Scoot McNairy

John "Scoot" McNairy (born November 11, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in films such as Monsters, Argo, Killing Them Softly (both 2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (2022), Speak No Evil, and Nightbitch (both 2024).

On television, McNairy starred as Gordon Clark in the AMC period drama Halt and Catch Fire (2014–2017), Bill McNue in the Netflix miniseries Godless (2017), Walt Breslin on Netflix's Narcos: Mexico (2018–2021), Tom Purcell on the third season of True Detective (2019), and Rod Rosenstein in the Showtime miniseries The Comey Rule (2020). His accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as an International Emmy Award nomination for Narcos: Mexico.

Early life John McNairy was born on November 11, 1977, in Dallas, Texas. In addition to a house in Dallas, the family had a ranch in rural Paris, Texas, where they spent time on weekends and holidays. Growing up, he did theater in after-school programs. 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.

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.

Career Actor McNairy moved to Austin, Texas, when he was 18 to attend the University of Texas at Austin. In 2001, he appeared in Wrong Numbers, written and directed by Alex Holdridge, which won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival. 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.

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 Monsters by Gareth Edwards, in which McNairy starred and featured largely improvised dialogue and was shot in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Texas.

In 2012, McNairy played Frankie in director Andrew Dominik's film Killing Them Softly opposite Brad Pitt. This led to a string of high-profile roles, including Ben Affleck's Argo, 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. The series ran for four seasons from 2014 to 2017 to high critical acclaim. 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. In September 2016, McNairy was announced as a cast member in the third season of the FX drama Fargo.

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 nearsighted 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.

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. 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. Additionally, he voiced a character in AMC's animated series Pantheon.

In 2022, McNairy filmed the drama The Line. He starred 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. In May 2022, he reportedly joined Jack Reynor and Emily Browning in psychological thriller Brightwater. 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. McNairy appeared in the third season of the Amazon Prime series Invincible. In June 2022, McNairy joined Amy Adams in Marielle Heller's Nightbitch. Filming began that October.

McNairy portrayed folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie in the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which starred Timothée Chalamet.

In 2026, McNairy portrayed Officer Danny Kelly in Hulu' s Furious.

Producer 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. 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.

Other work In 2002, McNairy appeared in the music video for Death Cab for Cutie's "A Movie Script Ending". In 2006, McNairy appeared in the music video for "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor, directed by McNairy's friend Marc Webb. In 2007, McNairy appeared in the BookShorts film for JPod by Douglas Coupland, incorrectly credited as "Scoot McNally".

Personal life McNairy married actress Whitney Able in 2010. They initially started dating in Los Angeles about six months before co-starring in Monsters. They have two children. On November 19, 2019, Able announced that they had divorced. As of 2025, he is in a relationship with actress Sosie Bacon.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2001 Wrong Numbers Russell 2002 Plugged In Raver Kid #1 Short film 2003 Sexless Ryan Wonderland Jack Silenced Friend #1 Short film 2004 D.E.B.S. Stoner White Men in Seminole Flats Dale Short film Sleepover DJ at Club 2005 Herbie: Fully Loaded Augie 2006 Marcus Charles Art School Confidential Army-Jacket Bobby Beatnik The Shadow Effect Harold Grey Short film Mr. Fix It Dan 2007 In Search of a Midnight Kiss 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 Monsters Andrew Kaulder Wes and Ella Wes 2011 Amor Fati Teddy Short film The Off Hours Corey A Night in the Woods Brody Cartwright Angry White Man Walt 2012 Killing Them Softly Frankie Argo Joe Stafford Promised Land Jeff Dennon Please, Alfonso Producer only 2013 Straight A's Touchy Feely Jesse Dragon Day Phil 12 Years a Slave Merrill Brown 2014 Non-Stop Tom Bowen All Hail the King Jackson Norriss Short film The Rover Henry Frank Don Gone Girl Tommy Black Sea Daniels The Life and Mind of Mark DeFriest Mark DeFriest Voice; documentary 2015 Lamb Jesse Our Brand Is Crisis Rich Frank and Cindy Producer only 2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Wallace Keefe 2017 Sleepless Rob Novak Aftermath Jacob "Jake" Bonanos War Machine Sean Cullen 2018 The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter Greg Destroyer Ethan 2019 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Business Bob Gilbert The Parts You Lose Ronnie 2020 A Quiet Place Part II Marina Man Cameo 2021 C'mon C'mon Paul 2022 Taurus Ray Blonde Tommy "Tom" Ewell / Richard Sherman Luckiest Girl Alive Andrew Larson Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile Mr. Primm 2023 Fairyland Steve Abbott The Line Detective Blood for Dust Cliff 2024 Nightbitch Husband Speak No Evil Ben Dalton A Complete Unknown Woody Guthrie 2025 East of Wall Roy Waters 2026 Family Movie Company Post-production The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd Wilson Shedd Post-production

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 2004 Good Girls Don't... Henry Episode: "My Best Friend Is a Big Fat Slut"2005 Six Feet Under Trevor Episode: "All Alone" Close to Home T.J. Episode: "Meth Murders" 2006 More, Patience JakeTelevision film Murder 101 Panache Jake in Progress Dean Thomas Stilton Episodes: "Eyebrow Girl vs. Smirk Face", "The Hot One" 2007 How I Met Your Mother Fast Food Worker Episode: "Something Blue" 2007–2011 Bones 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 The Shield Doug Obermyer Episode: "Snitch" My Name Is Earl Bed Bug Episode: "Quit Your Snitchin'" Eleventh Hour Rudy Callistro Episode: "Surge" 2009 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Vitas Long Episode: "Lover's Lanes" 2011 The Whole Truth Larry Thompson Episode: "Lost in Translation" 2013–2015 Axe Cop Scoot / Sun Thief Voice; 3 episodes 2014–2017 Halt and Catch Fire Gordon Clark Main role (40 episodes) 2017 Fargo Maurice LeFay Season 3 (2 episodes) Godless Bill McNue Miniseries (7 episodes) 2018–2021 Narcos: Mexico D.E.A Special Agent Walt Breslin 20 episodes 2019 True Detective Tom Purcell Season 3 (8 episodes) 2020 Love Life Bradley Field 2 episodes The Comey Rule Rod Rosenstein Miniseries (2 episodes) 2022–2023 Pantheon Cody Lowell, Kurt Voice; 8 episodes 2023–2024 Invincible King Lizard Season 2; voice 2026 Man on Fire Henry Tappan Main role FuriousDanny Kelly Main role

Awards and nominations Association Year Category Work Result British Independent Film Awards 2010 Best Actor Monsters Georgia Film Critics Association Awards 2013 Breakthrough Award Argo, Killing Them Softly and Promised Land Best Ensemble Argo 2014 Best Ensemble 12 Years a Slave Hamptons International Film Festival Awards 2012 Varietys Ten Actors to Watch Killing Them Softly Hollywood Film Awards 2012 Ensemble of the Year Argo Independent Spirit Awards 2009 John Cassavetes Award In Search of a Midnight Kiss International Emmy Awards 2022 Best Actor Narcos: Mexico Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards 2012 Ensemble Cast Award Argo San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2012 Best Performance by an Ensemble Argo 2013 Best Performance by an Ensemble 12 Years a Slave Screen Actors Guild Awards 2013 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Argo 2014 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 12 Years a Slave 2024Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureA Complete Unknown