Oliver Beene

Background:

Taylor Emerson is an American actor who is probably best known for playing Oliver's friend, Michael, on the Fox sitcom “Oliver Beene” (2003-2009), which starred Grant Rosenmeyer as the title character. He also appeared as Trent Moseley on the Daytime Emmy Award winning series “Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight” (The CW, 2009) and has guest starred in the television series “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “Without a Trace” and “Hannah Montana” and acted in the acclaimed TV films “Geppetto” (2000) and “Dinner with Friends” (2001). On the wide screen, Emerson made his debut on the 1998 drama “Simon Birch,” with Jim Carrey and Oliver Platt. He will have a supporting role in the thriller “The New Republic.”

Emerson has appeared in television commercials for Old El Paso, 101 Dalmatians, Unocal 76, Publix’s Market, C.I.T. Financial and Bank of South Carolina.

Californian

Childhood and Family:

Taylor Emerson was born on December 13, 1989, in Burbank, California.

The New Republic

Career:

Taylor Emerson made his first television appearance in 1997 as a pool boy in “Vibe,” a series hosted by Sinbad. The next year, he was cast as Ronnie in “The Tooth Harry,” an episode of “3rd Rock from the Sun,” a NBC sitcom starring John Lithgow, and appeared in two episodes of the Fox sketch comedy show “MADtv.” Also in 1998, he made his feature film acting debut in “Simon Birch,” a dramatic comedy loosely based on John Irving's “A Prayer for Owen Meany.” The film, written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson and starring Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt and Jim Carrey, grossed over $18 million in the U.S. The young actor's voice could also be heard in “But Some of My Best Friends Are Clowns,” an episode of the syndicated animated series “The Lionhearts” and as Timmy in the direct to video animated film “An All Dogs Christmas Carol” (also 1998).

In 2000, Emerson appeared in the television movie “Geppetto,” a remake of the popular children’s book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” which starred Drew Carey in the title role and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Blue Fairy. Airing on The Wonderful World of Disney on May 7, 2000, the musical was nominated for Emmy Awards in the categories of Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special and Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special. In addition, he played Preston Taynt in the 2000 episode “What's Going on Amanda” of “The Amanda Show,” a role he would reprise for a 2001 episode called “Penelope in Makeup.”

Emerson next offered a notable portrayal of Danny in the TV film adaptation of Donald Margulies' play “Dinner with Friends” (HBO, 2001), which starred Dennis Quaid as Gabe, Andie MacDowell as Karen, Greg Kinnear as Tom, and Toni Collette as Beth. The show received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Dramatic Underscore). The same year, he also portrayed Widdy Lowry, opposite Robert Hays, Mel Harris, Alan Rachins, Alana Austin, Betty White and Robert Wagner, in “The Retrievers,” a television film directed by Paul Schneider that was written by Larry Ketron.

In January 2003, Emerson made a memorable guest appearance as Rick Jenkins in an episode of the CBS series “Without a Trace” called “Underground Railroad.” He would return to the show to play Rick once more in a 2007 episode named “Connections.”

Emerson's big break came when he landed the reoccurring role of Michael in the Fox comedy series “Oliver Beene,” starring Grant Rosenmeyer. Created by Howard Gewirtz, the show enjoyed relative success upon its premiere on March 9, 2003, and was brought back for a second season, which began on February 4, 2004. The series ended in 2009.

Emerson also appeared as Jake Ryan Fan in a 2006 episode of the Miley Cyrus teen sitcom “Hannah Montana” called “New Kid in School.” He later landed the recurring role of Trent Moseley on the American adaptation of the series “Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight,” which ran on The CW from January to December 2009.

Emerson is set to revisit the big screen with the supporting role of Zeus in the upcoming thriller “The New Republic,” by director and writer Jeoff Hanser. The film will star Owen Beckman, Anthony Tyler Quinn and Jacob Tawney.

Awards:
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