Taylor Kitsch

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Taylor Kitsch
Taylor Kitsch 3, 2012.jpg
Kitsch at the Savages premiere in Westwood, Los Angeles, June 2012.
Born (1981-04-08) April 8, 1981 (age 32)
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation Actor, Model
Years active 2002–present

Taylor Kitsch (born April 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor and model. He is known for his role as Tim Riggins in the NBC television series Friday Night Lights and for his role as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). He also starred in the films John Carter, Battleship, and Savages (all in 2012).

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Early life and modeling career [edit]

Kitsch was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. His mother worked for the BC liquor board and his father in construction.[1][2] He has two older brothers and two younger half sisters, and was raised by his single mother.[3] He played junior ice hockey for the Langley Hornets in the British Columbia Hockey League, before a knee injury ended his career.[4]

Kitsch moved to New York in 2002 after receiving an opportunity to pursue modeling with IMG and studied acting there as well. While in New York, he became a nutritionist and a personal trainer.[5] For a time in New York he was homeless and took to sleeping on subway trains in the middle of the night.[6]

In 2004, he relocated to Los Angeles where he modeled for Diesel and Abercrombie & Fitch.[6][7] He also appears in the limited edition coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo.[8][9]

Acting career [edit]

In 2006, Kitsch was cast in his breakout role on the NBC sports teen drama television series Friday Night Lights based on the 2004 film, both from Peter Berg. The series centers on the small-town football team Dillon Panthers in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. Kitsch portrayed for five seasons the role of Tim Riggins, a high school student who is the fullback/running back of the Dillon Panthers.[10] The series premiered in October 2006 to universal critical acclaim from critics and over 7.7 million viewers.[11] Kitsch has ruled out reprising the role of Riggins in a potential film sequel to the television series.[12]

He played Pogue Parry in The Covenant alongside Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas and Chace Crawford.

In February 2008, he signed on to play Gambit in the X-Men franchise spinoff X-Men Origins: Wolverine, released in May 2009. Of the fan-favorite character of Gambit, Kitsch states, "I knew of him, but I didn't know the following he had. I'm sure I'm still going to be exposed to that. I love the character, I love the powers, and I love what they did with him. I didn't know that much, but in my experience, it was a blessing to go in and create my take on him. I'm excited for it, to say the least."[13]

In 2009, Kitsch signed up for Steven Silver's The Bang Bang Club, a historical drama set in South Africa which documents the final bloody days of the apartheid.[14] He had to lose 35 pounds in two months to play the role of photojournalist Kevin Carter, alongside Ryan Phillippe and Malin Åkerman.[15]

In November 2010, The Hollywood Reporter named Kitsch as one of the young male actors who are "pushing – or being pushed" into taking over Hollywood as the new "A-List".[16][17]

Kitsch's first lead role in a film was in Disney's John Carter, based on the novel A Princess of Mars, which was released in March 2012. He played the title role of John Carter, a Confederate soldier who gets transported to Mars. The film made back less than a third of its budget domestically, and worldwide grosses barely recouped its production and marketing costs.[18] Despite this, Kitsch said, "I'm very proud of John Carter. Box office doesn't validate me as a person, or as an actor."[19]

In May 2012, Kitsch starred in Peter Berg's Battleship, an adaptation of Hasbro's Battleship game, as Naval commander Alex Hopper.[20] It, too, failed at the domestic box office, boasting the worst opening in history for a film that cost more than $200 million. Again, international revenues are expected to help mitigate its performance.[21] The film marked his reunion with Berg and former co-star Jesse Plemons, who also starred in Friday Night Lights.[22] In July 2012, he starred in Oliver Stone's Savages opposite Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. HitFix's film critic Drew McWeeny was positive of Kitsch's bond with Johnson which he described as "not only credible but lived in and authentic throughout the film". McWeeny wrote that Kitsch was used the right way in this film with an ensemble that pushes him or challenges him in scenes which resulted in him playing hard, playing intense.[23]

His next projects include The Grand Seduction, remake of Jean-François Pouliot's French-Canadian La Grande Séduction (2003) to be directed by Don McKellar,[24] and a new Peter Berg film titled Lone Survivor based on Marcus Luttrell's book.[25] In July 2012, it was reported that DreamWorks had offered Kitsch the lead role in an upcoming adaptation of Need for Speed.[26] Aaron Paul was eventually cast in the part.[27] He will also play alongside Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo in Ryan Murphy's The Normal Heart, whose release is planned for 2014.[28]

Filmography [edit]

Kitsch at the John Carter premiere in Los Angeles, California - February 2012
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2006 John Tucker Must Die Justin
Snakes on a Plane Kyle "Crocodile" Cho
Covenant, TheThe Covenant Pogue Parry
2008 Gospel Hill Joel Herrod
2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Remy LeBeau / Gambit
2010 Bang Bang Club, TheThe Bang Bang Club Kevin Carter
2012 John Carter John Carter
Battleship Lt. Alex Hopper
Savages Chon
2013 Lone Survivor Mike Murphy Post-Production
The Grand Seduction Dr. Lewis Post-Production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Godiva's Colm Episode: "Flipping Switches"
2006 Kyle XY Male Camper Episode: "Pilot"
2006–2011 Friday Night Lights Tim Riggins 76 episodes
Nominated - 2007 Teen Choice Award - Choice TV: Breakout
Nominated - 2008 Teen Choice Award - Choice TV: Breakout
2011 Star of Texas Award

References [edit]

  1. ^ "'Friday Night Lights' star looks back ... and ahead". ScrippsNews. October 2, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2012. 
  2. ^ Brian D. Johnson (March 2, 2012). "Taylor Kitsch: the next action hero". Maclean's. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  3. ^ "Taylor Kitsch Photo Gallery | Outside Magazine's Featured Photo Galleries". OutsideOnline.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012. 
  4. ^ "Strombo - Taylor Kitsch". George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (CBC Television). Retrieved March 1, 2012. 
  5. ^ "Taylor Kitsch Gives Dietary Help". Contactmusic.com. March 3, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  6. ^ a b Mottram, James (April 19, 2012). "Taylor Kitsch's career hits a crest". thenational.ae. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  7. ^ "Taylor Kitsch biography and filmography". tribute.ca. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  8. ^ "NEW-RELEASES - About Face". Pixie Press Worldwide. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  9. ^ Metro Source LA magazine
  10. ^ "Tim Riggins Bio". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2012-09-25. 
  11. ^ "TV Reviews, Articles, Clips and more". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-09-25. 
  12. ^ Ryan Lambie (April 2, 2012). "Peter Berg interview: directing Battleship, filming at sea, Kevin Costner, ILM effects and more". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2012-09-25. 
  13. ^ The MovieWeb Team (October 13, 2008). "Taylor Kitsch on Being Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine". MovieWeb.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012. 
  14. ^ Yamato, Jen (April 22, 2011). "Taylor Kitsch on The Bang Bang Club, Honoring Fallen War Photographers, and Battleship". Movieline. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  15. ^ Hill, Logan (April 18, 2011). "Taylor Kitsch on John Carter of Mars, Battleship, and Why Bang Bang Club Forced Him to Seek Psychiatric Help". New York. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  16. ^ THR staff (November 9, 2010). "See the Cover of the New Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2011. 
  17. ^ Lauren Schutte, Emily Blank (November 15, 2010). "Hollywood's A-List Redefined". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2011. 
  18. ^ "John Carter (2012) - Box Office Mojo". May 20, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012. 
  19. ^ Wigler, Josh (March 4, 2012). "'John Carter' Wasn't A Failure, Taylor Kitsch Says". MTV. Retrieved April 15, 2012. 
  20. ^ Leins, Jeff (June 12, 2009). "Taylor Kitsch to Star in 'Battleship'". News in Film. Retrieved April 8, 2010. 
  21. ^ Young, John (May 20, 2012). "Box office report: 'The Avengers' crushes 'Battleship' and 'The Dictator' with $55.1 mil". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 20, 2012. 
  22. ^ Radish, Christina (March 19, 2012). "Brooklyn Decker and Director Peter Berg Talk BATTLESHIP, Naval Warfare and the Design of the Aliens at WonderCon". Collider.com. Retrieved April 15, 2012. 
  23. ^ McWeeny, Drew (June 30, 2012). "Review: Oliver Stone turns Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, and Blake Lively into 'Savages'". HitFix. Retrieved August 24, 2012. 
  24. ^ Fleming, Mike (July 30, 2012). "Brendan Gleeson, Taylor Kitsch Find ‘The Grand Seduction’". Deadline.com. PMC. Retrieved August 25, 2012. 
  25. ^ Fleming, Mike (May 17, 2011). "Universal, Peter Berg Plot January Start For Navy SEAL Saga ‘Lone Survivor’". Deadline.com. PMC. Retrieved August 25, 2012. 
  26. ^ Mackenzie, Carina Adly (July 19, 2012). "Taylor Kitsch offered 'Need For Speed' lead role, but turned it down. : Can he launch the racing film franchise?". Zap2it. Tribune Company. Retrieved August 23, 2012. 
  27. ^ "'Breaking Bad' Star Aaron Paul Lands DreamWorks' 'Need for Speed'". Hollywood Reporter. October 15, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-17. 
  28. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 1, 2013). "Jim Parsons, Taylor Kitsch Join HBO’s Ryan Murphy-Directed Movie ‘The Normal Heart’". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 9, 2013. 

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