1995–2000: Early career Encouraged by a friend to appear on ''
Speaker's Corner'', a viewer open-forum run by
Toronto's
Citytv, Speedman expressed interest in auditioning for the role of
Robin in the film
Batman Forever, which was being cast in Toronto at the time. Though the appearance earned him an audition, Speedman was not cast in the role, which was ultimately given to
Chris O'Donnell. The audition did, however, give Speedman the exposure he needed and he quickly arranged an agent and began auditioning for Canadian television and film roles. Speedman made his television debut in 1995, appearing in an episode of the series
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, followed by a recurring role in the series
Nancy Drew that same year. After appearing in several small TV roles, Speedman decided to go to New York City to study for a short time at the
Neighborhood Playhouse before dropping out and returning home to Toronto. His big break came when he got a call from an American casting agent who wanted him to audition for a new series called
Felicity. Portraying brooding college student
Ben Covington opposite overnight star
Keri Russell as Felicity, Speedman received much acclaim on the popular series. Soon after
Felicity, Speedman began to get offers for more prominent roles while working on the series. In 2000, Speedman was given the role of Billy Hannan opposite
Gwyneth Paltrow in the film
Duets.
2001–2012: Breakthrough After ending a four-year run on
Felicity, Speedman quickly found success in film. In 2002, he was cast in his first major starring role in a feature, portraying an inexperienced LAPD detective caught in a web of corruption, opposite
Kurt Russell, in the police drama
Dark Blue. Next, Speedman portrayed the husband of a terminally ill woman opposite fellow Canadian and high-school alumna
Sarah Polley in the independent drama
My Life Without Me. Speedman won a "Golden Wave Award" for his work on the film. Later in 2003, Speedman starred opposite
Kate Beckinsale in the
supernatural thriller film
Underworld. Making an impression on audiences in the stylized vampire–werewolf film, Speedman was honored with a
Saturn Award in the category "Cinescape Face of the Future Award". and
Ice Cube in
XXX: State of the Union. Upon the success of the first
Underworld film, Speedman reprised his role as
Michael Corvin in the 2006 sequel
Underworld: Evolution. He appeared alongside
Willem Dafoe in
Anamorph and
Wes Bentley in
Weirdsville. Speedman also starred with
Liv Tyler in the 2008 horror–thriller
The Strangers, and alongside
Rachel Blanchard in the mystery drama
Adoration, directed by
Atom Egoyan. '' in January 2011 In July 2009, it was reported that Speedman was to star alongside Dustin Hoffman among others in the film adaption of ''
Barney's Version. Pre-production began in August 2009, and filming took place in Rome, New York and Canada. Speedman also starred in the independent Western The Last Rites of Ransom Pride'' alongside
Lizzy Caplan and
Dwight Yoakam. Archive footage of Speedman from the previous
Underworld films was used in the 2012 & 2016 sequels,
Awakening and
Blood Wars; his facial likeness was superimposed on a
stand-in for his character's brief role in the film. He had a supporting role as Jeremy in
The Vow. Speedman last starred as
XO Sam Kendal in the
ABC military drama series
Last Resort, which premiered on September 27, 2012.
2013–present: Independent films In June 2013, Speedman was selected to star in
Ryan Murphy's HBO production called
Open alongside
Wes Bentley. In 2014, he co-starred with
Julia Stiles in Lluís Quílez Sala thriller film
Out of the Dark. He starred in various independent films such as
Barefoot (2014),
The Captive (2014), and
The Monster (2016). He starred as Barry "Baz" Blackwell in the
TNT crime drama series
Animal Kingdom until the first episode of season 3. In 2018, he had a guest role on ''
Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Nick Marsh, before becoming a series regular in
season 18. In October 2020, it was announced that Speedman had been cast in the recurring role of Matthew Engler on the third season of the
Netflix thriller series
You. In September 2025, it was announced that Speedman had been cast in a major role for ABC series
R.J. Decker, which has picked up the series. ==Personal life==