This story is part of the Comox Valley Record’s of Trio Magazine, published quarterly and available throughout the Comox Valley. The spring edition is available at the Record office (407D Fifth St.) and at businesses throughout the Comox Valley.
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Michael Taylor has always loved acting, but he wasn’t always certain he would be able to make a career of it.
Taylor grew up in the Comox Valley. He participated in various local theatre groups – from community theatre with Kymme Patrick (Theatreworks) to productions at Mark Isfeld Secondary, where he graduated in 2015.
Once out of high school, however, he thought his acting days might be over.
“I always dreamt of it… but growing up on the Island, it seemed so far out of reach. I was under the (impression) that it was unachievable. So when I graduated, I (considered) studying to become a chef, or a fitness trainer or a nurse. Then one day I decided, ‘hey, what if I’m good enough?’ So I packed up and moved to Vancouver to give it a shot and it’s turned out pretty good so far.”
For Taylor, persistence paid off.
He landed some small parts in television shows, such as Riverdale.
“That was just a one-liner, but it was fun,” he said. “My first bigger role was on a show called Firefly Lane, which was a Netflix show that really took off.”
Taylor appeared in three episodes of that Netflix series. Then, earlier this year, he landed his biggest role to date - a guest appearance on the ABC show The Good Doctor.
He said the audition was relatively standard procedure.
“I received a self-tape in my email for a nine-page audition, so I put it on tape and sent it to the casting director and they got back to me in a couple of weeks saying I got the role. I didn’t even have to go through all the other hoops I would usually have to jump through. They decided I was the choice, right out of the gate.”
Taylor played the part of a young athlete that developed an autoimmune disease called ankylosing spondylitis, which causes bones to fuse, making the spine curve forward.
He said there was plenty of studying for the role, to familiarize himself with the character, and more importantly, the condition.
“The main thing I watched… was a documentary on YouTube called The Folding Man, about a man in China who has ankylosing spondylitis, and it went untreated and he ended up becoming very distorted.”
Taylor said the biggest challenge with the role was the physicality of it.
“Physically, having to contort myself in that way for 15 hours a day – obviously taking breaks in between, that was tough,” he said. “To tap back into perspective checking, any time I felt uncomfortable, I just remembered that this is a real disease, and it’s a very excruciatingly painful disease to have. So I just kept focusing on that.”
Taylor said landing a role on The Good Doctor has been a target of his for a long time, and he had to remain focused on the task at hand.
“The Good Doctor is a show that I have dreamt of being on for years,” he said. “I thought it would be another five years down the line before that happened. Acting alongside A-listers is a really cool, and sometimes daunting experience, because they are so experienced, and they hold so much status and power on set. It’s very cool to witness them at work.”
Taylor said the differences between television production and theatre production are vast, but the main thing for the actor is that television is “much more intimate,” even though the number of people involved in the production of a television show is exponentially higher than that of a theatre production.
“In theatre, you can be overly expressive, and over-the-top, but in film you have to really feel what you are feeling, because the camera will pick it up. The camera has to look into your eyes and see that you believe what you are saying.”
And how has Taylor’s guest spot on The Good Doctor affected his own career?
“Unfortunately, aside from leading roles, you tend not to see any immediate (spin-off) from getting a decent sized role in a show. The benefit is having that credit, and having it on your resume. When bigger productions see that, when you are auditioning, you will have a better chance of being considered than someone who has no experience. They seldom take a chance on new actors, so it’s really good experience.
“Also, if you can act well along bigger actors, it looks really good. So it was a fantastic resource, getting to work on that show.“
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