The Unlikely Hollywood Career of Scott Glenn

Most young people know actor Scott Glenn for his roles in the Netflix superhero series The Defenders and Daredevil, where he plays the ultra-cool character known as Stick, an enigmatic old man whose advanced martial arts skills and enhanced senses are crucial in training Matthew Murdock become Daredevil.

Those who are not acquainted with the cinematic career of Scott Glenn would likely be surprised to learn that he nearly called it quits in the late 1970s. After a term of enlistment in the United States Marine Corps, Glenn became interested in the written word. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Wisconsin before moving to New York for the purpose of learning the art of screenplay writing. He took acting lessons in Manhattan only to become acquainted with writing dialog; it so happened during acting classes that his peers told him that he was not a very talented scribe but a great actor.

Glenn spent 10 years in Hollywood filming television soap operas. He actually abandoned acting and decided to move to Idaho with his family, where he hoped to find work as a hunting guide. A friend from the service called him up to make a quick $2,000 as an actor in a small independent film, which eventually led to his casting opposite John Travolta in “Urban Cowboy.” With this breakout role, Glenn started receiving many lucrative offers to play manly villains, a role that he excels in.

From The Right Stuff to Silence of the Lambs and from Buffalo Soldiers to the Bourne film franchise, Glenn is known as a reliable character who can play gruff and dangerous characters. At the age of 76, he is the perfect actor to play Daredevil’s mentor, and his workout routine, which he performs religiously, was adopted from his son’s training as a Navy SEAL.

Glenn has been very busy over the last few years thanks to the spark of quality television series that started with HBO and The Sopranos. Glenn has appeared in The Leftovers, also on HBO, and will also appear in Castle Rock, an upcoming original series that will be carried by online streaming service Hulu.

It is not surprising that Glenn is often chosen to play characters with considerable physical strength. He relishes the challenge at his age, and he also enjoys the philosophical edge that characters such as Stick allow him to portray since he thinks that mental workouts are as important as physical exercise.