Let's rip off the Band-Aid here: the bulk of Seann William Scott's films have been critical disasters. Though American Pie struck a chord with critics and audiences alike, most of his movies haven't impressed the pundits: Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) has an 18 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, The Dukes Of Hazzard (2005) and Mr. Woodcock (2007) each have a score of 13 percent, Just Before I Go (2015) has 10 percent, and Movie 43 (2013) has a whopping 4 percent. Most of Scott's other fare ranges between 30 and 50 percent on the scale, with a few exceptions, notably Goon (2012, 80 percent) and Role Models (2008, 78 percent). After a while, those numbers start to stick.
As far as his actual box office numbers, he's had quite a few bombs: Southland Tales (2007) had a $17 million budget but only made about $273,000; Mr. Woodcock (2007) barely broke even, earning $25 million to its estimated $22 million budget; and Bulletproof Monk (2003) made $23 million on a $52 million budget. The only real common denominators in all these films is Scott in a leading role, and studios may have finally got the hint after a series of bombs.
Scott has sustained his career with voiceover work. The actor's pipes can be heard voicing Crash in Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (2009), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), and the upcoming Ice Age: Collision Course (2016). Scott also voices Crash in the franchise's TV movies, shorts, and video games. At least if his fame isn't secure, his finances should be.
At his peak, Scott was the goofy hot high schooler, sleazy party boy, or college jock, even if he was in his late 20s and 30s when he took most of those roles. Now that he's sporting some scruff and a hint of salt and pepper, he's not going to get the same sorts of parts. Think about ageist Hollywood: how often do you see a middle-aged guy doing slapstick in movies? Perhaps if Scott had expanded his horizons during his heyday, like his Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) co-star Ashton Kutcher—who took serious turns in The Butterfly Effect (2004) and later landed the titular role of Steve Jobs in Jobs (2013)—he might not be in as much of a rut right now.
It seems like Scott got the memo, though. In 2011, he told MTV News that his role as Steve Stifler may have, er, stifled his career development. "I had so much fun and loved the character, [but] I don't want to be known as that character forever," he said, adding, "Now I'm realizing that I probably will be known as that character forever."
Things could turn around for him. In 2015, Scott starred in the independent dramedy Just Before I Go, a story about a man who goes to make amends with the people in his life after his wife leaves him with seemingly nothing to live for. Unfortunately, the limited release had few eyes on it, earning only about $8,000 at the box office, and most of the critics who screened it didn't much care for it. Yet with a little more time and a few more scripts outside his comfort zone, Scott could raise his professional profile.
In March 2011, Scott entered rehab. According to TMZ, the actor voluntarily entered a treatment facility for unspecified health and personal issues, staying for the allotted 30 days before heading off to film American Pie 4: American Reunion (2012). It's still unclear what he was struggling with, as he hasn't addressed anything publicly—and despite his party animal onscreen persona, Scott insisted to People in 2003, "I don't really party. If I did, it would probably just be trying a new bottle of wine." If he's trying to avoid vices, it's probably for the best that he avoids the Hollywood scene altogether.
There are a lot of celebrities who don't actually work much, but are constantly on red carpets. Scott isn't one of them. The actor flies under the radar and is rarely seen at events or even papped going down the street, and in an era of constant celebrity blogging and a 24-hour news cycle, this otherwise respectable behavior may have actually hurt him. Scott's lack of visibility between projects may have made him forgettable for audiences, which could help explain his box office bombs.
Things obviously haven't worked out for Scott the way we thought they would after he rocketed to fame as Stifler, but that doesn't mean we've seen the last of this leading man. This year will find him resurfacing in a pair of high-profile projects, with the Goon sequel Last of the Enforcers set to arrive after Ice Age: Collision Course. And while he's making sequels, maybe Scott can call up his old pal Ashton and see about putting together a follow-up to Dude, Where's My Car. Anyone up for Dude, Where's My Uber?
