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BY BARI NAN COHEN
GREAT SCOTT!
Last summer, Scott Foley’s fans wondered and worried about the romantic fate of Noel Crane, the supersensitive, hyperverbal R.A. on the WB series Felicity who started out counseling Felicity (Keri Russell) and then ended up pining for her. When YM sat down with Scott one summer morning after the first season’s finale, the 27-year-old actor was still in the dark himself as to whether he’d lock lips with leading lady Keri Russell in the near future. Not even the actors had the one piece of information that has intrigued Felicity fans everywhere: Did Felicity choose to spend her summer with sweet, dependable Noel or brooding, mysterious Ben? Scott’s fans weren’t shy about their feelings. At a YM party, more than one flirty female approached him to cast this vote of confidence: “I know for sure that Felicity chose you and not Ben. I know I would.”
The reasons so many girls pull for Noel are clear. Onscreen, Scott lends the character a caring, thoughtful sensibility that keeps us from writing the guy off as a lovesick sap. Noel’s in touch with his feelings, yet the threat of emotional pain isn’t enough to keep him from following his heart. Offscreen, the actor also leads with his heart, and he’s not afraid to talk about it.
Scott was born in Kansas City, KS, but his dad’s job as an international banker meant the family moved around the world—from Australia to Japan to San Francisco to New York, and finally, to St. Louis. Scott attended three different high schools. When he was 15, his mother—who shared a love of the theater with her eldest son—passed away, leaving Scott, his father, and his two younger brothers (then 13 and 11) to cope with the loss. “My mother was the center of our family,” Scott reflects. We were all very close—and not such much now. Her death completely changed the relationship between me and my father.”
Once he graduated from high school, Scott headed for Los Angeles in an all-or-nothing quest for success as an actor. After years of odd jobs and small gigs, he’s entering a second season as a star of a hit TV show, and he’s got some big-screen credits to boot. Scott just finished work on a short film called Self Storage, and he will play a hip young video director who may or may not survive to the end of Scream 3, due out in December. Regardless of his fate in the film, it’s obvious that Scott Foley is one of those guys who deserves to finish first.
YM: There never seem to be enough Noels in the world to go around. Why?
SF: Girls who are Felicity’s age don’t want Noels most of the time. They truly don’t. Older women look at Noel and see that he’s emotionally available. He’s got qualities that appeal to women who are sick of dating guys who treat them like crap. You know, brooding, studly guys who stay out late and don’t tell you where they are.
You mean the Ben Covingtons of the world.
[Nods.] Lots of women know that kind of guy isn’t going to make them happy in the end, and Noel could. But Noel doesn’t have that brooding thing going on that Ben Covington does, and at 18, that’s what women want, y’ know?
What about when you were a teenager? Were you more of a Noel or a Ben—that is, friend or boyfriend?
I was both types at once. I did have girl friends where I’d go over to her house and we’d sit with her mother and watch Knot’s Landing while I petted their little shih tzu dog. But I also had the girlfriend—although never for more than a few months. On the other hand, three months was a huge span of my life when I was 16.
What aspect of your personality has come out since you’ve been playing Noel?
Noel has made me a little more parental, which is a good thing. Last season, at least, Noel tried to take care of everyone in his little world. There’s a difference between being bossy and being parental, and Noel is definitely parental. He wants to help people and I think I’ve done that.
On the show, Noel chose Felicity over Hanna. But in real life, you’re dating Hanna—or rather the actress who played her, Jennifer Garner. Tell me about the day you meet Jennifer.
Is that enough?
Let the record show: Smile spread across face and blushing occurred.
Um, the day I met Jennifer I was walking down the hall toward the studio, and I saw this girl in the wardrobe room. I knew there was a new girl on set, so I stopped and asked her, “Are you Hanna?” and she said, “Are you Noel?” and I hugged her. I don’t know why.
Are you a hugger?
No. I mean, I am, but not if I don’t know you. But there was a connection. And—without jinxing myself here—I knew. I did. I got lucky.
So why is Noel’s type Felicity but Scott’s type is Hanna?
It’s not that I dislike blonds, but brunettes just blow my mind. They really do. One the show, Hanna was an artist—she played the piano and was a composer—and I find that so sexy. And as an actress, Jennifer is a great artist in her own right. I love watching her think about a character or talk about the craft.
Who made the first move?
I think we did. There was just a click between us. We were flirty on the set and she said she’d never been like that before. Like, she’d been talking about how she loved to cook, and I said, “Well hey, maybe you’ll cook for me one time.” And she said, “Okay, sure,” and we both knew the implication.
When did you know she really liked you?
On her last day, I sent her flowers with a note that read, “It was very nice to work with you.” As she was leaving, she shook my hand, and I gave her another hug. When I went back to my trailer I found a note she’d written on a gum wrapper: “Scott, I’ve had such a wonderful time working you. Give me a call when you’re ready for dinner,” and she her number.
Still have the gum wrapper?
Oh, yeah.
So where does a person keep significant gum wrappers?
It’s in my Filofax, and since I never actually use the thing, I know the wrapper is not going anywhere.
How did things proceed from there?
A month after I’d known her I took her to Paris for New Year’s.
What a good boyfriend! So you’d say you’re a romantic?
Well, I’m outwardly romantic. I catch myself saying cheeseball stuff all the time. I embarrass myself, listening to the stuff I say. Sometimes I even have to leave the room. I’ll be like, “Oh wow, I’m having such a great time with you, you’re like the…oh my God…I’ll be right back!”
So this is serious?
[Smiles.] She just blows my mind.
Can you say why? Besides the brunette thing?
She’s me in female form. The other day I was reading about how in Chinese mythology, there’s a belief that the perfect marriage is between two people who, in a previous life, were one. The yang and the yin represent an interdependent relationship, the circle that is one. And not to sound cheesy, but Jennifer and I make “one” really well.
What do you guys consider a great date?
This is going to sound stereotypical, and not very glamorous, but a really great date for us is sitting at home by ourselves with our dogs. I have a beagle-boxer mix, Maggie, and she has a little Maltese, Charlie. They’re best friends. And the perfect date is: We’ll hang out and cook together.
Well, so much for your image as a swashbuckling ladykiller. So, on the cooking date, who cooks and who eats?
She’s the better cook, but I’m pretty good with pastas, and I barbecue really well. Plus, I make the best mashed potatoes in the world.
You seem to be into food. So, do you like it when a date really digs chowing, too?
Yes, I’d rather the girl I’m with eat and enjoy, y’ know? A lot of women don’t eat, and I think that’s a serious problem. It’s a huge thing—they think that they have to be perfect-model skinny, they have to look a certain way . That’s just wrong. I really believe that everyone’s body type is her own.
So, back to your relationship. You’re sounding an awful lot like a one-woman guy.
Some people say to friends of mine, “Why does Scott have a girlfriend now” Is he nuts? This is the time of his life!” And you know what? The truth is, the women who look at me now were not looking at me three years ago. And yet, I didn’t look or act any different then. But because of the public persona that I have now, things have changed. I can understand how some people in Hollywood do leave their relationships, but I know that I wouldn’t be any happier doing that. All I’d have is more stories to tell my guys at the end of the night. And you know what? At the end of the night, I don’t want to be with my guys! I want to be with Jennifer.
SECRETS FROM THE SET
The residents of Kelvin Hall (and their friends) are so involved in each other’s lives—and the love vibes between Noel and Felicity are so strong—that it’s hard to believe that the groovy group you see on-screen isn’t superclose offscreen, too. But that’s the surprising truth. “Kerri and I have been told we have great chemistry on-screen,” Scott admits. “But that’s it. We have a very professional relationship. We work together very well.”
Since the plot is often driven by Felicity’s point of view, there isn’t a lot of group bonding. “Keri’s kind of the hub of the cast,” explains Scott. “I have scenes with her, Scott Speedman does, Tangi [Miller] does, Amy Jo [Johnson] does. But we don’t interact a whole lot. I think the great thing about the show is that we all live and work in Los Angeles. We go to work, we get along, we go home and have other lives. It’s not like Dawson’s Creek where they’re with each other all the time.”
But Scott says there’s an upside to having a little space. “Jealousy can get in the way of set friendships,” he says. “Here, it doesn’t. It’s very professional.”
Which means, like any other workplace crowd, they spend a few off-hours together. “We definitely have separate lives, but we do see each other on the weekends when Amy Jo is performing her songs, or when Tony [Lucca, Keri’s real-life musician boyfriend] is playing someplace,” Scott says. “We’re separate but equal.”