Robin Lord Taylor (born June 4, 1978)
is an American actor and director. He is known for playing
Oswald Cobblepot in the
Fox series ''
Gotham'' (2014–2019) and
Will Bettelheim in the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series
''You'' (2019). He also voices
The Outsider in the video games ''
Dishonored 2'' (2016) and ''
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider'' (2017). His film roles include the comedy ''
Accepted'' (2006), the sci-fi drama ''
Another Earth'' (2011), the horror ''
Would You Rather'' (2012), and the thriller ''
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' (2019).
Early life
Taylor was born in
Shueyville, Iowa, to Robert Harmon Taylor and Mary Susan (née Stamy) Taylor. He attended
Solon High School and
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in theatre in 2000. While at Northwestern, his roommate was actor
Billy Eichner
Billy Eichner ( ; born September 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and television show host. He is the star, executive producer, and creator of Funny or Die's '' Billy on the Street'', a comedy game show that aired on truT ...
.
Career
Taylor has appeared in several television series, such as ''
The Walking Dead'', ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'', ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''
The Good Wife
''The Good Wife'' is an American legal political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...
'' and ''
Person of Interest
"Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...
''. He had a recurring role as "Darrell, the ''Late Show'' page with the fake British accent" on ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
''.
Taylor was featured in
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
's segment "Jesus Children of America" of the 2005 anthology film on the theme of childhood and exploitation ''
All the Invisible Children
''All the Invisible Children'' is a 2005 anthology film on the theme of childhood and exploitation. It is a collection of seven short films, each focused on a different child. The film has a total runtime of 116 minutes, averaging 16 minutes ea ...
'' (
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
), ''
The House is Burning'' (produced by
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...
(
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
), ''Pitch'' (
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
),
Kevin Connolly's ''
Gardener of Eden'' (
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
) and ''
Assassination of a High School President
''Assassination of a High School President'' is a 2008 American neo noir comedy film directed by Brett Simon and starring Reece Thompson, Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton, Emily Meade and Michael Rapaport. It was written by Tim Calpin and Kevin ...
'' (
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
).
Taylor co-created and co-starred in ''Creation Nation: A Live Talk Show'' with Billy Eichner, which they performed at the 2008
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
, as well as at the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
Aspen Comedy Festival and throughout New York City and Los Angeles. He has also appeared onstage in ''Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom'', ''The Shooting Stage'', ''
Henry IV'' and ''No. 11 Blue and White'', as well as numerous productions in
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
's Young Playwrights Festival at the
Cherry Lane Theater.
Taylor played Abernathy Darwin Dunlap in ''
Accepted''. He appeared in such independent films as ''
Would You Rather'', ''
Cold Comes the Night'', and ''
Another Earth'', the last of which won the
Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2011
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
.

Taylor was cast as
Oswald Cobblepot in February 2014.
His performance as Cobblepot has been described by ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' as a "standout performance of the first episode
.. disarming and multilayered", by ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' as "a passionate performance ...
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
steals the show", and as "spectacularly cast as the Penguin".
In February 2019, it was announced that Taylor had been cast in the recurring role of Will Bettelheim on the second season of the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
thriller series ''
You
In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers.
History
''You'' comes from ...
''.
From 2021 to 2022, Taylor also appeared in ''
Kevin Can F**k Himself'' in the recurring role of Nick, a restaurant worker, across both seasons of the show.
Personal life
As of 2000, Taylor lives in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
.
In a November 2014 ''
Glamour'' interview, Taylor was asked, "I notice you are wearing a wedding ring on your ring finger. Are you married?" To which he responded, "I am married! I like to keep it private, but I've been married for over three years, and we've been together for 10½ years. No kids. No kids yet!"
In March 2015, ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' noted Taylor in an article discussing "Several actors who are openly gay or who have been cast in multiple straight or
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
roles and the typecasting of gay roles". Taylor, himself, added: "I feel like the landscape has totally changed. Regardless of sexual preference, it's more that as a
character actor
A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
, the less I reveal about myself, the better. My favorite actors are the ones I know least about." In April 2015, Taylor openly identified as gay on episode 672 of ''
The Nerdist Podcast'' with
Chris Hardwick
Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...
.
In honor of
National Coming Out Day in October 2019, Taylor revealed on
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
that he had been out as gay for 22 years and encouraged followers to donate to the non-profit
Rainbow Railroad
Rainbow Railroad is a North American charitable organization that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex ( LGBTQI) individuals escape violence and persecution in their home countries. The organization was formed in 2006, ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video game
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Robin Lord
1978 births
21st-century American male actors
American gay actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American people of English descent
American people of German descent
American people of Scottish descent
LGBTQ people from Iowa
Living people
Male actors from Iowa
Northwestern University alumni
People from Shueyville, Iowa
People from Solon, Iowa