The Australian-born actor still describes Walt Longmire as “my dream role.”
No doubt about it: Robert Taylor was ready and eager to talk about Territory, the outstanding neo-Western series premiering Oct. 24 on Netflix. Taylor looms large throughout the show’s six episodes as Colin Lawson, the defiantly tradition-bound owner of the world’s largest cattle ranch, Marianne Station, an Australian spread described in the premiere episode as “the size of Belgium.” And he can’t speak highly enough of two co-stars — Michael Dorman (Joe Pickett) and Anna Torv (The Last of Us) — cast as his son and daughter-in-law, Graham Lawson and Emily Lawson, two characters keen on laying claim to Colin’s legacy.
But it didn’t take much time or effort to sporadically divert our Zoom conversation to another series that showcased Taylor: Longmire, the highly addictive 2012-17 drama based on Craig Johnson’s series of crime novels about Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire.
The Australian-born actor put his indelible stamp on Johnson’s character, authoritatively playing the formidable lawman with a perfect-pitch mix of moral gravity, wry humor, aching vulnerability and, whenever push comes to shove, immutable badassery.
For the show’s many fans, Longmire is a gift that keeps on giving, in reruns accessible on various streaming platforms. Better still, it’s a series that’s constantly attracting new fans.
Cowboys & Indians: When we spoke last year to one of your Longmire co-stars, Bailey Chase, he told us how he noticed that during the COVID lockdown, many people discovered the show first time.
Robert Taylor: Absolutely. Yeah. It blew up again during COVID. And I still get noticed for it all the time. I got recognized by a bunch of people just last night. And I got it today. I get it all the time still. It's pretty much every day. Depends where you are in the world, what you're doing. The show somehow endures. It resonates with people.
C&I: What do you think is the main reason for its enduring popularity?
Taylor: I don’t know. It's just sitting there the whole time. It's like that quiet show that’s just good. It just is. I don’t know, there’s something intangible about it. There’s a quietness to it, and a humbleness. There’s a lot of pain to it, too, and there’s a lot of love in it. There's a lot of people just trying to navigate their way through tough circumstances without the need to dissect everything. Just live that experience, and you just get through it, like people do. That's the way I played it. Pretty much did it the way I wanted.
C&I: How many of the folks who recognize you and want to talk about the show ask if there’s any possibility of a Longmire movie?
Taylor: Every one of them. Every single one of them. And I’ve said it before — it might happen. Just last week, there was a flurry of messages, people higher up the food chain than me, and right at the top, talking about it. I mean, I know everybody would come back and do it, just because we just loved making that show so much. It was just so, so cool and so much fun. So like I said, there’s a huge chance it could happen. But you never know. I don’t know. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. We made the show, it’s there forever, and I’m super proud of it.
C&I: Do you have a dream role? Like, would you like to play Macbeth or King Lear someday?
Taylor: Oh, I’d love to do King Lear one day, when I’m older. Wouldn’t everybody? Of course, I think everybody else does it wrong, but whatever.
C&I: Any other roles?
Taylor: Well, Walt Longmire was the dream role for me. That’s the one I wanted. I always wanted a show like that. I always thought I could do it, but I thought, “They’ll never hire me, they’ll hire somebody else.” It always comes down to, “Who’s the famous guy? Who’s the box-office guy?” Unless you’re that guy, you don’t get those roles. And yet, for some reason — I got cast in Longmire.
C&I: Do you remember the time earlier in your career, whether it was on stage or in a movie or a TV series, where it really dawned on you: “I really could make a living at this”?
Taylor: Yeah, I remember. I mean, my acting has changed over the years. It’s progressed, and I’ve just become more in my own skin — and I guess more relaxed about it, more at ease with it, less fussed by it. I don’t get nervous anymore. The danger is, I’m going to fall asleep in the middle of the scene. [Laughs] That’s happened before.
C&I: Do you think of yourself as self-confident?
Taylor: I don’t know about that. I do what I do, and if people like it, they like it. If they don’t, they don’t. When you’re a young actor, you have this studied disinterest, like you don’t care. But when you get older, and you’ve been doing it a long time, you really — I mean, not to swear, but I will. I don't give a bleep. If you don’t want me or you don’t like me, fine. Let’s grab a beer, man. Whatever. We can talk about football or something interesting. I don’t care. I couldn’t care less.
See, I’ve lived a life and I’ve been around a lot. And I know that this business chews people up and spits them out. It’s mean, it’s cold. You just die of neglect and disinterest. And I don’t care about that anymore, man. I’m just here. And if I am working, I’m working. If I’m not, I have other stuff to do. I don’t care. I got my family, I got a few pals. And I got a nice cold refreshing ale, my friend.
