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Cast Archive: David Scearce
David Scearce
In one of the more unusual success stories in Hollywood, screenwriter David Scearce had a full-time career as a government lawyer in Vancouver, British Columbia, when the novice writer's first script, A Single Man (2009), landed him on the red carpet. His adaptation of the renowned novel by Christopher Isherwood was directed by a fellow first timer, fashion icon-turned-director Tom Ford. Both he and Ford received almost as many accolades as the stellar performances by Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode. Film festival nominations led to Scearce's rising reputation in the film world, and before long, the lawyer's talent for concise storytelling and compelling human insight blossomed into a promising second career.

Born Nov. 15, 1965, Scearce was raised in the Ontario city of Burlington, where as a child, he was an avid moviegoer who loved blockbuster spectacles like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981). He earned an undergraduate degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and moved to Vancouver to attend law school at the University of British Columbia, earning his degree in 1992. He spent several years living in Los Angeles before settling back in Vancouver around 2000, with a legal position in the Canadian government's federal Indian and Northern Affairs Department. In 2003, Scearce co-founded an animal sanctuary called Rest.Q on rural Mayne Island, and over the next few years, he and his partner took in and cared for hundreds of animals - from cast-off pets to lucky would-be holiday turkeys. Meanwhile, the busy lawyer/ entrepreneur began writing as a creative outlet. He had read several times Christopher Isherwood's novel, A Single Man, a landmark of contemporary gay literature, and had such a clear picture of the story in his head that he thought it would make for an interesting and creative exercise to adapt it into a screenplay.

Scearce had studied his share of screenwriting books but had never written professionally, which made his decision to send his first completed script to Don Bachardy, late novelist Isherwood's partner, a bold one. Bachardy owned the rights to the novel, and had received a number of spec screenplay adaptations over the years, but Scearce's stood out to him. His was the only adaptation that had a twist on the book's first person narrative; instead using flashback sequences to tell the story of a British college professor in 1962 Southern California who is grieving the death of his long-time partner. That fresh perspective won over Bachardy, who helped Scearce shop the script around Hollywood. Eventually, an agent recruited fashion designer and aspiring filmmaker Tom Ford to direct, funding was raised, and production began. The full-time lawyer was now a part-time Hollywood screenwriter.

"A Single Man" had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in 2009 to a standing ovation, rave reviews, and a Golden Lion Award nomination. Colin Firth starred as the British expatriate and closeted professor, with Matthew Goode supporting as his deceased lover, and indie film stalwart Julianne Moore playing the best friend and confidante who struggles to fully understand his loss. Following the film's positive response on the film festival circuit, it was picked up for distribution and given theatrical release, after which critics gave largely positive reviews to the film's successful blend of visual style and emotional substance.

Come awards time, Scearce and Ford - who were both credited for the screenplay after a number of collaborative changes - were nominated for Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards, and by the Broadcast Film Critic's Association. Between the promotion circuit and the film festival hopping, Scearce continued to hold down his job with the Canadian government, though he returned to weekend and evening scriptwriting when he was hired to pen an adaptation of Robert Lipsyte's 1970s coming-of-age story, One Fat Summer. He also began his first original film idea, a surprising post-apocalyptic trilogy he hoped would be a big budget adventure hit like the favorite films of his childhood.

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