Considering the number of convincing Southern US accents that William has used in his films to date, you would be forgiven for thinking he is from the South. But in fact William grew up in New York.
Not an aspiring actor, Scott was discovered in 1996 while working as a waiter in a New York City restaurant. A talent manager who was dining was so impressed with Scott's charisma, energy and good looks that she suggested he enroll in an acting program with well-respected coach William Esper. After following her advice, Scott booked his first audition, a national Kellogg's commercial, and has been working steadily ever since.
He began his career as a series regular on The Steve Harvey Show in 1997, with guest spots in other TV series such as Fitz and Gun. His first feature film role came as the younger version of Loren Dean's character in Andrew Nicolas' Gattaca. Next came the role of Hank in the TV movie Before Women Had Wings alongside Ellen Barkin and Oprah Winfrey. Then followed the role of Randy in the independent picture The Opposite of Sex, co-starring Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan and Lisa Kudrow. Director Don Roos had this to say about the casting of William (from the DVD commentary of TOOS): "he gave the best reading for this character really early on in the casting process so we always had him in mind for this part".
In 1999, Scott starred in October Sky as Roy Lee Cooke, probably his most high-profile part to date. The film was critically and publicly well-received, bringing yet more attention to the actor. His next film due for release is the controversial Black and White, co-starring Brooke Shields and Robert Downey Jr. Already screened at a number of film festivals, it is due for release in Spring 2000. William also has a role in Summer 2000's predicted blockbuster Gone in Sixty Seconds. With a cast to die for (including Nicolas Cage, Robert Duvall, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Will Patton, Scott Caan and Britain's own soccer-star-turned-actor Vinnie Jones), and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film looks set to not only entertain but to propel William's career to even greater heights (if you'll excuse the OS pun!)