American television and film director (born 1959)
Alan Taylor
Taylor in 2013
Born (1959-01-13 ) January 13, 1959 (age 65) Alma mater
New York University Occupation(s) Television director, film director, screenwriter, television producer Years active 1990–present Spouse
Children Willa Taylor, Ginger Taylor, Jem Taylor
Alan Taylor (born January 13, 1959)
[1] is an American television director, film director, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known for his work on television series such as
The Sopranos ,
Sex and the City ,
Mad Men , and
Game of Thrones . He also directed films such as
Palookaville ,
Thor: The Dark World ,
Terminator Genisys , and
The Many Saints of Newark .
In 2007, Taylor won a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for The Sopranos episode "
Kennedy and Heidi ". In 2008 and 2018, he was also nominated in the same category for the Mad Men episode "
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes " and the Game of Thrones episode "
Beyond the Wall ", respectively.
Early life
Taylor's father,
James J. Taylor , was a private in the U.S. army translating for
Voice of America , stationed in Yokohama, who subsequently held numerous jobs before becoming a
videographer in
Washington, D.C. Taylor's mother,
Mimi Cazort , was curator emerita for the
National Gallery of Canada . His sister is the
indie rock musician
Anna Domino .
[2]
He spent part of his life in
Manor Park, Ottawa , Canada, and attended Manor Park Public School and
Lisgar Collegiate Institute high school. As part of the Communications Club at Lisgar, he acted in its production of
The Mouse That Roared . He went on to major in history at the
University of Toronto and then at
New York City 's
Columbia University before transferring to
New York University in his late 20s to study film under instructors including director
Martin Scorsese .
[1]
[3]
Career
Taylor has directed for numerous programs on both network television and premium cable, most often on
HBO .
Taylor's early work on television include work on
The Sopranos ,
Sex and the City , and
The West Wing . Taylor joined the crew of the HBO western drama
Deadwood as a director for the first season in 2004. Taylor directed the pilot episodes of
Mad Men ("
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ") and
Bored to Death as well as subsequent episodes of each. He joined the HBO series
Game of Thrones , directing seven episodes including critically acclaimed
season 1 episode "
Baelor ."
[4]
[5] He worked on a television adaptation of
the Strugatsky brothers ' 1971 science fiction novel
Roadside Picnic for the
WGN America network.
[6] Besides his television work, Taylor's early films include
Palookaville ,
The Emperor's New Clothes , and
Kill the Poor .
In the 2010s, Taylor began working on large budget blockbuster films. He was hired to direct
Thor: The Dark World (2013) a superhero film and sequel to 2011's
Thor .
[7] He was approached by
Marvel producer
Kevin Feige following director
Patty Jenkins exit from the project and hoped he would inject a darker tone into the project after seeing Taylor's work on Game of Thrones . Taylor's next film was
Terminator Genisys , a film that Taylor hoped to fix following his reading of the script, citing his love of the first two
Terminator films.
[8] After directing nine episodes for the HBO series The Sopranos, Taylor was approached by show creator
David Chase to return to direct the 2021 prequel film
The Many Saints of Newark .
In August 2022, it was announced that Taylor was hired to direct multiple episodes of the second season of
House of the Dragon .
Personal life
Taylor currently lives in Tyler Hill, Pennsylvania. He has three children with award-winning makeup artist
Nicki Ledermann
Directing filmography
Film
Television
That Burning Question (1988) TV special
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993) TV series
episode 1.07 "
A Dog and Pony Show "
episode 4.03 "Autofocus"
episode 4.20 "The Wedding"
episode 5.08 "The True Test"
episode 6.01 "
Blood Ties , Part 1"
episode 6.16 "Mercy"
episode 7.22 "Forgive Us Our Trespasses"
Oz (1997) TV series
episode 1.06 "To Your Health"
episode 2.06 "Strange Bedfellows"
Trinity (1998) TV series
episode 1.08 "Breaking In, Breaking Out, Breaking Up, Breaking Down"
Sex and the City (1998) TV series
episode 2.09 "Old Dogs, New Dicks"
episode 2.14 "The Fuck Buddy"
episode 4.15 "Change of a Dress"
episode 4.16 "Ring a Ding-Ding"
episode 6.07 "The Post-it Always Sticks Twice"
episode 6.08 "The Catch"
Now and Again (1999) TV series
The Sopranos (1999) TV series
The West Wing (1999) TV series
episode 1.08 "Enemies"
episode 1.16 "20 Hours in L.A."
Six Feet Under (2001) TV series
episode 2.08 "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
[18]
Keen Eddie (2003)
episode 1.11 "Sticky Fingers"
Carnivàle (2003) TV series
episode 2.07 "Damascus, NE"
Deadwood (2004) TV series
episode 1.04 "Here Was a Man"
[19]
episode 2.04 "Requiem for a Gleet"
[20]
Lost (2004) TV series
Rome (2005) TV series
Big Love (2006) TV series
episode 1.05 "Affair"
[21]
Mad Men (2007) TV series
Boardwalk Empire (2010) TV series
Game of Thrones (2011) TV series
The Crowded Room (2023) TV Miniseries
episode 07 "The Crowded Room"
References
^
a
b
"Ottawa-educated director took Emmy for Sopranos' famed snuff-out episode" . Canada.com .
The Ottawa Citizen . September 20, 2007. Archived from
the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013 . ...the 48-year-old TV director...
^ Estrada, Louie (February 13, 2005).
"James Taylor Dies; Put Theater on Video" .
The Washington Post . p. C11. Archived from
the original on September 28, 2007.
^ Hibberd, James (August 12, 2021).
"Director Alan Taylor's Tortuous Journey to the 'Sopranos' Movie: "The Hardest Job I've Ever Done" " .
The Hollywood Reporter .
Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021 .
^ Goldberg, Lesley (September 12, 2011).
"'Game of Thrones': Neil Marshall Among Season 2 Directors" .
The Hollywood Reporter
^ Hibberd, James (June 29, 2016).
"Game of Thrones season 7 directors revealed" .
Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved June 29, 2016 .
^ Schwartz, Terri (September 11, 2015).
"Terminator Genisys Alan Taylor returning to TV with Roadside Picnic adaptation at WGN America" . Zap2It. Archived from
the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015 .
^ Kroll, Justin (September 5, 2013).
" 'Thrones' and 'Thor: The Dark World' Helmer Eyed to Direct Next 'Terminator' " .
Variety . Retrieved November 3, 2013 .
^ Kroll, Justin (September 5, 2013).
"Terminator: Genisys" .
Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved November 3, 2013 .
^
" "Pax Soprana" on The Sopranos episode guide" .
HBO .
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
HBO .
" "The Strong, Silent Type" on The Sopranos episode guide" .
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "Rat Pack" on The Sopranos episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh" on The Sopranos episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "The Ride" on The Sopranos episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "Kaisha" on The Sopranos episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "Stage 5" on The Sopranos episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "Kennedy and Heidi" on The Sopranos episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "Blue Comet" on The Sopranos episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^
" "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" on Six Feet Under episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010 .
^ Sarnoff, Elizabeth (April 11, 2004). "Here Was a Man".
Deadwood . Season 1. Episode 4. HBO.
^ Mann, Ted (March 27, 2005). "Requiem for a Gleet". Deadwood . Season 2. Episode 4. HBO.
^
" "Affair" on Big Love episode guide" . HBO.
Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010 .
^
AMC .
" "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" on Mad Men episode guide" . Archived from
the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010 .
^ AMC.
" "Ladies Room" on Mad Men episode guide" . Archived from
the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010 .
^ AMC.
" "Nixon vs. Kennedy" on Mad Men episode guide" . Archived from
the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010 .
^ AMC.
" "The Mountain King" on Mad Men episode guide" . Archived from
the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010 .
^
"Boardwalk Empire episode "Nights in Ballygran" synopsis" . HBO.
Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010 .
External links
Awards for Alan Taylor
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