Noah Taylor
Noah George Taylor (born 4 September 1969) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage David Helfgott in "Shine", Locke in the HBO series "Game of Thrones", Darby Sabini in the BBC One series "Peaky Blinders", Mr. Bucket in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and Danny in the Australian cult film "He Died with a Felafel in His Hand". Taylor also starred in the American television series "Preacher", and as Adolf Hitler in the 2002 film "Max". Early life. Taylor, elder of two sons, was born in London to Australian parents, Maggie (née  Miller), a journalist and book editor, and Paul Taylor, a copywriter and journalist. His parents returned to Australia when he was five, and he grew up in Clifton Hill and St Kilda, suburbs of Melbourne. After performing in plays at St. Martin's Youth Theatre 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, "Flirting" (1991), alongside Thandiwe Newton with Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts in supporting roles. Career. Taylor 's early roles included acting the lead in the critically acclaimed "The Year My Voice Broke" and "Flirting" and he gained significant international attention playing the tormented young pianist David Helfgott in the 1996 film "Shine". Taylor's résumé includes action movies (""), comedies ("The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"), psychological thrillers ("Vanilla Sky" and "Predestination") and historical dramas ("Max", in which he played the young Adolf Hitler.) He also played the role of Adolf Hitler in AMC's series "Preacher". Taylor once commented in an interview that he was sick of acting out the nostalgic reminiscences of other people. He  has done this in a number of films including "The Nostradamus Kid", which was based on the early life of the Australian author Bob Ellis, a young David Helfgott in "Shine", the protagonist in John Birmingham's memoir "He Died with a Felafel in His Hand", and "Almost Famous", based on the memories of the film's writer and director, Cameron Crowe. In 2010 Taylor starred in Simon Rumley's mystery thriller "Red White & Blue", which had its world premiere as part of the SXSW Film Festival in March 2010. Taylor has appeared in a small number of music videos . One of his earliest screen performances was in the video for Beargarden's song "The Finer Things". This video was directed by Richard Lowenstein, who then cast Taylor in a supporting role in the film "[Dogs in Space]". Much later, he appeared in the video of "Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow", a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, along with the video for "M.O.R." by British alternative rock group Blur and he also played a young Romeo in the video "Romeos" from Alphaville. He has also performed and recorded as a musician. In 2001 he released an  album "Popular Music for All Peoples" under the name 'C.B.M.' (Cardboard Box Man) and in 2011, an EP "Live Free or Die!!!" as Noah Taylor & the Sloppy Boys on Z-Man Records. In 2013, Taylor appeared in both the third and fourth seasons of HBO's epic fantasy series "Game of Thrones", based on the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series by George R. R. Martin. In the adaptation, Taylor plays the character of Locke, an original character of the television series, who serves as a condensed version of several characters of the books, most notably the ruthless  and sadistic mercenary leader Vargo Hoat. Personal life. When not acting, Taylor draws and paints, and is also an accomplished musician, playing viola and French horn as a young teenager, and guitar from the age of 16. He plays the piano by ear. He has sung and played guitar in several of his own bands, including Honky Tonk Angels, Cardboard Box Man, Flipper & Humphrey, Access Axis, and The Thirteens, a country-western rock band described by Taylor as, "three manic depressives playing sad angst and western music for sad people". He names Johnny Cash and Lou Reed as two of  the artists he admires. On 14 November 2012, he married Dionne Harris, an Australian fashion designer. Taylor lives in Brighton, East Sussex.