We were lucky to catch up with Taylor Box recently and have shared our conversation below.
Taylor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
My experience of taking a risk begins with a story. About 3 years ago, my father passed away from stage 4, glioblastoma brain cancer. In the process of grieving & coping with his loss, I have spent a lot of time soul-searching. I felt myself, in his absence, begin to really cherish the qualities he instilled in me & times we shared together during our 35 years as father & son.
In the year before my father passed, he grew out a really bushy mustache, just like my Pop Pop had as a firefighter in Fort Worth, TX. The following year, for the first time in my life, I began growing a mustache, apart from a beard. almost instantly, I began receiving overwhelming positive feedback on my new facial hair everywhere I went, from film sets to grocery stores. I remembered how my dad & I loved watching movies together. Some of my fondest memories were from when we would watch old spaghetti westerns. What if this new, mustachioed look could help me book one?!
However, I was receiving negative feedback from my talent manager. I was being told having a mustache would limit me to playing more cringeworthy characters. At this point, for continuity’s sake, I kept growing the mustache for my role of Shoe, a goofy, bumbling, homeless vagrant in the 4 season web series, ‘Boytalk’. Some may consider him to be a cringe-worthy character. You can decide for yourself as the show is now available on Tubi. Having the mustache also helped me book the role of cringeworthy kidnapper Fred Woods in the academy award nominated 2023 CNN documentary ‘Chowchilla’. It is now available on MAX where it spent multiple weeks trending #2 behind Barbie.
In December of 2022, among other reasons, what became lovingly known as the “‘Stache Disagreement” led me to moving on from being represented by that talent management team. I knew, deep down to my core, that the “Stache Abides, just like the Dude Abides”. As 2023 approached, I was determined that my new pet caterpillar would not only make my dad & Pop Pop proud, but would become the envy of all Hollywood, America & the Illuminati…and prove my former manager, as kind & generous as they are, wrong.
Here’s a recap of 2023 after having made the decision to keep my Best Friend Bristle:
– I played Doc Miller in Little Monster Entertainment’s supernatural western film “UnNatural”
– I joined a stranded pirate crew as Fitzsimmons in Mahal Brother’s fantasy horror film “Cursed Waters”
– I played notorious mob boss Tony Capello in Really Serious Film’s “The City of No Pity”
– I played Mel’s conspiracy theorizing dad in the pilot “Party People”
– I played Deckland, a party animal cop, in Terrisha Kearse’s film “Body of Water”
– I played ladies man Jim Cornwell in Season 8, Ep. 2 of “Murder in the Heartland: Death of a Ladies Man”
– I was devoured by zombies in Green Day’s latest music video “The American Dream is Killing Me”
– I played the strict gym teacher in Bad Bad Not Good’s latest music video “Mint Chocolate”
– I played the tech savvy, double agent Hank in Nestor Vinelli’s film “Ophelia”
– I played a disgruntled, murderous Santa in Wild 7 Studios film “Santa: Portrait of a Monster”
– I played van living, cannabis imbibing, music playing Tim Gross in Really Serious Film’s “Moon River”
As I type out this list & run my thumbs through my bushy money maker, I can’t help but smile & think “The ‘Stache booked me these roles, I just had to show up…and not all of them were cringeworthy!” It’s now three months into 2024 & I spent the month of February playing Guildenstern at West Hollywood’s Zephyr Theater in “Haigh & Coppola’s production of Hamlet.” Just last week I was put up in a casino hotel for two nights to portray the iconic Clue board game character Colonel Mustard in a commercial. Acting work is already lining up for the rest of the year including the role of a mad scientist in a Canadian feature film & a reappearance of Doc Miller in the supernatural western sequel to UnNatural, “UnNatural II: The Gates of Hell”. I also started filming my own variety show on YouTube entitled “Out of the Box TV” featuring five unique personalities who share different insights about “Life, the Universe & Everything.”
So when folks ask me if dropping my clean-cut baby-face look for a crumb catcher Sam Elliot can be proud of was a risk worth taking, I simply answer, “The ‘Stache Abides.” You are worth taking risks for yourself too my friend!
Taylor, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an award-nominated television & film actor. Though I have been performing in front of others since childhood, I began pursuing it as a career professionally after burning out of position as a corporate mortgage consultant. After leaving the demands of corporate life, I will never again grace the four restricting walls of a cubicle…except for television & films roles. When not representing myself, I am theatrically repped in LA & Atlanta by Dream Team Talent & commercially repped by Jenny Stricklin Talent. I am a natural story teller and I enjoy the ability to express my inner truth through characters & stories that connect with the the inner truth of others. When provided the opportunity & compensated generously, I travel anywhere & everywhere for television & film work. I also work as a producer on film projects so that I may have even more opportunities to fulfill my guilty pleasure of acting.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In 2015, I left a corporate career in finance after my boss told me I would amount to nothing in the world of entertainment. I stood up, looked him in the eye and told him “You do not know who I am or where I am going”. I quit right then & there & never looked back. In order to survive, I hustled as a rideshare driver and gig worker. I decided to begin a Masters in Positive Psychology program at Life University where I lived in Atlanta, GA. The program has an emphasis in training as a life coach and I saw an opportunity to pursue my passion for helping others. Little did I know I would be coaching myself into the entertainment career I had always dreamed of pursuing but lacked the confidence to achieve. A friend of mine named Phoenix very randomly and very prophetically stated to me “It’s your time” and I knew he meant that I was ready to pursue my passion for acting. I began working on film sets in Atlanta and, networking, signed with an agent.
Within a few years, I found myself in speaking roles on network television & in films. After meeting very talented actors from LA on a film set in China, I decided, during Covid lockdowns, to relocate to Hollywood in 2021 in a converted van I purchased from my younger brother Geoffry which I lived in for my first year in LA. Since moving here, I have reconnected with acting friends from China. We produced a web series entitled Boytalk & have released 4 seasons & we are now producing films. I have both commercial and theatrical representation & have had many more opportunities to act. If at anytime I had not had the resilience to persevere through many trials & hardships, I would not have these stories to share.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I enjoy embodying different personalities. Each & every new role I book becomes an adventure. I cherish the research aspect of getting into character so that when I walk on set, I exude someone other than Taylor Box. Beyond that, someone very wise once told me “The Kingdom of Heaven is Relationships.” That has always had a profound impact on how I network & connect in the industry. I find that every person I interact with has a unique story to tell & presence to bring to the table. I enjoy connecting with people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.taylorbox.tv
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylor_rusch_box/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taylorboxact
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-box-74640790/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/taylorboxactor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tayloroutofthebox
Image Credits
Headshot by Kasee Shambora