Noah Taylor
About
Biography
Filmography
Notes
An article in a Melbourne, Australia newspaper published on August 8, 2001, referred to Taylor as "a recovered drug addict." The actor has subsequently refused comment except to tell the Sydney Morning Herald (August 9, 2001) that "I wish it hadn't happened. But I'm not going to discuss it any more. It's not open for discussion."
"There's a spooky thing about acting sometimes where I often find that my own life will be mirroring the part I;m about to play. I find it's uncannily coincidental." --Noah Taylor quoted in On the Street, August 1996.
Biography
A talented performer who successfully made the transition from juvenile roles to adult performances, Australian actor Noah Taylor broke through in the United States playing the adolescent piano prodigy, David Helfgott, in the Oscar-winning drama, "Shine" (1996). Prior to this success, Taylor had both supporting and leading roles in a number of projects made in his native Australia, while managing to crack through across the Pacific with a role in the television miniseries "Dadah is Death" (CBS, 1988). After "Shine," he starred in the indie period drama, "Simon Magus" (1999), before appearing in consecutive movies directed by Cameron Crowe, "Almost Famous" (2001) and "Vanilla Sky" (2002). While entering blockbuster territory as Angelina Jolie's sidekick in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001) and its sequel "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" (2003), Taylor delivered his most complex and critically acclaimed performances as a pre-Nazi Adolf Hitler in the unrelenting drama, "Max" (2002). From there, he settled into a series of foreign and independently made features like "The Proposition" (2006) and "Submarine" (2010), none of which received much play in the States. Regardless, Taylor remained a talented performer capable of tackling a wide variety of offbeat characters in either supporting or leading roles.
Born on Sept. 4, 1969 in London, England, Taylor was raised by his journalist parents, Paul and Maggie, who moved the family to Australia in 1974. The young lad honed his talents as a child actor on stage with the St. Martin's Youth Theater in Melbourne, where he appeared in "Pierrot Lunnaire," "Alien in the Park" and "Eric and Verna." After attending the Swinburne Community School and University High School, Taylor made his features debut in Richard Lowenstein's "Dogs in Space" (1986), a rock-n-roll drama focusing on several young people sharing a house in Melbourne. He landed his first leading role in John Duigan's semi-autobiographical "The Year My Voice Broke" (1987), playing a youth coming to terms with his burgeoning sexuality. Taylor next made his American small screen debut in the two-part miniseries, "Dadah is Death" (CBS, 1988), before reprising Danny for Duigan's follow-up, "Flirting" (1990), which focused on the young lad's romance with an African student (Thandi Newton).
Once established as a young leading actor, Taylor continued to appear in a number of well-received Australian features, including Geoffrey Wright's "Lover Boy" (1989), in which he played a youth involved in a doomed love affair. He was a virginal youngster covering his inexperience with a tough exterior and fake Liverpudlian accent in "Secrets" (1992), his first collaboration with writer Jan Sardi. The coming-of-age comedy earned praise from local critics, who favorably compared it with American films like "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (1978) and "The Breakfast Club" (1985). As "The Nostradamus Kid" (1993), Taylor stood out in the otherwise confusing and rather misogynistic film. But nonetheless, he inspired its director, Bob Ellis, to proclaim the actor to be his onscreen alter ego. Back on American television, Taylor was featured alongside Nicole Kidman in "Bangkok Hilton" (TBS, 1990), while additionally appearing in "The Boys from the Bush" (BBC, 1991-92) and "Inspector Morse: Promised Land" (PBS, 1993).
In 1995, Taylor displayed his broad comic abilities as the youngest child in a turn-of-the-century family carving a life in the bush in "Dad and Dave - On Our Selection," co-starring fellow Aussie Geoffrey Rush. Taylor had his biggest breakthrough playing the adolescent-age piano prodigy, David Helfgott, who suffers an abusive home life run by his authoritarian father and later succumbs to a debilitating mental breakdown in Scott Hicks' acclaimed biopic "Shine" (1996). The Oscar-winning, feel-good drama also starred Rush, who played the adult version Helfgott. The two actors went on to make cameo appearances in the Australian miniseries, "Frontier" (1997), before Taylor branched off on his own to a leading role in the small indie drama "Simon Magus" (1999), in which he played a Jewish outcast who is believed to converse with the devil. He followed that with supporting turns in major American films like Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical "Almost Famous" (2000), in which he played the put-upon, but resourceful band manager Dick Roswell.
Taylor reunited with Crowe in a small but pivotal role for the murky meditation on life and fate, "Vanilla Sky" (2001), before snaring a highly visible role as Angelina Jolie's trusty sidekick Bryce in the video game adaptation "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001), a character he reprised for the sequel "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" (2003). Taylor's acting depths, however, were not pushed to their limits again until "Max" (2002), writer-director Menno Meyjes' controversial exploration of the edgy relationship between a youthful, impoverished, artistic Adolph Hitler (Taylor) and a one-armed Jewish art dealer Max Rothman (John Cusack). Taylor earned critical plaudits for playing a very human proto-version of the Hitler history has known and despised without delving into caricature or cartoon. After a supporting turn in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004), he appeared in Tim Burton's remake of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005), starring Johnny Depp as the reclusive chocolatier. He next had a supporting role in Terrance Malick's lyrical, but meandering look at the 1607 Jamestown colony in "The New World" (2005), starring Colin Ferrell as Captain John Smith.
Taylor starred opposite fellow Australian Guy Pearce and British actress Emma Watson for the little-seen Western "The Proposition" (2006), which followed a wanted outlaw (Peace) given the choice by a lawman (Ray Winstone) to either hunt down his psychotic brother (Danny Huston) or watch his other brother (Richard Wilson) hang. In the Italian-made "Lecture 21" (2008), Taylor was a young musician who seeks insight into Beethoven's grand 9th symphony before the composer dies, before playing a burial mound expert who helps a divorced novelist (Kevin Costner) unearth the secrets of a mound that mysteriously appears in his backyard in "The New Daughter" (2009). He next played an Iraq War veteran who forges an uneasy relationship with a misguided woman (Amanda Fuller) in the indie revenge thriller "Red, White and Blue" (2010). Taylor moved on to co-star in "Submarine" (2010), a coming-of-age drama about an ambitious 15-year-old (Craig Roberts), who tries to save his parents' marriage with a carefully orchestrated plan while also trying to lose his virginity before his next birthday.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Visual Effects (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1974
Moved with family to Australia (date approximate)
1983
Was member of St Martins Theatre fof Youth in Melbourne
1986
Feature film debut, "Dogs in Space"
1987
First leading role in features, Danny in "The Year My Voice Broke"; first collaboration with director John Duigan
1988
American TV debut "Dadah Is Death"
1990
Reprised role of Danny in Duigan's "Flirting"
1992
First collaboration with screenwriter Jan Sardi, "Secrets"
1995
Featured as Geoffrey Rush's younger brother in the comedy "Dad and Dave - On Our Selection"
1996
Gained international prominence as the teenaged David Helfgott (played by Geoffrey Rush as an adult) in Scott Hicks' biopic "Shine"
1999
Had title role in "Simon Magus", a Jewish peasant who is an outcast in the small village in which he lives
2000
Co-starred as the band's manager in "Almost Famous", written and directed by Cameron Crowe
2001
Played leading role in "He Died With a Felafel in His Hand"
2001
Cast as the title character's assistant with a flair for gadgetry in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider"
2001
Had featured part in "The Sleeping Dictionary"
2001
Reteamed with Crowe in a co-starring role in "Vanilla Sky", starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz
2002
Portrayed Adolph Hitler in the Nazi feature drama "Max"
2003
Portrayed Bryce in "Lara Croft and the Cradle of Life: Tomb Raider 2"
2004
Cast in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" directed and written by Wes Anderson
2005
Cast as Charlie's father in Tim Burton's adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic tale "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
2006
Starred with Guy Pearce in "The Proposition," an Australian western written by musician Nick Cave
Family
Bibliography
Notes
An article in a Melbourne, Australia newspaper published on August 8, 2001, referred to Taylor as "a recovered drug addict." The actor has subsequently refused comment except to tell the Sydney Morning Herald (August 9, 2001) that "I wish it hadn't happened. But I'm not going to discuss it any more. It's not open for discussion."
"There's a spooky thing about acting sometimes where I often find that my own life will be mirroring the part I;m about to play. I find it's uncannily coincidental." --Noah Taylor quoted in On the Street, August 1996.
"I'm just not a terribly ambitious person ... I never do much press, so I can stay anonymous. ... Being a star must be horrible: You can't hang out in bars, or take the subway without being hassled or even stalked. Instead, I'd like to be just famous enough to get into a few exclusive clubs and always get free drinks." --Taylor quoted in New York Post, November 21, 1996.
"It never really occurred to me that I missed out on anything personally with the success of 'Shine'. It was a great experience. It's all gone remarkably well as far as I am concerned. I have always been able to work and I have always been able to have a pretty normal life. That's the balance I've always wanted. I've been able to do character roles in a variety of films, which is great." --Taylor quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald, June 15, 2001.
