Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor C. Baker.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Creativity has always been my north star. My earliest memories are of my mom and I doing some sort of craft project at the kitchen table (my favorite being the pumpkin I turned into an angel cat – complete with hot glued-on feathers and googly eyes, naturally). From craft projects to show choir, I always caught a thrill when I had the opportunity to make magic in the arts.
However, it wasn’t until my sophomore year as a Radio Television and Film (RTF) student at The University of Texas that I started my adventures in acting. I was walking through the student union one fall day and I happened upon a flyer for the Madrigal Dinner Theatre which, at the time, was the only opportunity for non-theatre major students to perform in a UT play.
The audition started at 6 pm – it was 6:10 when I saw the flyer. In that moment, I made a split-second decision that altered the course of my entire life – I went upstairs and signed up to audition (my first ever real audition). I was thrilled to be cast in the choir and as one of the princesses in the play. I got to sing, act, and do character improv and mess with audience members during act breaks. It. Was. MAGICAL.
Throughout college, I continued on with my RTF studies and started taking improv classes at The Hideout Theatre. I also produced and hosted Sneak Peek, the longest-running show at Texas Student Television, one of the only FCC-licensed, completely student-run TV stations in America. This gave me the opportunity to interview countless filmmakers and actors including James Gunn, Jay and Mark Duplass, Joseph Kahn, Rainn Wilson, Jonah Hill, Josh Hutcherson, John C. Reilly, Kristen Stewart, and many more.
During my final semester at UT, I participated in UTLA (the Los Angeles version of study abroad). During my first LA sojourn, I worked in television development at Discovery Channel Studios. I also had the pleasure of working in the marketing department at Paramount Pictures where I coordinated social media for World War Z, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Star Trek Into Darkness, and more.
After graduation, I made the official move to LA in late 2013 to pursue acting. While in LA, I was incredibly jazzed to grace the tv-sphere on Lucifer (FOX/NETFLIX), where I played a southern roller derby queen opposite of the devil himself (played by Tom Ellis). Additionally, I acted in Polygonerz (AMAZON), My Crazy Ex (LIFETIME), and The Gong Show (ABC).
One of the biggest thrills from my time in LA was co-creating, writing, producing, and starring in the hit web series “Female Friendly” with my best friend Chelsea Alana Rivera. Female Friendly premiered at the Oscar-Qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival and went on to be nominated for the Jury Award of Best Satire Web Series at the Minnesota Web Fest and won Best Web Series at the Hollywood KAPOW Intergalactic Film Festival (woohoo!).
In the fall of 2018, I came back to Austin for a very important date – my wedding. Before all of my adventures in Los Angeles, I met my now husband Jon in the most Austin way possible – at a show he was playing on the first night of SXSW in 2012. After five years of long-distance, I came back to Austin for our wedding – a joyous evening full of live music, laughter, and a queso fountain. I had planned on moving back to LA afterward, but staying in Austin was simply too sweet to resist and I have been here ever since!
Ironically, after moving out of LA I got hired by the LA-based company Stage 32 to work remotely as their Content Coordinator and Blog Editor. Stage 32 is the world’s largest online networking platform for film and television creatives and professionals with over 800,000 members worldwide. I went on to be promoted to Director of Content after three months and took over all of their social media.
After a year and a half working full time for Stage 32, I was deeply inspired by the amazing community within Stage 32 to take a leap, bet on myself, and pursue acting full time again for the first time in three years. I am delighted to stay on part-time at Stage 32 running the blog where I continue to share amazing stories from our members all over the world. In fact, it was through the Stage 32 blog that I met Austin-based director Sean LaFollette, who booked me in my first ever lead role in a feature film! (Keep an eye out for “What About Molly?” due out later this year!)
In addition to my acting pursuits, I recently launched a comedy baking show on YouTube where I am baking my way through The Great British Bake Off technical challenges in hopes to live up to my namesake and become a better baker.
You will often find me singing improvised songs about my day (usually involving pie, because pie), I am deeply obsessed with my dog Radio, I love potatoes in any form or fashion (can I get an amen for sweet potato fries?!) and I am currently learning to roller-skate whilst looking carefree.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Pursuing a career in acting is both a blessing and a curse.
You get to live 1,000 lives and build unimaginable realities. You share stories, spread smiles, and facilitate empathy and understanding. You create ephemeral moments on stage that last a lifetime in people’s hearts. You make TV magic that people watch over and over again when they need a familiar friend or just a laugh.
However, you can also spend 10,000 hours perfecting your craft, knock an audition out of the park and not get cast because you have the same first name as the casting director’s ex-wife. (I have worked on the casting side of things and heard that happen to an actor first hand).
To be blunt, you have absolutely zero control over whether or not you (ever) get cast in anything.
However, it is easier than ever to create your own content – which is exactly how “Female Friendly” was born. Creating that project was a labor of love full of blood, sweat, and tears – but it was hands down my favorite role I have played to date.
I didn’t have a fancy trailer with my name on it and I had to sleep in a hammock on location one night so we didn’t get locked out and lose a full day of shooting – but it was a welcome reprieve from being one of 943 girls auditioning for the role of “hooker #2”.
Despite all the struggles of being an actor, I still couldn’t shake it. After two years working full time, I decided to quit my job, bet on myself, and pursue acting full time.
Now that I have reached the ripe ole’ age of 30 the “supposed to” part of my brain was like “womannnn what are you doing? You are supposed to be saving money for a house! You are supposed to have a ‘real job’. You are supposed to live in Los Angeles if you want to be a ‘real’ actor.”
I have learned a lot since I first moved to LA when I was 21 to be an ‘real’ actor, and I still have a lot to learn. The point is, I have made one too many decisions in my life based on fear and “supposed too’s” and for the first time in my life, I am fearless.
I genuinely don’t know what is going to happen – and that is EXCITING. So here’s to betting on yourself and new adventures!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an actor, writer, and professional goofball.
On-screen, you can find me on the award-winning digital series “Female Friendly“, which I had the pleasure of co-creating and writing as well. Additionally, my dimples graced the tv-sphere on “Lucifer“, where I played a southern roller derby queen opposite of the devil himself on Fox/Netflix. My natural southern roots strike again when I play Helene on “Polygonerz“, now streaming on Amazon.
Recently, I launched “The Great Taylor C. Baker Show” where I am baking my way through The Great British Bake Off technical challenges in hopes to live up to my namesake and become a better baker. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to follow along with my baking (mis)adventures!
On stage, I’m known as the comedienne “Trixie Treble”, where I have been humbly dubbed “Lucille Ball in a Garter Belt”. Simply put: adorned in bedazzled ensembles, I sing parodies while expertly executing awkward dance moves – usually while eating a baguette (or a cupcake, depending on my mood).
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Authenticity and Altruism.
As an actor, you spend your life stepping into the shoes of other people. However, when the cameras stop rolling, being authentically YOU are is essential to your success along the way.
I once had someone describe Hollywood to me as a heavily guarded castle sitting on an island surrounded by a moat full of hungry zombie sharks. There are no doors. There is no drawbridge. There is no apparent visible gateway into the inner sanctum where all the decision-makers sit inside stirring cocktails with their Oscar statuettes.
The only way inside is to make friends with a magical pixie in the enchanted forest near the castle. This pixie will show you the special branch that opens a secret door on a tree that gives you access to a path under the moat and into the castle.
I personally think authenticity and altruism are the tickets to making friends with that magical pixie.
Contact Info:
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/taylorcbaker
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorcbaker/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taylorcbakeractor
- Email: taylor@stage32.com
Image Credits
Steven Zurita (baking photo with knife, cupcakes, and Radio) Patrick Rusk (on stage photo in witch costume)
