Robert Taylor (Australian actor)

For the American actor, see Robert Taylor (American actor). For other people with the same name, see Robert Taylor.

Robert John Taylor OAM (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).

Robert Taylor OAM
Born	Robert John Taylor 1963 (age 61–62) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Alma mater	Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Ayisha Davies ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1

Early life and education

Robert Taylor was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia.^[1] His parents separated when he was nine, and he moved to a mining town in Western Australia to live with his aunt and uncle.^[1][2][3]

He attended university three times.^{[1][2][4][further explanation needed]} He worked as a miner when he was a teenager.^[1][3]

At age 21, Taylor went to work on an oil rig in the Indian Ocean.^[1][2][3] 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.^[4]

While recovering in hospital, he saw an advertisement for auditions for drama school in Perth, at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA),^[4] which he joined after a successful audition at the age of 24.^[1][2][3]

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.^[5] His first lead role came in 1993 when he was cast as David Griffin in the Australian miniseries The Feds.^[6][7] He then appeared in various guest roles and on television films in Australia, such as Blue Heelers and Stingers, often being cast as a police officer.^{[citation needed]}

Taylor's big break in Hollywood came when he was cast as one of the Agents in the 1999 blockbuster The Matrix.^[8] In 2000, he appeared in the action thriller Vertical Limit.^[9] His other film credits include The Hard Word (2002), Storm Warning (2007), Rogue (2007), and Coffin Rock (2009).^[9]

In 2000, Taylor played Father Vincent Sheehan in Ballykissangel, a British television drama set in Ireland.^[10] His television credits after that include MDA (2002), Satisfaction (2010), Cops L.A.C. (2010) and Killing Time (2011).^[9][11] In 2011, Taylor was cast for the lead role of Walt Longmire in A&E's crime drama series Longmire.^[12] The series moved to Netflix after the third season. Its sixth and final season was released in 2017.^[13][14]

In April 2024, as his film Kid Snow was in post-production, Taylor was cast as Jackson Gibbs in NCIS: Origins.^[15] He plays Colin Lawson in the 2024 Netflix drama series Territory.^[16]

Personal life

Taylor is married to producer Ayisha Davies; they have a daughter, Scarlet.^[1][4]

Taylor co-founded Veg Out, a farmer's market and community gardens in St Kilda, Victoria.^[17]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Phage	Calhoun
1999	The Matrix	Agent Jones
2000	Muggers	Detective Constable Porter
	Vertical Limit	Skip Taylor
	After the Rain	Jack Behring
2002	The Hard Word	Frank Malone
2003	Ned Kelly	Sherritt Trooper
2007	Storm Warning	Rob
	Rogue	Everett Kennedy
2008	Long Weekend	Bartender
2009	Coffin Rock	Rob Willis
2014	Healing	Vander
	Turkey Shoot	Ramrod
2015	Focus	McEwen
	What Lola Wants	Jed
	Downriver	Wayne
2016	The Menkoff Method	Clive Struthers
2017	Kong: Skull Island	Captain of the Boat
	Don't Tell	Robert Brewster
2018	The Meg	Dr. Heller
2019	Into the Ashes	Frank Parson
	Blood Vessel	Captain Malone
2022	We Are Still Here	Riley
2024	Kid Snow	Ed
2024	Just a Farmer	Owen

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Danger Down Under	King	Television film
	Rafferty's Rules	Constable Hanks	Episode: "Confessions"
	Barracuda (aka The Rocks)	Constable Gottlieb	Television film
	Something Is Out There	1st officer	2 episodes
	The Clean Machine	Constable Ron Healy	Television film
	The Flying Doctors	Lachlan McGregor	Episode: "Clapped Out"
	Fragments of War: The Story of Damien Parer	Lt. Ellis	Television film
1989	Brotherhood of the Rose	Pollux	2 episodes
	Home and Away	Nicholas Walsh	21 episodes
1990	Yellowthread Street	Detective Peter Marenta	7 episodes
	The Paper Man	Johnny Coates	6 episodes
	G.P.	Greg Mawson	Episode: "Longing"
1992	Steel Justice	Detective Lieutenant David Nash	Television film
1993–1996	The Feds	David Griffin	Lead role
1995	The Last Bullet	Sergeant Caldwell	Television film
1996	Twisted Tales	Peter	Episode: "A Sure Thing"
	Flipper	Captain Whitaker	Episode: "Fish Out of Water"
	The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years	Jack Cleary	Television film
1998	Good Guys, Bad Guys	Andrew Costello	Episode: "Blood is Thicker Than Walter"
1999	Wildside	Clayton Clark	Episode #2.8
	Blue Heelers	Detective Barry Craig	Episodes: "Dirty Money" & "Web of Lies"
	Stingers	Detective Sergeant Mick Foley	4 episodes
	First Daughter	Mason	Television film
2000	Tales of the South Seas	Tall Bounty Hunter	Episode: "Isabelle's Brother"
2001	Ballykissangel	Father Vincent Sheehan	8 episodes
2002	MDA	Paul Bennett	8 episodes
2004	The Mystery of Natalie Wood	Nicholas Ray	Television film
2005	Hercules	Chiron	2 episodes
2008	City Homicide	Kevin Steele	Episode: "Spoils of War"
2010	Satisfaction	John McCoy	6 episodes
	Cops L.A.C.	Tom O'Neill	Episode: "The Learning Curve"
2011	Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer was Here	Deputy Commissioner Graham Sinclair	Television film
	Killing Time	Tim Watson-Munro	5 episodes
	Twentysomething	Trevor	Episode: "You Only Get One Special Day"
2012–2017	Longmire	Sheriff Walt Longmire	Lead role
2013	Mr & Mrs Murder	Alistair Travers	Episode: "A Flare for Murder"
2016	Wolf Creek	Roland Thorogood	Episode: "Billabong"
2019	Dolly Parton's Heartstrings	Reverend Covern	Episode: "Down from Dover"
2021–23	The Newsreader	Geoff Walters	12 episodes
2023	Scrublands	Harley Reagan	4 episodes
2024	Apples Never Fall	William	Episode: "Joy"
	NCIS: Origins	Jackson Gibbs	Recurring role
	Territory	Colin Lawson	6 episodes