Scott speedman is in an easy, breezy mood when he calls from his home in the hip Silver lake district of Los Angeles. He has just wrapped the second season of Animal Kingdom, his critically acclaimed and popular TV drama series, and is on the verge of starting the prep work on his next feature film. “This is like my first day off,” Speedman says as we get started. It’s not a complaint, but simply a statement of fact from an actor who’s much in demand these days, both on and off the set. Despite its dark underbelly and odious characters, Animal Kingdom was a surprising hit on American TV and continues to expand its audience overseas.

And even before they shoot the first scene, there’s already strong buzz about Shadow Girl, a movie in which Speedman will play a past-his-prime mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who finds redemption in an equally down-and-out paparazzi photographer played by Zosia Mamet of Girls fame.

Born in England and raised in Canada, Speedman was well on his way to becoming an Olympic-level competitive swimmer when injury curtailed his aquatic career. Attending a special high school for athletes and artists in Toronto, he turned his attention to acting classes and a budding career in Canadian television.

Speedman’s big break came in 1998, when he aced an audition for American TV show Felicity, about the lives and loves of college students in New York City. With the series airing in more than 50 countries and regions (including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines) the actor’s fictional Ben Covington became the heartthrob of female fans around the globe. Although it ran for only four seasons, Felicity jump started Speedman’s career, as well as those of series star Keri Russell and writer-director JJ Abrams.