John R Taylor is a graduate of Design at Ryerson University, Toronto, 1961. He spent many years in the visual art world, holding various prestigious positions such as Founding Director of the Tom Thomson Memorial Gallery, Assistant to the Director at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Curator of the Collection at the Ontario College of Art, Director of the Art Gallery of Cobourg, and Director of the Penticton Art Gallery.
In the 1980s, John began his association with the film world, making his debut in the Simon Fraser University student film "One Step, Two Step Waltz". For over 25 years, he was represented by Murray Gibson at Characters (and latterly RED Management),appearing in numerous Lead, Supporting, and Principal roles in productions such as X-Files, The Pledge, Smokin' Aces, Watchmen, Supernatural, The Killing, Stargate, and more. He has had the privilege of working alongside notable actors and directors, including Robert DeNiro, Ellen Barkin, Henry Winkler, Diane Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jack Nicholson, and has collaborated with esteemed directors such as Ken Russel, Zack Snyder, Zack Lipofsky, Larry Kent, and Sean Penn.
John has received two nominations for Best Actor at the Leo Awards for his lead roles in "The Grey Matter" in 2010 and "Backward Fall" in 2013. He has also won two "Best Performance by a Male Actor" awards for his role in "Backward Fall" at the Vancouver Short Film Festival in 2013 and the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival in 2014.
In addition to his acting career, John has also worked as a Production Designer, with credits including over 30 indie shorts, two features, and three television series for the Comedy Network. He won a Nickel award for the feature "Dark Arc" and a Leo for the short indie film "Evirati".
John has also ventured into writing and directing, penning and directing his first short film "Says Who?" in 2012. The film was nominated for a screenwriting Leo and was screened at festivals in BC, Pennsylvania, and Italy, winning the Best Director Award (Foreign Film Division) at the Shortini International Film Festival in Augusta, Italy in 2013.
