Home for Christmas
Yellowknife-born actors return home for the holidays

by Janet Smellie
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 24/97) - It's been five years since they worked together.

But the friendship between Toby Mahler and Brahm Taylor remains strong.

Not only are the two currently living in Vancouver, where Mahler is working as a television actor and Taylor is finishing up formal training at Studio 58, a highly-regarded theatre school, but both are graduates of Sir John Franklin high school, where their days in the drama room were plenty.

Mahler, who aside from his drama classes at Sir John with teacher Terry Sheasgreen, has never had any formal training in acting. Yet after two years in Vancouver, he's now able to earn a living full-time from his work in episodic television.

Recent jobs include roles in Outer Limits and Millennium. So far, he has made four guest appearances in on TV series this year.

He's also won a supporting role in the upcoming MGM feature Disturbing Behavior, directed by David Nutter and featuring Ted Danson. Set to begin shooting the third week of January, the job will offer Mahler three months of solid work.

"I get to play a high school quarterback devoid of any moral backbone who loses his mind from time to time and kills people."

Following that job, Mahler says he is also planning to make the big move to Los Angeles sometime next year in an attempt to break into the movies full-time.

"I'm going to give it a shot to see about furthering my career. I know it's a terrible place, but it's where the work is."

Taylor, who's about to enter his final semester of classes at Studio 58, says that, while he's terrified of the camera, it's the stage where he has found his calling.

A recent production of The Overcoat at the Vancouver Playhouse produced rave reviews for the young actor.

Taylor played "an insane guy, an office worker and a fabric worker," in the play.

Mahler managed to attend his friend's performances.

"It was an amazing production. Brahm stood out, and I'm not just saying that as a friend, he really stood out," Mahler said. "While he's uncomfortable in front of a camera, I'm terrified of the stage, I really credit him for his talent there."

Taylor, who would ultimately like to travel to New York to pursue a career on Broadway, is finishing up his last semester and will be auditioning in late January for this summer's Shaw Festival in Ontario.

As for catching Mahler's guest appearance in Millennium, check out the episode airing on Jan. 23.