# Robert Taylor (Australian actor)

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).

## Early life and education

Robert Taylor was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. His parents separated when he was nine, and he moved to a mining town in Western Australia 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 in the Indian Ocean. 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, 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. 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 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 (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.

## Personal life

Taylor is married to producer Ayisha Davies; they have a daughter, Scarlet.
Taylor co-founded Veg Out, a farmer's market and community gardens in St Kilda, Victoria.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1997 | Phage | Calhoun |
| 1999 | The Matrix | Agent Jones |
| 2000 | Muggers | Detective Constable Porter |
| 2000 | Vertical Limit | Skip Taylor |
| 2000 | After the Rain | Jack Behring |
| 2002 | The Hard Word | Frank Malone |
| 2003 | Ned Kelly | Sherritt Trooper |
| 2007 | Storm Warning | Rob |
| 2007 | Rogue | Everett Kennedy |
| 2008 | Long Weekend | Bartender |
| 2009 | Coffin Rock | Rob Willis |
| 2014 | Healing | Vander |
| 2014 | Turkey Shoot | Ramrod |
| 2015 | Focus | McEwen |
| 2015 | What Lola Wants | Jed |
| 2015 | Downriver | Wayne |
| 2016 | The Menkoff Method | Clive Struthers |
| 2017 | Kong: Skull Island | Captain of the Boat |
| 2017 | Don't Tell | Robert Brewster |
| 2018 | The Meg | Dr. Heller |
| 2019 | Into the Ashes | Frank Parson |
| 2019 | 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 |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | Constable Hanks | Episode: "Confessions" |
| 1988 | Barracuda (aka The Rocks) | Constable Gottlieb | Television film |
| 1988 | Something Is Out There | 1st officer | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | The Clean Machine | Constable Ron Healy | Television film |
| 1988 | The Flying Doctors | Lachlan McGregor | Episode: "Clapped Out" |
| 1988 | Fragments of War: The Story of Damien Parer | Lt. Ellis | Television film |
| 1989 | Brotherhood of the Rose | Pollux | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | Home and Away | Nicholas Walsh | 21 episodes |
| 1990 | Yellowthread Street | Detective Peter Marenta | 7 episodes |
| 1990 | The Paper Man | Johnny Coates | 6 episodes |
| 1990 | 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" |
| 1996 | Flipper | Captain Whitaker | Episode: "Fish Out of Water" |
| 1996 | 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 |
| 1999 | Blue Heelers | Detective Barry Craig | Episodes: "Dirty Money" & "Web of Lies" |
| 1999 | Stingers | Detective Sergeant Mick Foley | 4 episodes |
| 1999 | 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 |
| 2010 | 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 |
| 2011 | Killing Time | Tim Watson-Munro | 5 episodes |
| 2011 | 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" |
| 2024 | NCIS: Origins | Jackson Gibbs | Recurring role |
| 2024 | Territory | Colin Lawson | 6 episodes |