Taylor Barrett (SGCNZ NSSP 2009, SGCNZ YSC 2010)

Taylor Barrett was part of the Southland Boys’ High School Romeo & Juliet 15 minute scene at the 2009 SGCNZ National UOSWSF, for which he was awarded “Special Individual Performance”. Following that he was selected for the 2009 SGCNZ NSSP where he played Sebastian in Twelfth Night directed by Lori Leigh at Parliament and Wellington Zoo. In 2010 he entered the National UOSWSF again and won the Sam Wanamaker award for “Most Promising Actor” for Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He was selected to take part in the 2010 New Zealand Young Shakespeare Company which performed Macbeth at the Globe Theatre in London.

At 18 years old Taylor was selected to study at Toi Whakaari – NZ Drama School, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (2014). His first professional acting job was Punk Rock (2015) by Simon Stephens at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin – where he received favourable reviews as Bully boy Bennett Francis. Taylor was then cast as the lovable drunk Kerrisk Redington in Dean Parkers’ Polo (2016) with Auckland Theatre Company. American hit TV Show Ash Vs Evil Dead (2016) followed next, which was Taylor’s first taste of TV, playing the delinquent Tyler.

He has played roles in popular television shows including Dear Murderer (2016), the NZ Drama Filthy Rich (2016), Shortland Street (2017) and Power Rangers-Ninja Steel (2017) Taylor recently returned to the stage for the light comedy & award winning hit All My Love Paul (2017) and more recently dark comedy Avatar (2018).