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 in the A&E/ Netflix television series '' Longmire''. His film credits include Agent Jones in '' The Matrix'' (1999), and also had roles in '' Vertical Limit'' (2000) and '' The Meg'' (2018).

Early life and education

Robert Taylor was born in 1963 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. His parents separated when he was nine, and he moved to a mining town in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

to live with his aunt and uncle. He attended university three times. He worked as a miner when he was a teenager. At age 21, Taylor went to work on an

oil rig An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling. Kinds of oil rig include: * Drilling rig A drilling rig is an integrated system that Drilling, drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construc ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. 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. While recovering in hospital, he saw an advertisement for auditions for drama school in

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 ...

, at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (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'' (''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 to Kangaroo Point, N ...

''. His first lead role came in 1993 when he was cast as David Griffin in the Australian miniseries '' The Feds''. He then appeared in various guest roles and on television films in Australia, such as ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted th ...

'' and '' Stingers'', often being cast as a police officer. Taylor's big break in Hollywood came when he was cast as one of the Agents in the 1999 blockbuster '' The Matrix''. In 2000, he appeared in the action thriller '' Vertical Limit''. His other film credits include '' The Hard Word'' (2002), ''

Storm Warning At sea, a storm warning is a warning issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when winds between are occurring or predicted to occur soon. The winds must not be associated with a tropical cyclone. If the winds are associate ...

'' (2007), '' Rogue'' (2007), and '' Coffin Rock'' (2009). In 2000, Taylor played Father Vincent Sheehan in '' Ballykissangel'', a British television drama set in Ireland. His television credits after that include '' MDA'' (2002), '' Satisfaction'' (2010), '' Cops L.A.C.'' (2010) and '' Killing Time'' (2011). In 2011, Taylor was cast for the lead role of Walt Longmire in A&E's crime drama series '' Longmire''. The series moved to Netflix after the third season. Its sixth and final season was released in 2017. In April 2024, as his film '' Kid Snow'' was in post-production, Taylor was cast as Jackson Gibbs in '' NCIS: Origins''. He plays Colin Lawson in the 2024 Netflix drama series ''

Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

''.

Personal life

Taylor is married to producer Ayisha Davies; they have a daughter, Scarlet. Taylor co-founded Veg Out, a

farmer's market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

and community gardens in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a ...

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