The Taylor Russell movies and TV shows show how she has exploded recently to become one of Hollywood’s top go-to young stars. Russell is a Canadian actress who began her entertainment career as a ballet dancer and later as a painter. She moved on to try her hand at music and finally became an actor. Her first role came in 2012, when she was 18, for The CW medical drama Emily Owens, M.D. After a Lifetime television film and one-shot TV appearances, she finally broke out in 2018.
In 2018, Russell picked up the finest leading role of her career by playing Judy Robinson in the Netflix reboot of Lost in Space. That was her big break, but she set her sights next on movies and picked up her first lead role there with the 2019 horror movie Escape Room, which was a box-office success and showed that Russell could lead the way in a successful movie. Things got even better in 2022 with the critically acclaimed Bones and All, and the future looks bright for the young Hollywood star.
10 Down A Dark Hall (2018)
Taylor Russell Plays
Down a Dark Hall 0
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit
Your comment has not been saved
PG-13HorrorDocumentaryFantasyThriller Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US Director Rodrigo Cortés Release Date August 1, 2018 Cast Uma Thurman , Victoria Moroles , AnnaSophia Robb , Jim Sturgeon , Kirsty Mitchell , Isabelle Fuhrman , Taylor Russell
As with many young stars who get their start in Hollywood, there are always smaller horror movies for them to cut their teeth on. In 2018, one year after getting the small role in Before I Fall, Taylor Russell starred in Down a Dark Hall. The horror movie also featured AnnaSophia Robb as Kit Gordy, a young girl sent to a boarding school due to her unruly behavior. She then meets the headmistress (Uma Thurman) and the only other four students in the school, all with similar behavioral problems.
Taylor Russell plays Ashley, one of the other four teenage girls in the boarding school. Each of the girls begins to exhibit strange and disturbing tendencies, and for Ashley, it is creating beautiful poetry that remains deeply disturbing. This is a ghost/demonic possession horror movie and only received mixed reviews from critics, with a 48% Rotten Tomatoes score, praised for its style but criticized for its lack of scares.
9 Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021)
Taylor Russell Plays Zoey Davis
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions 0
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
pg-13Thriller Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
The sequel to the 2019 horror-thriller film Escape Room: Tournament of Champions returns to the world of deadly Escape Rooms with the two prior survivors, Zoey Davis and Ben Miller. Having discovered that they were just participants in a game of the darkly satirical shadow organization that observes the games for fun, Zoey and Ben decide to put a stop to their twisted designs. However, while en route to confront their foes, they quickly realize they’ve entered yet another game with even higher stakes.
Director Adam Robitel Release Date July 16, 2021 Distributor(s) Sony Cast Taylor Russell , Isabelle Fuhrman Runtime 88minutes
As one of only two survivors in the first Escape Room movie, Taylor Russell returns for the sequel as Maya, and this time, the plot takes a slightly different turn. The first film saw Maya and the other victims not understanding why this was happening to them until it was too late, and all but two of them were dead. However, with Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, Maya and Ben (Logan Miller) know what is going on and still set out to find the next room to get revenge and expose the people behind it.
…they still praised the acting, specifically Russell’s performance as Zoey.
This was Russell’s first sequel, and as with many sequels, it didn’t quite match up to the original. This sequel only made $66 million worldwide, more than half of the first movie’s box office take. With a slightly higher budget of $15 million, it was still a success (via Box Office Mojo). The critical reception was identical, with a 51% Rotten Tomatoes score. Critics said the new convoluted rules of the game were too confusing at times, but they still praised the acting, specifically Russell’s performance as Zoey.
8 Before I Fall (2017)
Taylor Russell Plays Ashley
Before I Fall 2
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
PG-13DramaMysterySci-Fi
Before I Fall is a 2017 film directed by Ry Russo-Young, based on the novel by Lauren Oliver. It stars Zoey Deutch as Samantha Kingston, a high school senior who relives the day of her death repeatedly. Set against the backdrop of typical teenage challenges, the film explores themes of identity, consequence, and the possibility of redemption as Samantha seeks to unravel the reasons behind her unusual predicament.
Director Ry Russo-Young Release Date March 3, 2017 Distributor(s) Open Road Films Cast Zoey Deutch , Halston Sage , Logan Miller , Kian Lawley , Elena Kampouris , Diego Boneta , Jennifer Beals , Cynthy Wu Runtime 98 minutes
One of the first major movies that Taylor Russell ever appeared in was the 2017 teen drama film Before I Fall. Based on the novel of the same name by Lauren Oliver, the film is about a teenage girl named Samantha Kingston who has to relive the day she died every day for a week to understand what happened to her. Each day, she takes new actions, some of which surprise her family and friends, and she attempts to understand what is happening. Zoey Deutch stars as Samantha.
Related 25 Cool Time Loop Movies, Ranked
Time loop movies crop up across genres, but the cool ones do the trope with style. Here are some of the coolest time loop movies, ranked.
As for Taylor Russell, she has a small role in the movie as Ashley, and she has very little to do with the story. Before I Fall, a time loop movie, earned mixed reviews, with a 64% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and most of the praise going to the acting of Deutch. It was also a small box office success, making $18.9 million on a $5 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). While it was a small role for Russell, it was a good start that would lead to better things in the following years.
7 Escape Room (2019)
Taylor Russell Plays Zoey Davis
Escape Room 1
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
PG-13HorrorMysteryDrama Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
Escape Room is a psychological horror movie starring Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, and Deborah Ann Woll. It tells the story of six strangers who agree to take part in an elaborate escape room for the chance to win a huge cash prize. However, it soon becomes apparent that not everything is quite what it seems.
Director Adam Robitel Release Date January 4, 2019 Distributor(s) Sony Cast Adam Robitel , Logan Miller , Jessica Sutton , Deborah Ann Woll , Jay Ellis , Taylor Russell , Tyler Labine , Nik Dodani , Yorick van Wageningen , Jamie-Lee Money Runtime 109 minutes
At the start of her career, Taylor Russell appeared in some smaller movies, but Escape Room offered something much bigger for the actress. The horror movie is based on the popular escape rooms popping up around the world, but with the twist that not escaping means death. It is similar to movies like Saw, but it is more of a teen horror movie rather than the torture porn of the groundbreaking franchise. What is important here is that the movie was a massive success, and Russell was a star in the making.
Russell stars as Zoey Davis, a young college physics student invited to an escape room to win a $10,000 prize. However, they soon learn they are there to die, and wealthy people are betting on who will survive the longest. The movie made $155.7 million on a $9 million budget (via Box Office Mojo) and all but guaranteed a sequel, which arrived two years later. Escape Room only received mixed reviews, sitting at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, but that is mostly normal for horror movies of this type.
6 Dr. Bird’s Advice For Sad Poets (2021)
Taylor Russell Plays Sophie
After appearing in some big movies like The Escape Room and Words on Bathroom Walls, Taylor Russell starred in a smaller indie comedy-drama in 2021 called Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets. Based on the novel by Evan Roskos, the movie stars Lucas Jade Zumann as a teenager named James who is obsessed with Walt Whitman. His biggest problems is figuring out social relationships and dealing with family drama. There is also an imaginary therapist named Dr. Bird, who is a pigeon.
While dealing with depression and anxiety issues, he starts to find hope with a new girlfriend named Sophie, played by Taylor Russell. The movie received mixed reviews, mostly because it played with James’ anxiety and depression issues with a little too much whimsey and flowery filmmaking tricks, but it was still enough to earn an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 75% score from the audience.
5 Falling Skies (2015)
Taylor Russell Plays Evelyn
Falling Skies 0
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
Sci-Fi Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
When Earth is invaded by extraterrestrials, humanity loses the battle against the alien attackers. Picking up after the defeat of the human race, Falling Skies tells the story of a former college professor (Noah Wyle) who becomes the leader of the Second Massachusetts, a group of soldiers and civilians who are struggling to fight against the occupying force.
Cast Connor Jessup , Drew Roy , Moon Bloodgood , Jessy Schram , Noah Wyle Release Date June 19, 2011 Seasons 5 Showrunner Mark Verheiden
Taylor Russell started her career with several smaller roles, but in 2015, she earned a chance to take on a recurring guest role on the network science fiction series Falling Skies. This series aired on TNT, and the plot started six months after an alien invasion, in which the aliens had already defeated most of Earth’s military forces. This means the series followed the fallout from that, with the remaining humans gathering resources and trying to find a way to survive and maybe fight back.
Related The Best Sci-Fi TV Shows To Watch Right Now
From Love, Death + Robots to Doctor Who, there are tons of current sci-fi streaming series that fans really ought to be checking out.
Taylor Russell starred as Evelyn, a character who appeared in the series’ fifth season. She was a survivor found by the Dingaan Botha in Statesboro. She was 19 at the time but was playing a 15-year-old in the series. Evelyn first appeared in “Find Your Warrior” and was in five total episodes, her last coming in “Reborn,” which means she was one of the final survivors who started a new society after defeating the aliens. The fifth season picked up a 70% Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating.
4 Lost In Space (2018-2021)
Taylor Russell Plays Judy Robinson
Lost In Space 0
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit
Your comment has not been saved
FamilyAdventureDrama Sci-Fi Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
Premiering on Netflix in 2018, Lost in Space is a reboot of the 1965 TV series, and stars Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, and Parker Posey, with a further ensemble cast. The series focuses on the Robinson family, who crash-land on a strange but habitable alien planet after their colonizing mission to the Alpha Centauri system goes awry. While the story differs quite a bit, the series does make multiple references and homages to the original Lost in Space from 1965.
Cast Toby Stephens , Mina Sundwall , Taylor Russell , Maxwell Jenkins , Molly Parker , Brian Steele , Parker Posey , Ignacio Serricchio Release Date April 13, 2018 Seasons 3 Showrunner Burk Sharpless
After a few years of working on guest and one-shot TV appearances, Taylor Russell got her breakthrough role in her first lead with the 2018 Netflix sci-fi series Lost in Space. This was a remake of the classic sci-fi TV show that originally aired in 1965 about a family who were lost in space and set out to try to find their way back home. In the series, Russell played a part of the lost family, Judy Robinson, and she earned a lot of critical acclaim for her performance in the role.
Taylor Russell also earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Presentation.
The rebooted series lasted for three seasons and 28 episodes on Netflix, and it earned high critical praise. While the first season only received a 68% Rotten Tomatoes rating, the second jumped to 85%, and the third and final season had a perfect 100% fresh rating. Taylor Russell also earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Presentation in 2019, and the series earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
3 Waves (2019)
Taylor Russell Plays Emily Williams
Waves 1
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
RSportRomanceDrama Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
Set in South Florida and featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike, Waves follows the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family – led by a well-intentioned but domineering father – as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.
Director Trey Edward Shults Release Date November 15, 2019 Cast Kelvin Harrison Jr. , Alexa Demie , David Garelik , Bill Wise , Taylor Russell Runtime 135 minutes
After hitting it big with the horror movie Escape Room, Taylor Russell was able to take on even more prestigious roles in her career. This led to her appearing in the 2019 A24 movie Waves. Unlike many A24 movies that fall into the camp of horror movies or experimental films, Waves is a family drama written and directed by Trey Edward Shults (It Comes At Night). Kelvin Harrison Jr. stars as Tyler, a high school senior who suffers an injury that hurts his wrestling career, sending him on a destructive path.
Russell also won the “We See You Award” from the 2019 African-American Film Critics Association year-end awards.
The movie then follows his family as they try to help him, while also dealing with the fallout from his bad decisions. Taylor Russell stars as his sister Emily, who has developed a relationship with a member of her brother’s wrestling team (Lucas Hedges). Critics praised both Russell and Harrison for their performances, and the movie has a fresh 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Russell also won the “We See You Award” from the 2019 African-American Film Critics Association year-end awards.
2 Words On Bathroom Walls (2020)
Taylor Russell Plays Maya Arnez
Words on Bathroom Walls 0
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
PG-13DramaRomance
Words on Bathroom Walls is a drama directed by Thor Freudenthal, based on the novel by Julia Walton. The film follows high school senior Adam Petrazelli, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia and grapples with the challenges of his condition while maintaining a sense of normalcy. Starring Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell, the story centers on Adam’s struggle to manage his mental health and his pursuit of his dreams.
Director Thor Freudenthal Release Date August 21, 2020 Studio(s) LD Entertainment Cast Charlie Plummer , Molly Parker , Walton Goggins , Andy Garcia , Taylor Russell Runtime 111 Minutes
In 2020, Taylor Russell co-starred in the critically acclaimed drama Words on Bathroom Walls. The romantic drama stars Charlie Plummer as a young man named Adam who suffers a mental breakdown in class and receives a schizophrenia diagnosis. Directed by Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), the movie shows schizophrenia by having actors portray the “visitors” who talk to Adam in his head. They include a New Age hippie, a smutty best friend, and an overprotective bodyguard.
The main drama of the story is Adam attempting to make it through life with these voices often offering him terrible advice. He meets a teen named Maya (Taylor Russell), an intelligent valedictorian who agrees to tutor him, and the two end up falling in love. However, when he realizes the side effects of his drugs are causing discomfort, he threatens everything good in his life by stopping taking them. The movie has an 89% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 94% rating from the audience.
1 Bones And All (2022)
Taylor Russell Plays Maren Yearly
Bones and All 0
Your Rating
5 stars4.5 stars4 stars3.5 stars3 star2.5 stars2 stars1.5 stars1 stars0.5 star Rate Now Submit Rate Now Edit Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
RDramaHorrorRomance Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
Bones and All is a horror/romantic drama from director Luca Guadagnino starring Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet as two new cannibalistic lovers living on the fringes of society. When Maren (Russell) falls back into her compulsion to eat flesh at a slumber party, she is sent out on the run to avoid being arrested. She soon meets Lee (Chalamet), another “eater,” just like her. The two begin an intense romance as they finally find someone who understands them – but unfortunately for them, they aren’t the only eaters nearby.
Director Luca Guadagnino Release Date November 23, 2022 Distributor(s) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , United Artists Cast Chloe Sevigny , Timothée Chalamet , Taylor McKenzie , Michael Stuhlbarg , David Gordon Green , Mark Rylance Runtime 130 minutes
When it comes to critical acclaim, the best Taylor Russell movie performance of her career came with the 2022 cannibal love story Bones and All. In this story, Maren Yearly is a teenage cannibal whose father knows her urges and keeps relocating for her safety. However, once she turns 18, he abandons her and tells her to find her way in the world. Not knowing what to do, she sets out to find her birth mother but meets another “eater” on the way named Sully (Mark Rylance).
However, when she meets a younger cannibal named Lee (Timothée Chalamet), the two fall in love but realize that there might never be a happy ever after for people like them. The movie was a box office disappointment. However, it has an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and ended up on many year-end best-of lists for critics’ organizations. Taylor Russell also won the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice Film Festival for her performance.