Seann William Scott was born as the youngest of seven siblings and grew up in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a professional actor so he auditioned at age 12 for a role in the series Baywatch, without success. After his graduation from Park High School he moved to Los Angeles, where he was discovered in a talent search competition. His first professional gig was on television in the music video for Hole in my Soul from Aerosmith.

Scott's first commercial success came with the massive 1999 hit movie American Pie as Steve Stifler, a role which he later reprised for both sequels. It was precisely this role that both brought him to fame and came to define the character-type he would consecutively take on in following high-profile projects (mostly, comedic ones). He also had a cameo role in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

As for upcoming projects, Scott has recently completed filming Southland Tales, taking on a starring role as a police officer.

In an interview with People (magazine) in 2003, the star admitted to going commando almost exclusively.