Kelvin Lewis Taylor (born January 18, 1985, in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

), is an American born New Zealand actor based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. 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''.

Early life

Taylor was raised in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

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

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

; 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 play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

who was orphaned in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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 misadventures while fleeing from various people that culminates in the titular character being eaten by a fox. "The Gingerbread Boy" first appe ...

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

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

Career

Taylor began modelling at age 19 for the Shmack Clothing in collaboration with Billionaire Boys Club / BAPE. 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 in New Zealand, ...

the attack was racially motivated. After making friendships on social-media website

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

, a trip to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia 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 research 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, , t ...

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

N.E.R.D N.E.R.D. (a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) was an American rock and hip-hop band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1994. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin. After producing songs for several artists ...

, Fam-Lay feat.

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

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

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

before showing up on

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Three (TV channel) Three (), stylised 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 nationally ( ...

. Taylor went on to make guest appearances in ''

Ash vs Evil Dead ''Ash vs Evil Dead'' is an American comedy horror television series developed by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, and Tom Spezialy for Starz. The series is set in the '' Evil Dead'' universe created by Raimi, with Bruce Campbell reprising his role a ...

'', ''

The Shannara Chronicles ''The Shannara Chronicles'' is an American fantasy drama (film and television), drama television series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. It is an adaptation of The Sword of Shannara Trilogy, ''The Sword of Shannara'' trilogy of fantasy ...

'' 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'', '' Private'' and ...

'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 television series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film ''Ghost Ship''. ...

and

Antony Starr Antony Starr (born 25 October 1975) is a New Zealand actor. He is best known for his television roles, such as the dual roles of Jethro and Van West in the series '' Outrageous Fortune'' (2005–10), Lucas Hood in the Cinemax series ''Banshee'' ...

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

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

's Goodbyes (Post Malone song) 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