Noah George Taylor is an English-born Australian actor and musician. Taylor, elder of two boys, was born in London, England, the son of Maggie, a journalist and book editor, and Paul Taylor, a copywriter and journalist. Taylor's Australian parents returned to Australia when he was five, and he grew up in Clifton Hill and St Kilda, Victoria, suburbs of Melbourne. His parents divorced when he was 14. Taylor left both school and home at 16 with no intention of becoming an actor; a friend, however, suggested that he try the theater as 'something to do at the weekends', and Taylor found the... experience so enjoyable that he opted to make it his career. After performing in plays at St Martin's Youth Theater in South Yarra for a year, he gained the attention of director John Duigan, who cast him in the 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke, the first part of a planned trilogy. Taylor also appeared in its sequel, 1991's Flirting which also starred Nicole Kidman. Taylor first gained international attention playing the tormented young pianist David Helfgott in the 1996 film Shine.
more