Why Nick From Grey's Anatomy Looks So Familiar

"Grey's Anatomy" is a show that thrives on romance and drama, and fans got another healthy dose of both recently with the return of a fan-favorite character to the series. 

Nick Marsh, a transplant doctor and romantic interest to Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey, returned to the series as a series regular after making his introduction to the show in 2018. His return is sure to stir up feelings among fans of the series, as Nick stands out as one of the few men in Meredith's life who has been able to bring her close to how she felt with Derek Shephard (Patrick Dempsey).

Nick Marsh may also seem familiar to fans of "Grey's Anatomy" for reasons outside the show, however. That's because he is portrayed by Scott Speedman –- an actor whose ever-growing list of credits covers numerous genres. Speedman has appeared in a number of big franchises, so there's a good chance you know him from one of the following performances.

One of Scott Speedman's earliest roles remains one of his most iconic, particularly for TV fans. Specifically, the actor achieved his initial fame for his performance as Ben Covington in the hit series "Felicity." 

Speedman played Covington for all 84 episodes the WB romance. The love triangle between Ben, the titular Felicity (Keri Russell), and Noel (Scott Foley) remains one of TV's great romantic storylines to this very day.

Not only was "Felicity" one of the earliest — and most important — roles in his career, it also very much helped set the tone for many of the major parts that he would take on in the years to follow. In fact, in a recent interview with Deadline to discuss his return to "Grey's Anatomy," the actor noted that the similarities between "Grey's Anatomy" and "Felicity" in terms of how they handled romantic comedy. If nothing else, it's clear that his role as Ben Covington helped prepare him for where his career would eventually go.

Though Scott Speedman has taken on numerous long-running roles in serialized television over the course of his acting career, he does not have nearly as many film franchises to his name. That said, one of the actor's biggest roles to date was that of Michael Corvin in "Underworld" and "Underworld: Evolution." 

Introduced as the human love interest to Kate Beckinsale's Selene, Michael eventually finds himself turned into a Lycan-Vampire hybrid –- the first creature of its kind depicted in the franchise.

Though Scott Speedman's Michael played a pivotal role in the first two "Underworld" movies, the series eventually moved away from the romance between Michael and Selene as the core narrative. As such, Speedman only appeared in the first two installments, and has since moved on from the franchise. Michael has continued to appear in the "Underworld" franchise, but the character was recast. At this time, there is no indication that Speedman will ever return to his role.

"XXX" was one of Vin Diesel's first proper forays into action film stardom when it released back in 2002. While not wildly successful with critics, the film proved its worth at the box office (via Box Office Mojo) and spawned a sequel three years later. However, Diesel opted not to return, and the series shifted focus to Ice Cube as Darius Stone. 

In this sequel, titled "XXX: State of the Union," Stone teams up with NSA Agent Kyle Steele (Scott Speedman) to prevent a coup led by the Secretary of Defense (Willem Dafoe). At the conclusion of the film, Steele joins the XXX program and assists in the search for a new hero.

"XXX: State of the Union" was not critically well-received when it premiered in 2005 (via Rotten Tomatoes), and the franchise largely went dormant for over a decade. This lasted until Vin Diesel revived the Xander Cage role for the 2017 sequel, "XXX: The Return of Xander Cage." That long-awaited sequel brought back Ice Cube as Darius Stone, but Scott Speedman's Agent Steele was nowhere to be found.

One of Scott Speedman's best contributions to the horror genre came in 2008 with the debut of "The Strangers." Primarily taking place in a remote house in the middle of nowhere, the film follows James (Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) as they are hunted by a trio of masked, knife-wielding killers. The reason for the attack? Simply because James and Kristen were home at the time.

"The Strangers" continues to stand out to this very day. This is not just because of the fact that it's one of the best home invasion thrillers of the 2000s, but also for the utter bleakness of its ending — as the film concludes with James and Kristen being brutally stabbed to death by their three tormentors, all of whom get away to kill again. 

The three killers from "The Strangers" returned for the long-awaited sequel, "The Strangers: Prey at Night," which offered up a more playful slasher tone than its predecessor, but neither Speedman or Tyler returned.

One of Scott Speedman's most recent notable roles came on the small screen with his performance as Barry "Baz" Blackwell on TNT's "Animal Kingdom." An American adaptation of the critically-acclaimed Australian film of the same name, the series follows a family of criminals operating out of the small beach town of Oceanside, California. In the series, Speedman portrays Baz as the adoptive son of Ellen Barkin's "Smurf" and one of the main leaders of the criminal organization during the first three seasons of the show.

Despite his popularity and pivotal role on the series, Baz has not stuck around on TNT's "Animal Kingdom." In fact, the character met his demise in the first episode of Season 3, following a Season 2 cliffhanger in which he found himself gunned down by an unknown assailant. "Animal Kingdom" premiered its fifth season in 2021, and the show has largely moved on without Baz.