---
name: "Noah Taylor"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/noah-taylor"
fi1m_id: "noah-taylor"
imdb_id: "nm0852965"
tmdb_id: 1284
wikidata_id: "Q563177"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "4 September 1969"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 11
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 11
updated: "2026-10-07T04:16:15.802338+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Noah Taylor

## Identity

Noah Taylor

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/noah-taylor
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** noah-taylor
- **IMDb ID:** nm0852965
- **TMDB ID:** 1284
- **Wikidata ID:** Q563177
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Taylor, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q563177, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0852965/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1284

Actor. Born 4 September 1969 in London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 4 September 1969, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 1987–2017
- **Also known as:** Noah George Taylor
- **Frequently works with:** [Cameron Crowe](https://film.one/person/cameron-crowe.md), [Jason Lee](https://film.one/person/jason-lee.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 11 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 84 (1), 1990s 82 (1), 2000s 66 (5), 2010s 83 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 70 across 10 titles
- **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 2 of 7 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Adventure 3, Comedy 3, Action 2, Crime 2, Family 2
- **Screen time:** 17 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,703m across 9 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Taylor, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q563177, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0852965/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1284

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Submarine*](https://film.one/film/submarine.md) (82), [*The Proposition*](https://film.one/film/the-proposition.md) (79)
- **Apple TV:** [*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*](https://film.one/film/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory.md) (64), [*Lara Croft: Tomb Raider*](https://film.one/film/lara-croft-tomb-raider.md) (48)
- **Hulu:** [*Almost Famous*](https://film.one/film/almost-famous.md) (82)
- **Paramount+:** [*Vanilla Sky*](https://film.one/film/vanilla-sky.md) (58)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Noah Taylor

> Noah Taylor can make a troubled young man feel worth listening to with little outward fuss. We rate that restraint, especially in *Shine*, though casting him repeatedly as the sensitive outsider risks wasting it.

In *Shine* (1996), Noah Taylor makes the pressure on a young pianist feel hard to bear. As the adolescent David Helfgott, he keeps our attention on the boy rather than the promise of another musical performance. We were moved by him in the family scenes because his vulnerability makes the demands placed on David so uncomfortable. Scott Hicks’s film takes storytelling shortcuts, but Taylor gives us good reason to stay with it.

His early leading roles in *The Year My Voice Broke* (1987) and its sequel, *Flirting* (1991), established him in Australian cinema. The sensitive outsider became a familiar assignment, and the international attention from *Shine* was followed by supporting work in Hollywood films and television. His economical acting fits the ensembles of Cameron Crowe’s *Almost Famous* (2000) and Wes Anderson’s *The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou* (2004). He can suggest that someone has plenty on their mind without doing much with his face or hands.

Geoffrey Rush gives us more to notice as the adult David in *Shine*, which makes Taylor’s contribution easy to underestimate. Yet the change of actor does not feel like the arrival of a different character. Taylor supplies the vulnerability that lets us believe the pressure; Rush makes space for humour without reducing David to eccentric behaviour. The continuity matters because Hicks needs us to care about the man away from the piano as well as when he plays.

There is a limit to how often we want to see Taylor cast as another sensitive outsider. That association restricted his leading opportunities after the mid-1990s, and repeated casting makes it too easy to assume we know what he will do. His ruthless mercenary Locke in *Game of Thrones* (2013–14) at least gives that expectation something to contend with. Start with *Shine*, though, and resist treating the adolescent scenes as a wait for Rush.

## Biography

Noah George Taylor is an English-Australian actor born on 4 September 1969 in London to Australian parents. His family moved to Australia when he was five, and he grew up in Melbourne. He began acting in his teens after leaving school at 16, with early roles in Australian films including *The Year My Voice Broke* (1987) and its sequel *Flirting* (1991).

Taylor gained international recognition for portraying the adolescent David Helfgott in the 1996 film *Shine*. He has since appeared in films such as *Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* (2001), *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* (2005), *Predestination* (2014) and *Edge of Tomorrow* (2014), and in television series including *Game of Thrones* (as Locke) and *Peaky Blinders* (as Darby Sabini).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, themoviedb.org.*

## On Fi1m (11)

- *Paddington 2* (2017), Fi1m 91, as Phibs — [page](https://film.one/film/paddington-2.md)
- *Edge of Tomorrow* (2014), Fi1m 82, as Dr. Carter — [page](https://film.one/film/edge-of-tomorrow.md)
- *Peaky Blinders* (2013), Fi1m 77, as Darby Sabini — [page](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md)
- *Submarine* (2011), Fi1m 82, as Lloyd Tate — [page](https://film.one/film/submarine.md)
- *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* (2005), Fi1m 64, as Mr. Bucket — [page](https://film.one/film/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory.md)
- *The Proposition* (2005), Fi1m 79, as Brian O'Leary — [page](https://film.one/film/the-proposition.md)
- *Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* (2001), Fi1m 48, as Bryce — [page](https://film.one/film/lara-croft-tomb-raider.md)
- *Vanilla Sky* (2001), Fi1m 58, as Edmund Ventura — [page](https://film.one/film/vanilla-sky.md)
- *Almost Famous* (2000), Fi1m 82, as Dick Roswell — [page](https://film.one/film/almost-famous.md)
- *Shine* (1996), Fi1m 82, as David Helfgott - Adolescent — [page](https://film.one/film/shine.md)
- *Inspector Morse* (1987), Fi1m 84, as Dave Harding — [page](https://film.one/tv/inspector-morse.md)

## Complete filmography (70)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Big Girls Don't Cry* (2026), as Leo
- *Bulk* (2026), as Karl Sessler
- *Nautilus* (2024), series, as Captain Mogg
- *Thou Shalt Not Steal* (2024), series, as Robert
- *So Long, Marianne* (2024), series, as George Johnston
- *A Small Light* (2023), series, as Dr. Pfeffer
- *Foundation* (2021), series, as Hetman — Fi1m 61, [page](https://film.one/tv/foundation.md)
- *Hanna* (2019), series, as Dr. Roland Kunek
- *Skyscraper* (2018), as Mr. Pierce
- *Paddington 2* (2017), as Phibs — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/paddington-2.md)
- *Free Fire* (2017), as Gordon
- *The Menkoff Method* (2016), as Max Menkoff
- *Deep Water* (2016), series, as Detective Nick Manning
- *The Windmill Massacre* (2016), as Nicholas
- *Preacher* (2016), series, as Hitler
- *And Then There Were None* (2015), series, as Thomas Rogers
- *Powers* (2015), series, as Johnny Royalle
- *Maya the Bee Movie* (2014), as Crawley (voice)
- *Predestination* (2014), as Mr. Robertson
- *Lost in Karastan* (2014), as Xan Butler
- *Edge of Tomorrow* (2014), as Dr. Carter — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/edge-of-tomorrow.md)
- *The Double* (2014), as Harris
- *Anna* (2013), as Peter Lundgren
- *Peaky Blinders* (2013), series, as Darby Sabini — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/peaky-blinders.md)
- *Lawless* (2012), as Gummy Walsh
- *Hatfields & McCoys* (2012), series, as Lark Varney
- *Red Dog* (2011), as Jack
- *Game of Thrones* (2011), series, as Locke — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/game-of-thrones.md)
- *The Borgias* (2011), series, as Mortician
- *Submarine* (2011), as Lloyd Tate — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/submarine.md)
- *Red White & Blue* (2010), as Nate
- *The New Daughter* (2009), as Prof. Evan White
- *Lecture 21* (2008), as Peters
- *The New World* (2005), as Selway
- *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Different Faces, Different Flavors* (2005), Actor
- *The Proposition* (2005), as Brian O'Leary — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/the-proposition.md)
- *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* (2005), as Mr. Bucket — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory.md)
- *The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou* (2004), as Vladimir Wolodarsky
- *Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life* (2003), as Bryce
- *The Sleeping Dictionary* (2003), as Neville
- *Max* (2002), as Adolf Hitler
- *Vanilla Sky* (2001), as Edmund Ventura — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/vanilla-sky.md)
- *He Died with a Felafel in His Hand* (2001), as Danny · Additional Dialogue
- *Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* (2001), as Bryce — Fi1m 48, [page](https://film.one/film/lara-croft-tomb-raider.md)
- *Almost Famous* (2000), as Dick Roswell — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/almost-famous.md)
- *The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz* (2000), as Hyde Park Nutter
- *The Escort* (1999), as Gem
- *Simon Magus* (1999), as Simon
- *There's No Fish Food in Heaven* (1998), as Jeff
- *Woundings* (1998), as Journalist
- *Down Rusty Down* (1997), as Rusty
- *True Love and Chaos* (1997), as Dean
- *Shine* (1996), as David Helfgott - Adolescent — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/shine.md)
- *Dad and Dave: On Our Selection* (1995), as Joe
- *The Nostradamus Kid* (1993), as Ken Elkin
- *Joh's Jury* (1993), as Brad
- *One Crazy Night* (1992), as Randolph
- *Road to Alice* (1992), Actor
- *The Last Crop* (1991), as Craig Sweeney
- *Dead to the World* (1991), as Skip
- *Flirting* (1991), as Danny Embling
- *Bangkok Hilton* (1989), series, as Billy Engels
- *Lover Boy* (1989), as Mick
- *The Prisoner of St. Petersburg* (1989), as Jack
- *Dadah Is Death* (1988), as Andrew Barlow
- *The Year My Voice Broke* (1987), as Danny Embling
- *Inspector Morse* (1987), series, as Dave Harding — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/inspector-morse.md)
- *Dogs in Space* (1986), as Bowie Fan
- *A Colt Is My Passport*, Actor
- *Vows*, as Terry

## Gallery

- ![Noah Taylor](https://film.one/media/person/86792/gallery-995af6fa3829.jpg) Noah Taylor — GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Noah_Taylor_%2829694898461%29.jpg/1280px-Noah_Taylor_%2829694898461%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Noah Taylor at the premiere of Free Fire, 2016 Toronto Film Festival](https://film.one/media/person/86792/gallery-e265fec3517a.jpg) Noah Taylor at the premiere of Free Fire, 2016 Toronto Film Festival — GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Noah_Taylor_%2829694898461%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Noah Taylor](https://film.one/media/person/86792/gallery-782efce38614.jpg) Noah Taylor — Image via TMDB
- ![Noah Taylor](https://film.one/media/person/86792/gallery-345eb27bd50b.jpg) Noah Taylor — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won

- Sitges Film Festival Best Actor award 1999: Sitges Film Festival Best Actor award (won), for *Simon Magus*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/noah-taylor