Kelvin Lewis Taylor (born January 18, 1985, in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

), is an American born New Zealand actor based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. His film appearances include the documentary "The Golden Hour". The documentary received an

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...

nomination for the Best Documentary Award at the 41st International Emmy Awards. Taylor appeared on the second week of the first season of ''

Come Dine with Me New Zealand ''Come Dine with Me New Zealand'' was a New Zealand television reality programme based on the UK's '' Come Dine with Me''. Narrated by comedian Guy Williams, it premiered on TV3 on 15 June 2015, with the final episode airing on 7 August 2015. Orig ...

''.

Early life

Taylor was raised in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

alongside his twin sister, Princess. His ethnic heritage links him to Nigerian

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

; he is of African, British, German, Irish, and French descent. His mother, Rhonda (Taylor) Clark, was a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

who was orphaned in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and relocated to New York City. Taylor made his stage debut in 1990 at the age of 5, playing the lead role in a kindergarten production of ''

The Gingerbread Man The Gingerbread Man (also known as The Gingerbread Boy) is a fairy tale about a gingerbread man's escape from various pursuers until his eventual demise between the jaws of a fox. "The Gingerbread Boy" first appeared in print in the May 1875, is ...

''. When he was 11, his family relocated to

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Career

Taylor began modelling at age 19 for the Shmack Clothing in collaboration with

Billionaire Boys Club The Billionaire Boys Club was an investing and social club organized in 1983 by Joseph Henry Hunt (born Joseph Henry Gamsky) in Southern California. It was originally simply named "BBC", the initials of Bombay Bicycle Club, a restaurant Hunt had ...

BAPE A Bathing Ape (or BAPE) is a Japanese fashion brand founded by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in Ura-Harajuku in 1993.David FischerNIGO Announces His Definitive Departure from BAPE''highsnobiety'', May 25, 2013

. An altercation would later hinder his modelling career and lead him into undergoing emergency plastic surgery. It was later revealed according to a 2020 article in

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

the attack was racially motivated. After making friendships on social-media website MySpace, a trip to

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 2008 lead him into acting after signing up to a roommates short film as a breakdancer for

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Aust ...

. He later would appeared in commercials and music videos for the likes of

N.E.R.D N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley (producer), Ted ...

Fam-Lay Nathaniel Johnson, also known as Fam-Lay (born May 28, 1974) is an American rapper.Fennessey, Sean (2007)Fam-Lay: Virginia's New Old Hope, ''Vibe'', September 2007, p. 119, retrieved 2011-01-25 Biography Signed to The Neptunes' Star Trak impr ...

feat.

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

. Humble beginnings, he would find a start as a background actor in

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...

before showing up on

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Three (TV channel) Three ( mi, Toru), stylized as +HR=E, is a New Zealand nationwide television channel. Launched on 26 November 1989 as TV3, it was New Zealand's first private broadcasting, privately owned television channel. The channel currently broadcasts nat ...

. Taylor went on to make guest appearances in ''

Ash vs Evil Dead Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is ...

'', ''

The Shannara Chronicles ''The Shannara Chronicles'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. It is an adaptation of ''The Sword of Shannara'' trilogy of fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. It follows three heroes as they pro ...

'' and

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the ''Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', ''Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' se ...

's ''Murder Is Forever''. He was cast as Malcolm X in '' American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story'', however the role was cancelled as production opted to use archived footage instead. He was also a student of Meisner Technique instructor Michael Saccenté, acting coach of

Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and TV series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film ''Ghost Ship''. Since t ...

and

Antony Starr Antony Starr (born 25 October 1975) is a New Zealand actor, known for his television roles. He played the dual roles of Jethro and Van West on '' Outrageous Fortune'' (2005–10), Lucas Hood on ''Banshee'' (2013–16), and Homelander on '' The Bo ...

(''

The Boys Boys are young male humans. Boys or The Boys may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''The Boys'' (1962 British film), a courtroom drama by Sidney J. Furie * ''The Boys'' (1962 Finnish film), a war drama by Mikko Niskanen * ''Boys'' ( ...

''). As of 2008, Kelvin Taylor resides between Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Having appearing on Adult Swim's

FishCenter Live ''FishCenter Live'' (also shortened to ''FishCenter'' or ''FC Live'' or just ''FCL'') was an American talk show hosted by Dave Bonawits, Andrew Choe, Matt Harrigan, Christina Loranger, and Max Simonet. It premiered on the official website of Adu ...

and

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

Goodbyes (Post Malone song) "Goodbyes" is a song by American rapper and singer Post Malone featuring fellow American rapper and singer Young Thug. It was released as the second single from Malone's third studio album, '' Hollywood's Bleeding'', via Republic Records on Jul ...

Music Video, he was recently cast in Season 2 of

Gēmusetto ''Gēmusetto'' (stylized as ''ゲームセット'') is an American adult animated series created by Max Simonet, that premiered on April 1, 2019 on Adult Swim. The first season, titled ''Gēmusetto Machu Picchu'' (stylized as ''ゲ–ムセッ� ...

: Death Beat(s)

Filmography

Films

Television

Documentary

Music video

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Kelvin 1985 births Living people 21st-century Australian male actors Australian people of African-American descent Male actors from Virginia 21st-century New Zealand male actors People from Hampton, Virginia People from Virginia Beach, Virginia