Noah Taylor
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Noah Taylor
Biography
Appearing to be a blend of Steve Buscemi and Nick Cave, Noah Taylor made his name playing Danny Embling, a young man juggling inner torment and sexual anxiety in John Duigan's The Year My Voice Broke (1987) and Flirting (1991). In 1996, he gained further international recognition and respect for his role as the younger version of piano prodigy David Helfgott in Scott Hicks' Shine.The son of journalists, Taylor was born in Melbourne, Australia, on September 4, 1969. Although he spent his early years wanting to be a spy or a commando, he began his acting career at the age of 16 when he left school and joined the city's St. Martin's Youth Theatre. His work with the theater led to his casting as Danny Embling in The Year My Voice Broke. Following the critical success of both Year and its sequel, Flirting, Taylor became known as one of his country's most promising actors. His widely praised performance in Shine further solidified this status, and he was able to do steady work in a number of diverse projects both at home and abroad. In 1998, Taylor starred in Ben Hopkins' acclaimed period drama Simon Magus, and the following year he starred alongside Daniel Auteuil in Michel Blanc's Mauvaise Passe and won a coveted role in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, the semi-autobiographical tale of an aspiring teen rock journalist. Taylor would work again with Crowe the very next year, taking a role in the director's remake of Alejandro Amenábar's Open Your Eyes, entitled Vanilla Sky. Heading into action territory with the high-profile video game-to-screen adaptation Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001, Taylor straddled the line between big-budget excess and independent credibility with an appearance in the little seen but curiously titled He Died With a Felafel in His Hand that same year.
In 2002, Taylor gained notable media attention for his controversial portrayal of Adolf Hitler in the independent drama Max. The film presented an intimate view of the future Nazi leader as a young aspiring artist, leading numerous groups to protest its humanization of such a feared and monstrous figure. Though the reviews of the film itself were generally fairly positive, Max soon disappeared from arthouse screens with Taylor's performance going largely unseen. If audiences had missed Taylor in Max, however, they would no doubt have a chance to catch him on the screen the very next year in the Tomb Raider sequel Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Taylor next showed up in the anticipated Wes Anderson adventure comedy The Life Aquatic alongside an all-star cast, including Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, and Willem Dafoe. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
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Noah Taylor
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Noah Taylor
This article is about the actor; for the Desperate Housewives character, see Noah Taylor (Desperate Housewives character).
| Noah Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Noah George Taylor 4 September 1969 London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is an English-born Australian actor and musician.[1]
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Early life
Taylor, elder of two boys, was born in London, England, the son of Maggie, a journalist and book editor, and Paul Taylor, a copywriter and journalist.[2] Taylor's Australian parents returned to Australia when he was five, and he grew up in Clifton Hill and St Kilda, Victoria, suburbs of Melbourne. His parents divorced when he was 14. Taylor left both school and home at 16 with no intention of becoming an actor; a friend, however, suggested that he try the theater as 'something to do at the weekends', and Taylor found the experience so enjoyable that he opted to make it his career. After performing in plays at St Martin's Youth Theater in South Yarra for a year, he gained the attention of director John Duigan, who cast him in the 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke, the first part of a planned trilogy. Taylor also appeared in its sequel, 1991's Flirting which also starred Nicole Kidman.
Career
Taylor first gained international attention playing the tormented young pianist David Helfgott in the 1996 film Shine. Taylor's résumé includes action movies (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), comedies (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), psychological thrillers (Vanilla Sky) and historical dramas (Max, in which he played the young Adolf Hitler.)
Taylor once commented in an interview that he was sick of acting out the nostalgic reminiscences of other people. He has done this in a number of films including The Nostradamus Kid which was based, apparently, on the memories of the Australian author Bob Ellis, a young David Helfgott in Shine, based on the book by Helfgott's sister, the protagonist in John Birmingham's memoir He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, and Almost Famous, based on the memories of the film's writer and director, Cameron Crowe.
He appears in the video Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow – a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, along with the video for M.O.R. by British alternative rock group Blur. Taylor stars in Simon Rumley's Mystery thriller Red White & Blue,[3] who will earn his world premiere as part of the SXSW Film Festival in March 2010.[4]
In 2011, he released his first EP, Live Free or Die!!! with his band Noah Taylor & the Sloppy Boys on Z-Man Records.[5]
Personal life
When not acting, Taylor draws and paints, and is also an accomplished musician, playing viola and French horn as a young teenager, and guitar from the age of 16. He plays the piano by ear. He has sung and played guitar in several of his own bands, including Honky Tonk Angels, Cardboard Box Man, Flipper & Humphrey, Access Axis, and The Thirteens, a country-western rock band described by Taylor as, "three manic depressives playing sad angst and western music for sad people". He names Johnny Cash and Lou Reed as two of the artists he admires.
Taylor currently lives in Brighton, East Sussex.
Filmography
- The Year My Voice Broke (1987) – Danny Embling
- The Prisoner of St. Petersburg (1989) – Jack
- Bangkok Hilton (1989) – Billy Engels
- Songlines: Video for "Romeos" by Alphaville (1989)
- Flirting (1991; sequel to The Year My Voice Broke)
- "The Promised Land" episode of TV's Inspector Morse (1991) – Dave Harding
- The Nostradamus Kid (1992) – Ken Elkin
- Secrets (1992) – Randolf
- Shine (1996) – David Helfgott
- Simon Magus (1999) – Simon
- Almost Famous (2000) – Dick Roswell
- Vanilla Sky (2001) – Edmund Ventura
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) – Bryce Turing
- He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (2001) – Danny
- Max (2002) – Adolf Hitler
- Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) – Bryce Turing
- The Sleeping Dictionary (2003) – Neville Shipperly
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – Vladimir Wolodarsky
- The New World (2005) – Selway
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Mr. Bucket
- Lecture 21 (2008) – Peters
- The New Daughter (2009) – Professor Evan White
- Red, White & Blue (2010) – Nate
- Submarine (2010) – Lloyd Tate
- Red Dog (2011) - Jack
References
- ^ Noah Taylor and The Sloppy Boys: Inspired by the Aussie music scene of the '60s
- ^ Noah Taylor Biography (1969–)
- ^ SXSW '10: Official Festival One Sheet for 'Red White & Blue'
- ^ SXSW '10: Second Character Teaser for 'Red White & Blue'
- ^ Mess+Noise: Noah Taylor & The Sloppy Boys - Live Free Or Die!!!
External links
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Mentioned in
The Year My Voice Broke
(1987 Drama Film)
Lover Boy
(1989 Film)
Life in the Fast Lane
(1998 Comedy Film)
Promised Land: Inspector Morse (TV Episode)
(1991 Mystery TV Episode)
The Prisoner of St. Petersburg
(1989 Film)
» More