Tate Taylor (born June 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker and actor. Taylor is best known for directing ''
The Help'' (2011), ''
Get on Up'' (2014), and ''
The Girl on the Train'' (2016).
Early life
Taylor was born on June 3, 1969 in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
, where he grew up.
Career
Taylor worked for 15 years in New York City and Los Angeles. Though he debuted as a feature film director in ''
Pretty Ugly People'' (2008), he was primarily an actor for most of his career, in films such as ''
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'' (1997) and ''
Winter's Bone'' (2010), and on television in series such as ''
Charmed'', ''
Six Feet Under'', and ''
The Drew Carey Show
''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionali ...
''.
Taylor achieved mainstream success when he directed the film ''
The Help'' (2011), based on
Kathryn Stockett's novel
of the same title. Stockett gave him rights to make the film adaptation in June 2008, before the book was published. In addition to receiving generally positive reviews, the film was a major commercial success, earning more than $200 million worldwide, and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categor ...
. Tate Taylor has been nominated for and received industry awards including the 2013
Vail Film Festival Vanguard Award, the 2012
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, the 2012
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the 2012
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, the 2012
NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture and for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture, and the 2011
Chicago Film Critics Association
The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...
nomination. Taylor next directed the
James Brown biopic ''
Get on Up'' (2014), which starred
Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...
. Though the film was a critical success, it commercially underperformed. His next project ''
The Girl on the Train'', an adaption of the book by
Paula Hawkins Paula Hawkins may refer to:
* Paula Hawkins (author) (born 1972), British novelist
* Paula Hawkins (politician)
Paula Hawkins (née Fickes; January 24, 1927 – December 4, 2009) was an American politician from Florida. She is the only woman el ...
, was released to mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success.
In August 2018, Taylor was announced to be directing
Jessica Chastain in action thriller film ''
Ava''. Taylor replaced original director
Matthew Newton, who stepped down after controversy over allegations of domestic violence and assault.
In May 2019, Taylor released psychological horror film ''
Ma'', starring frequent collaborator
Octavia Spencer
Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors ...
. The film, produced by
Jason Blum
Jason Ferus Blum "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer" (; born 1969) is an American film and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, whi ...
through his
Blumhouse Productions
Blumhouse Productions (; also known as BH Productions or simply BH) is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum.
It is known mainly for producing horror films, such as ''Paranormal Activity'', '' Insidio ...
banner, was a critical and commercial success. That same month,
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
ordered Taylor's first television project, ''
Filthy Rich'', to series. An American adaption of the
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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
series starring
Kim Cattrall, it premiered in September 2020 and was cancelled after one season.
Taylor's most recent film is ''
Breaking News in Yuba County'', starring frequent collaborator
Allison Janney, was released on February 12, 2021.
Personal life
Taylor is
openly gay
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
and is in a relationship with producer John Norris. He resides on the
Wyolah Plantation
The Wyolah Plantation is a historic Southern plantation in Church Hill, Jefferson County, Mississippi.Nancy Capace, ''Encyclopedia of Mississippi'', North American Book Distribution, 2001, p. 49/ref> It is located off the Mississippi Highway ...
, an Antebellum plantation in
Church Hill, Mississippi
Church Hill is a small unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Mississippi, United States. It is located eight miles east of the Mississippi River and approximately 18 miles north of Natchez at the intersection of highway 553 and Church ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Acting roles
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Tate
1969 births
21st-century American male actors
Actors from Jackson, Mississippi
American male screenwriters
American male film actors
English-language film directors
Film directors from Mississippi
American gay actors
American gay writers
Living people
Male actors from Mississippi
LGBT film directors
American LGBT screenwriters
LGBT people from Mississippi
People from Jefferson County, Mississippi
Screenwriters from Mississippi
Writers from Jackson, Mississippi