Born and raised in the suburbs of Vancouver, Canadian actor Brendan Taylor came from humble beginnings. Having spent a year abroad in Paris during college, as well as learning to speak various different languages, it is clear that he has always been keen to push himself out of his comfort zone. Rival got the chance to ask the actor more about his career, including his latest acting gig Firefly Lane.

“My Mom and my Uncle were both in film. My Mom was in the Art Department and my Uncle had a Grip company,” explains Taylor, discussing his family’s shared passion. “I was often hanging around the set. In fact, I even started a little mobile car washing company and went to set, took people’s keys, and detailed their cars while they were inside at work!”

The Canadian Actor had a heavy film influence growing up. Michael Keaton, Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey and Al Pacino all contributed to different aspects of his acting, as well as his personality. “From Ace Ventura, and Jim’s wild cartoonish comedy, to Bruce Willis’ cool, collected, yet everyday leading man in Die Hard. I would watch so closely how they would react to people and situations,” he adds. Back To The Future, The Goonies, Batman, Terminator 2, Total Recall and Happy Gilmore are all some of Taylor’s favourite film moments that he remembers watching growing up. “These are just a few movies that transformed and opened up my brain to the dream of acting. I was obsessed with Michael Keaton’s Batman growing up, I was Batman for Halloween of course, but then my buddy and I would run around the neighbourhood as Batman and pretend we were saving everyone’s lives,” he adds.

Pulp Fiction was also another love of his. In fact, it was his first ever on-sage performance in school, acting out the monologue delivered in the film by Christopher Walken. “It definitely is one of the most impactful films on my entire experience and love of movies and acting,” he says. “I was probably 13 when I stood on stage in an acting class and talked about hiding that watch! Tarantino’s dialogue, his music choices, his shady characters; it was literally the coolest thing I’d ever seen. I had never seen Christopher Walken act before, but his bizarre, deadpan delivery about something so ridiculous yet so serious just had me in stitches.”

Despite most actors and actresses fleeing to Los Angeles as soon as they possibly can, Taylor had a different view. “I’m a born and bred West-Coaster, though I didn’t actually picture myself staying here this long,” he says. “I lived in Paris for a year during college and travelled around Europe imagining myself living in different cities, but when I decided acting was the pursuit, I felt Vancouver was the place to be. Though I’m open to moving elsewhere if the work takes me!”

He went on to gain valuable life experience while living away from home for a year in Europe, opening his eyes up to the world. “I had a relatively privileged and sheltered upbringing, so going out and visiting the world that I’d only seen in movies and pictures was game-changing to me. Collecting stories and observing other ways of life and applying them to my own. Travelling just makes you a more complete and frankly, more interesting person! I also speak French and Spanish and a bit of Italian, so being able to converse in another language, and express things only possible in that language, is thrilling.”

When Taylor finished college, his career in the film industry began. “I was tired of having always been a poor student!” he says. “A position opened up as a driver for Set Dec on Nick Cage’s The Wicker Man, which my Mom was working on. She put in a good word and they tried me out. I eventually got to help out dressing the sets and making friends, who later referred me to other jobs, and went on from there!”

He began contributing to projects such as Battlestar Galactica and AMC’s The Killing, accumulating more than 50 credits as a Lead, On Set and Set Dresser.

“Acting as a passion itself came much sooner; Being on sets, getting to talk to A-list actors about their careers, getting inspiration from them directly and watching them work, combined with all the set experience, definitely allowed me to take the leap (into acting) much easier.”

Alongside having a passion for set decoration, Taylor also enjoys playing Golf on the side.

“I did want to be a pro golfer!” he says. “I still love golf; I love the solitude and the personal challenge and being outdoors. But in my opinion it is the most difficult sport to master. You have no teammates to rely on, and it’s all mental. You can have the skills but if you psych yourself out, you’re done. So much like acting, you need to stay present, trust your training, and enjoy yourself.”

“Cars have always been an obsession my whole life,” he adds, discussing his other passion of being a self-taught car mechanic. “It was a hobby I dabbled in early on, but I felt guilty that it was taking my time away from studying acting. It came back to me later on, and I embraced it, because mechanics is tangible, physical, and instant.

Acting is creative, abstract, and ever-evolving. Having something that I can control, hold in my hands, and see and experience the results in front of me is really calming.” Taylor describes this interest as his ‘zen activity’.

However, it is acting, Taylor’s best-known hobby, that landed him a role in Netflix’s Firefly Lane. Working opposite the likes of Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke, this Netflix original is the latest project for the actor. “Katherine, Sarah, and Ben and the rest of the cast are all so professional,” he says. “Even though they are big stars, they’re still real people, and actors who have a job to do. That attitude just encouraged me to be present and bring my A-game every day I got to spend on that set, and any other set I’m fortunate enough to be invited to!”

He adds, “The cool thing about Netflix is it isn’t really limited to the type of content it can have. So to be in a show with heavier subject matter and that allows profanity is a pretty fun sense of freedom! Also, being in an original series is so great because there is no precedence. Everyone is figuring it out as they go, so again having that sense of freedom of creativity is a dream.”

When approaching an acting role, it is important to be prepared. According to Taylor,

“Always get all the info you can on the project, the setting, the era etc when researching a character.”

With Firefly Lane, he picked up Kristin Hannah’s book that the show is based off of and earmarked all the mentions of Mutt, the character he portrays. Then, reading the script, which is an adaptation itself, he worked out how this character is viewed and what he represents in the story. “That preparedness, dedication, and courage will get you far,” he says.

It is great to gain an insight into how someone so grounded has their roots so firmly planted in the film industry. Brendan Taylor, a man who has either worked on the set of, driven trucks for or acted in multiple projects, is definitely a humble man who seems grateful for every opportunity he’s been given in life. His response when asked about the support he’s received over the years proves this point further.

“My mom is my biggest fan and supporter!” he says. “She never pressured me at all to work in the industry, she just wanted me to pursue something that made me happy, and for that, I’m so grateful. My dad too.”

You can see Brendan Taylor as Mutt in Firefly Lane, available to stream now on Netflix.

image0 (1).jpeg — Meet the Author

“Hannah Youds is an aspiring music journalist currently studying at The University of Sheffield. She is an Entertainment Editor for Liberty Belle Magazine and has experience writing for various publications. She is also the co-founder of a podcast that focuses on relevant issues in today’s society.”

Brendan Taylor: The actor talks set design, his early influences and latest project Firefly Lane.

©WAV RECORDS • POWERED BY SQUARESPACE