Bio
Jonathan Taylor is a South African actor and musician who has appeared in numerous television series, feature films and theatre productions since his career began in the 1970s.
Born in Israel to South African parents, he moved to South Africa at the age of two. He matriculated from Northview High School in 1969, then majored in Speech and Drama at the Johannesburg College of Education, graduating in 1974.
As a teenager he was a member of The Jugless Jug Band and when he was offered a role in the original touring production of Joseph, he took the opportunity. Early musicals he appeared in included Grease and The Me Nobody Knows, while in later years he appeared in productions such as March of the Falsettoes (for which he received a Vita nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Joburg Follies and Buddy.
He also toured South Africa and the Far East with Phantom of the Opera, for which he was nominated for a Naledi award as Best Supporting Actor.
Other theatre productions he has appeared in include Equus, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Love Letters, The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, Saturday Night Fever, Beauty and The Beast, The Buddy Holly Story and The Pirates of Penzance.
In the days of Springbok Radio, he appeared in many radio dramas and wrote the popular series Squad Cars until the station closed in 1985. His voice is still heard regularly on TV and radio commercials.
In between acting jobs, he regularly did three-month stints as resident guitar-entertainer in various hotels, pubs and restaurants, singing and playing four hours a night, six nights a week.
He is a former premier league cricket umpire and has advanced motoring skills acquired at the BMW Driver Training Academy at Kyalami. Other interests include photography, graphology and horse-riding.
Jonathan also spent a number of years travelling the cities and towns of South Africa doing schools theatre during the daytime and professional theatre at night, in productions including Don't Just Lie There Say Something, Canterbury Tales, My Fat Friend and The Fool in Shakespeare.
Television roles followed, including a lead in The Best of Mates. He has had supporting roles in numerous other productions, including Justice For All, Backstage, Generations, You Be The Judge, Isidingo, 7de Laan, Egoli, 4Play: Sex Tips for Girls, Rhythm City, 90 Plein Street, Keeping Score, Z'bondiwe, Society and many more.
Features he has acted in include Little One, The Little Kings, Safari, The Emissary, District 9, A Million Colours, and Winnie Mandela.
In 2017 he had a guest starring role as Marco Gianoppolous, a restaurateur whose murder unravels events, in the SABC3 comedy-drama series Bedford Wives.