Tom Everett Scott has done comedy, drama, and everything in between. So why is he mostly recognized for one final table?

It’s not that uncommon for actor Tom Everett Scott to be approached by stargazers and rubberneckers who know him from somewhere, but aren’t sure where. His response is generally the same every time. “Oh, I’m an actor,” he usually says. Which begs the obvious question, “What have I seen you in?”

Ah, what have they seen him in? Was it his breakout role as drummer Guy Patterson in Tom Hanks’ directorial debut, 1996′s That Thing You Do? Maybe his roles in An American Werewolf in Paris or Boiler Room? It could be his television work on ER or his star turn on TNT’s new primetime original series, Saved, in which Scott plays an unpredictable Portland medic with a penchant for Hold ‘em and more than a few scores to settle.

But with the possible exception of Saved, it’s none of these things that makes him the target of onlookers. He’s inevitably recognized more for his final table work at the World Poker Tour’s WPT Invitational. That’s the double-edged sword of being the only celebrity to make a WPT final table. It’s an accomplishment that Scott is more than happy to talk about.

“I’m recognized for the World Poker Tour all the time,” he says. “People flip channels late at night, and they watch it and they see me. I have had so many people ask about it. Good for them, good for me, God bless poker.”.

But Tom Scott’s special place as the lone working actor to make a WPT final table wasn’t born out of blind luck while falling backwards into Hollywood’s poker bandwagon. His skills were honed playing cribbage during his family’s New England camping trips before being sculpted playing weekly home games to help make ends meet as an actor in New York.

It’s a home game he still plays in whenever he makes his way back to New York. “I moved to New York and poker wasn’t really part of my life again until I met these guys in a band called the Homegrown Lopes. They had a Wednesday night game,” Scott remembers. “It’s just New York guys, all types of guys. It’s been going on for years. It happens rain or shine, holiday or not. It’s also one of the best times a guy can have.”

By the time Scott found himself playing in the WPT Invitational, the final table spotlight wasn’t even a consideration. Like most actors descending on a legitimate poker showdown, his expectations were rooted more in saving face than winning hands. “There were a lot of pros there when I started out. Everything was great.

Then I got moved to a new table and there weren’t any other celebrities,” Scott says. “It literally went from laughing, joking, telling stories to nobody talking to me. They were joking with each other. Then I thought, If I make a big bet they’ll probably back down.”

With a giant over-the-top bluff, Scott’s diminutive stack grew considerably, eventually propelling him to the tourney’s final table, where he finished third. At the time, it was an absolute coup for a Hollywood poker community that still had yet to find its breakout crossover poker star a la Jennifer Tilly or James Woods. The winnings were nice, but the respect earned by the third-place finish was huge for Tom Everett Scott.

“It was a fun little wave to ride on with a crowd cheering for me and people saying I really thought you were going to win it. Now why would you think I was going to win it?” he says, looking back on his tournament experience. “To sit next to Chris Ferguson and have him be really cool to me was great. He’s intimidating as hell, but he’s actually just very sweet.”

While the final table might not have prepared him for his turn in Saved, it did help him appreciate the metaphors that the poker table constantly provides. The pilot episode’s opening scene shows Scott’s paramedic whirling dervish steal a pot from a local rounder who was holding pocket queens. And all it took were pocket threes and a massive all-in bluff.

Naturally, a brawl ensues. It’s there that Scott’s character breaks his assailants nose before using his medic’s training to set it back in place. How do you not love this guy? The conflicts surrounding the character certainly inspire Tom Scott, but he’s come to terms with the fact that he’ll still probably be most recognized for playing cards.

“How did that happen?” Scott asks when he thinks about his WPT triumph. “How do I repeat it? That is the question.”