Noah George Taylor (born September 4, 1969) is a British-born Australian
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
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. Taylor's Australian parents returned to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
when he was five, and he grew up in
Clifton HillClifton Hill may mean:*Clifton Hill, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia*Clifton Hill , a major tourist promenade with souvenir stores, attractions and diners in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada...
and
St Kilda, VictoriaSt Kilda is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, suburbs of
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
. 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.
Noah George Taylor (born September 4, 1969) is a British-born Australian
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
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. Taylor's Australian parents returned to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
when he was five, and he grew up in
Clifton HillClifton Hill may mean:*Clifton Hill, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia*Clifton Hill , a major tourist promenade with souvenir stores, attractions and diners in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada...
and
St Kilda, VictoriaSt Kilda is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, suburbs of
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
. 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 DuiganJohn Duigan, is an Australian film director.Duigan emigrated to Australia in 1961, having been born to an Australian father...
, who cast him in the 1987 film
The Year My Voice BrokeThe Year My Voice Broke is a 1987 film by director John Duigan. It stars Noah Taylor and Loene Carmen. It won the 1987 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film. It was the first in a projected trilogy of films centered around the coming of age experiences of an awkward Australian boy, based on...
, the first part of a planned trilogy. Taylor also appeared in its
sequelA sequel is a work in literature, film, or other media that chronologically portrays events following those of a previous work.In many cases, the sequel continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key elements appear...
, 1991's
FlirtingFlirting is a 1991 Australian coming of age film about a romance between two teenagers, written and directed by John Duigan. It stars Noah Taylor, who appears again as Danny Embling, a character from Duigan's 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke. It also stars Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman....
; the third installment has not yet been filmed.
Career
Taylor first gained international attention playing the tormented young pianist
David HelfgottDavid Helfgott is an Australian concert pianist. He is as well-known for having schizoaffective disorder as he is for his piano playing. Helfgott's life inspired the Oscar-winning film Shine.-Early life:...
in the 1996 film
ShineShine is a 1996 Australian film based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. It stars Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, John Gielgud, Googie Withers, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd, Chris Haywood, and Alex...
. Taylor's
résuméA résumé is a document that contains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The résumé is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment...
includes action movies (
Lara Croft: Tomb RaiderLara Croft: Tomb Raider is a film adaptation of the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001....
), comedies (
The Life Aquatic with Steve ZissouThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is Wes Anderson's fourth feature length film, released in the U.S. on December 25 2004. It was written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach and was filmed in and around Naples, Ponza and the Italian Riviera....
), psychological thrillers (
Vanilla SkyVanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller movie which has been variously characterized by published film critics as "an odd mixture of science fiction, romance, and reality warp", "part Beautiful People fantasy, part New Age investigation of the Great Beyond", a "love story, a struggle...
) and historical dramas (
Max, in which he played the young
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
.)
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 KidThe Nostradamus Kid is a 1992 Australian feature film written and directed by Bob Ellis.The film is a romantic comedy about the religious and sexual coming of age of a 1960s Seventh-day Adventist boy. Ken Elkin is a "randy young man" who is told that the world is about to end...
which was based, apparently, on the memories of the Australian author
Bob EllisBob Ellis is an Australian writer/journalist, film-maker, and political commentator.He was a student at University of Sydney at the same time as other notable Australians Clive James, Germaine Greer, John Bell, Ken Horler, and Mungo McCallum were also studying there.He lives in Sydney with the...
, and
Almost FamousAlmost Famous is a 2000 comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while covering a rock band Stillwater, and his efforts to get his first cover story published...
, based on the memories of the film's writer and director,
Cameron CroweCameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
.
He appears in the video
Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow – a song by Australian Group
Nick CaveNicholas Edward Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and musical styles...
and the band The Bad Seeds.
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, 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 CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
and
Lou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician best known as the guitarist, vocalist and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground as well as a successful solo artist whose career has spanned several decades. The Velvet Underground gained little mainstream attention during their career,...
as two of the artists he admires. It is unknown if he's related to Rod Taylor
Taylor currently lives in
BrightonBrighton is a town in the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex on the south coast of Great Britain...
,
East SussexEast Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:See main article:History of Sussex...
.
Filmography
- The Year My Voice Broke
The Year My Voice Broke is a 1987 film by director John Duigan. It stars Noah Taylor and Loene Carmen. It won the 1987 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film. It was the first in a projected trilogy of films centered around the coming of age experiences of an awkward Australian boy, based on...
(1987)
- The Prisoner of St. Petersburg
The Prisoner of St. Petersburg is a 1989 Australian drama film directed by Ian Pringle. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Efrem Accurso - Italian truck driver* Ifrim Bender - Russina man with coat...
(1989)
- Bangkok Hilton
Bangkok Hilton is a three-part Australian mini-series, made in 1989 by Kennedy Miller Productions and directed by Ken Cameron. The title of the mini-series is, in the story, the nickname of a fictional Bangkok prison in which the protagonist is imprisoned.-Plot:Katrina Stanton , is a sheltered...
(1989)
- Songlines: Video for "Romeos" by Alphaville
Alphaville is a German synthpop group which gained popularity in the 1980s. The founding members were Marian Gold , Bernhard Lloyd , and Frank Mertens...
(1989)
- Flirting
Flirting is a 1991 Australian coming of age film about a romance between two teenagers, written and directed by John Duigan. It stars Noah Taylor, who appears again as Danny Embling, a character from Duigan's 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke. It also stars Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman....
(1991; sequel to The Year My Voice Broke)
- "The Promised Land" episode of TV's Inspector Morse
Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse is a fictional character in a series of thirteen detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, as well as the 33 episode television series produced by Central Independent Television from 1987–2000, in which he was portrayed by John Thaw...
(1991)
- The Nostradamus Kid
The Nostradamus Kid is a 1992 Australian feature film written and directed by Bob Ellis.The film is a romantic comedy about the religious and sexual coming of age of a 1960s Seventh-day Adventist boy. Ken Elkin is a "randy young man" who is told that the world is about to end...
(1992)
- Shine
Shine is a 1996 Australian film based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions. It stars Geoffrey Rush, Lynn Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, John Gielgud, Googie Withers, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd, Chris Haywood, and Alex...
(1996) David HelfgottDavid Helfgott is an Australian concert pianist. He is as well-known for having schizoaffective disorder as he is for his piano playing. Helfgott's life inspired the Oscar-winning film Shine.-Early life:...
- Simon Magus (1999) Simon
- Almost Famous
Almost Famous is a 2000 comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while covering a rock band Stillwater, and his efforts to get his first cover story published...
(2000) Dick Roswell
- Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller movie which has been variously characterized by published film critics as "an odd mixture of science fiction, romance, and reality warp", "part Beautiful People fantasy, part New Age investigation of the Great Beyond", a "love story, a struggle...
(2001) Edmund Ventura
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a film adaptation of the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001....
(2001) Bryce Turing
- He Died With A Felafel In His Hand
He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is a novel by John Birmingham, first published in 1994 by The Yellow Press . The story consists of a collection of colourful anecdotes about living in share houses in Brisbane and other cities in Australia with variously dubious housemates. The title refers to a...
(2002)
- Max (2002) Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
- Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a 2003 action film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.- Plot :...
(2003) Bryce Turing
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is Wes Anderson's fourth feature length film, released in the U.S. on December 25 2004. It was written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach and was filmed in and around Naples, Ponza and the Italian Riviera....
(2004) Vladimir Wolodarsky
- The New World (2005)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 2005 film adaptation of the 1964 book of the same name by Roald Dahl. Directed by Tim Burton, the film stars Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket and Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka...
(2005) Mr Bucket
- Lecture 21
Lecture 21 is an Italian film, made primarily with cast members from the UK, released in 2008. It is written and directed by Alessandro Baricco...
(2008; aka Lesson 21, Lezione 21, in production)
- Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is an upcoming 2010 fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It is an adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The film will use a technique combining live action and motion capture technology...
(2010) March HareThe March Hare, often called The Mad March Hare, is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.The main character, Alice, hypothesises,...