Scott began his career at The New York Review of Books, where he served as an assistant to Robert B. Silvers. Scott then served as book critic for Newsday, while also serving as a contributor to The New York Review of Books and Slate. In 1993, he was a television reviewer for Daily Variety, using the name Tony Scott.

He joined The New York Times' Arts section in January 2000, following Janet Maslin's retirement from film criticism. (Maslin continues to review genre fiction for the paper.) In 2004, he became chief critic, following Elvis Mitchell's resignation. Scott and the other film critics at the Times host a video podcast on the subject of film, called Critics' Picks. He is also Distinguished Professor of Film Criticism at Wesleyan University.

On March 9, 2020, The New York Times announced that Scott would take a one-year break from his role as co-chief film critic and assume the title of critic at large. During this time, Scott will "expand his purview to write bigger, cross-topic essays."

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