Who is Scott Scurlock and what did he do? Exploring the true story behind How to Rob a Bank on Netflix

Scott Scurlock is one of the most notorious robbers in the history of the United States of America. Dubbed the 'Hollywood Bandit', Scurlock was involved in a chain of robberies in and around Seattle during the 1990s.

He is the topic of Netflix's newly released documentary, How to Rob a Bank. The documentary portrays how the charismatic Scott Scurlock donned a variety of aliases to commit a string of bank robberies. He gets the moniker 'Hollywood Bandit' due to his uncanny ability to disguise himself using high-quality make-up to completely change his appearance.

The official logline of How to Rob a Bank reads:

"In this true-crime documentary, a charismatic rebel in 1990s Seattle pulls off an unprecedented string of bank robberies straight out of the movies."

The Netflix documentary film incorporates interviews with his accomplices, interviews with his sister Suzanne, recollections by bank workers, and official FBI accounts to chronicle the story of Scott Scurlock.

Learn more about the infamous Hollywood Bandit, as this article takes a look into the real story behind How to Rob a Bank.

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Who was Scott Scurlock? Details explored following the release of How to Rob a Bank on Netflix

Scott Scurlock was a native of Virginia. His father was a preacher, while his mother was a teacher for children with learning disabilities. Ever since his childhood, Scott was a free spirit who disliked being controlled. He had a devil-may-care attitude and only loved following his will.

Bank robberies were not the first tryst with crime that Scott Scurlock had. He got involved in the life of crime through the drug trade in the 1970s. He worked on a tomato farm with a friend and stumbled across marijuana plants. Scott started growing marijuana along with the tomatoes and started turning a great profit. However, the farm owner later found out about Scott's deeds and fired him.

Scott Scurlock enrolled at Evergreen State College in 1978 to become a doctor. He was adept at chemistry and soon started producing crystal meth in the university chemistry lab. Scott was expelled by a professor, but he continued to cook methamphetamine in a secluded property. He entered the world of robbery only in the 1990s after the murder of his distributor rattled him.

Scott was involved in a string of robberies before being tracked down in 1996 (image via Pexels)

As per Netflix, Scott was a fan of heist films since he was a child and often dreamed of robbing banks and redistributing the money in a Robin Hood-esque manner. Scott enlisted the help of his college friend Mark Biggins to rob a bank for the first time on June 25, 1992. The inexperienced duo entered a Seattle bank for their first heist while wearing masks. Later, they improved upon their thievery skills with the help of their friend Steve Meyers. Meyers was an artist who replaced the masks with prosthetic noses, chins, and cheeks. Scott studied local banks and the police effectively to thwart them away successfully.

Scott and his partners had robbed almost $1 million by 1995. The FBI at the time was slowly figuring out Scott Scurlock's robbery pattern; however, it would take them one more year to finally catch him.

Scott robbed 18 banks successfully before being caught in his final robbery attempt in 1996. The FBI also issued a $50,000 bounty on the capture of Scott. In a very film-like manner, the final robbery in Seattle was followed by a car chase and a gunfight with the police. Although Scott and his partner initially escaped the police, they were later tracked down. Scott Scurlock decided to shoot himself rather than give himself up to the police.

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How to Rob a Bank is currently available for streaming on Netflix.