Robert John Taylor (born 1963) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many films and television series in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. On television, he is known for playing the lead role of
Walt Longmire
Walter Longmire is a fictional character created by American author Craig Johnson (b. 1961)
Longmire is title character of ''Walt Longmire Mysteries'', a series of mystery novels first published in 2004. The novels were adapted into '' Longmire' ...
in the A&E/
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
television series ''
Longmire''. On film, he is known for playing "Agent Jones" in ''
The Matrix
''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...
'' (1999); he also starred in ''
Vertical Limit
''Vertical Limit'' is a 2000 American survival thriller film directed by Martin Campbell, written by Robert King, and starring Chris O'Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney, and Scott Glenn. The film was released on December 8, 2000, in the United S ...
'' (2000).
Early life
Taylor was born in 1963 in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
His parents separated when he was nine, and he moved to a mining town in
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 ...
to live with his aunt and uncle.
He worked as a miner when he was a teenager,[ and later had jobs including lifeguard and bouncer. He went to university three times.]
At age twenty one, Taylor went to work on an oil rig
{{about, , the mnemonic OIL RIG, Redox
An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling.
Kinds of oil rig include:
* Drilling rig, an apparatus for on-land oil drilling
* Drillship, a floating apparatus for offshore oil drilling
* ...
in the Indian Ocean.[ His ship collided with another and sank off the west coast of Australia, but he and two crew mates escaped on a lifeboat.][ Taylor suffered a broken arm and ribs][ and, while recovering in the hospital, saw an ad for auditions for drama school in ]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 ...
, at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...
(WAAPA),[ which he joined after a successful audition at the age of 24.][
]
Career
Taylor started acting professionally in 1988 after graduating from WAAPA. His first major role was in 1989 as Nicholas Walsh in the Australian television soap ''Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...
''. His first lead role came in 1993 when he was cast as David Griffin in the Australian mini series ''The Feds
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''. He then appeared in various guest roles and on TV movies in Australia, such as ''Blue Heelers
''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...
'' and '' Stingers'', often being cast as a police officer.
Taylor's big break in Hollywood came when he was cast as the shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
Agent Jones
Agents are a group of characters in the fictional universe of ''The Matrix'' franchise. They are guardians within the computer-generated world of the Matrix, protecting it from anyone or anything (most often Redpills) that could reveal it as ...
in the 1999 blockbuster ''The Matrix
''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...
''. In 2000, he starred alongside Chris O'Donnell
Christopher Eugene O'Donnell (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He played Charlie Sims in '' Scent of a Woman'', Chris Reece in ''School Ties'', D'Artagnan in ''The Three Musketeers'', Jack Foley in the drama film '' C ...
in the action thriller ''Vertical Limit
''Vertical Limit'' is a 2000 American survival thriller film directed by Martin Campbell, written by Robert King, and starring Chris O'Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney, and Scott Glenn. The film was released on December 8, 2000, in the United S ...
''. His other film credits include ''The Hard Word
''The Hard Word'' (released in some regions as ''The Australian Job'') is a 2002 Australian crime film about three bank-robbing brothers who are offered a role in a bold heist while serving time in prison. The film was written and directed by Sc ...
'' (2002), ''Storm Warning
At sea, a storm warning is a warning issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when winds between 48 knots (89 km/h, 55 mph) and 63 knots (117 km/h, 73 mph) are occurring or predicted to occur soon. The wi ...
'' (2007), '' Rogue'' (2007), and ''Coffin Rock
''Coffin Rock'' is an Australian melodramatic thriller film directed by Rupert Glasson and produced by David Lightfoot. The movie stars Lisa Chappell, Robert Taylor (Australian actor), Robert Taylor and Sam Parsonson.
Plot
Rob (Robert Taylor (Au ...
'' (2009).[
In 2000, Taylor took on the role of Father Vincent Sheehan in '']Ballykissangel
''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural comm ...
'', a British television drama set in Ireland. His television credits after that include ''MDA
MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics
* Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...
'' (2002), '' Satisfaction'' (2010), ''Cops L.A.C.
''Cops L.A.C.'' (''Cops: Local Area Command'') is a 2010 Australian television police drama, which screened on the Nine Network. The series followed the work of officers at the Seaview Local Area Command, a fictitious police response area of th ...
'' (2010) and '' Killing Time'' (2011).[ In 2011, Taylor was cast for the lead role of ]Walt Longmire
Walter Longmire is a fictional character created by American author Craig Johnson (b. 1961)
Longmire is title character of ''Walt Longmire Mysteries'', a series of mystery novels first published in 2004. The novels were adapted into '' Longmire' ...
in A&E's crime drama series '' Longmire''. The series later moved to Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
after the third season and the network renewed the series for its sixth and final season, which aired in 2017.
Personal life
Taylor is married to producer Ayisha Davies
Ayisha Davies is an Australian film producer. She is most famous for producing such films as'' Coffin Rock'' (2009) and ''The Bloody Sweet Hit'' (2007). Davies has been working within the Australian film industry for eight years and is currently ...
and they have a daughter named Scarlet.[ He co-founded a farmer's market and community gardens in ]St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local governmen ...
, called Veg Out.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Robert
1963 births
20th-century Australian male actors
21st-century Australian male actors
Australian expatriate male actors in the United States
Australian male film actors
Australian male television actors
Australian male voice actors
Living people
Male actors from Melbourne
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts alumni
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia