. He appeared in the title role(s) of a modern re-telling of
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In May 2009, it was announced that he was to play ex-con Michael O' Connor in the new
RTÉ-
ITV drama
Father & Son. Scott starred in
The Day of the Triffids. The drama was broadcast in December 2009 as part of the
BBC One Christmas schedule. In 2011, Scott featured in the film ''
Love's Kitchen alongside his wife Claire Forlani. In April 2011, Scott portrayed football manager Matt Busby in the BBC TV drama United, which was centred on the Munich air disaster of 1958, in which Busby was badly injured but survived. In 2013, he guest starred as para-psychological researcher/ghost hunter Alec Palmer in the Doctor Who episode "Hide". In 2014, Scott portrayed the main villain in Taken 3''. In March 2016, Scott became the voice of Orby in adverts for the oil and gas company
BP. In April 2016, Scott appeared in the second season of
Fear the Walking Dead as Thomas Abigail,
Victor Strand's business partner and lover. In 2019, Scott joined the CW series
Batwoman as
Jacob Kane, the title character's father, set in the
Arrowverse. He left the series during its second season. He appeared on the show
Crime, for which he received a
BAFTA and an International Emmy. In 2025, Scott played in the
Netflix movie
Exterritorial his first German-speaking role alongside
Jeanne Goursaud. ==Personal life==