Tuesday, September 17, 2024
AZLE —The Aug. 29 special premier of “You Gotta Believe” at the AMC Palace 9 theater in Sundance Square was also the site of a happy reunion for one Azle family. Azle native Taylor Hunt Wright, 36, was excited to have family in tow to watch him on the big screen during a recently released film about the unlikely success of the 2002 Westside Little League Team.
Wright now lives in Los Angeles but used to call Azle home. In 1994, when Wright was in the first grade, his family moved to Azle. Wright attended Silver Creek Elementary and other local schools until he graduated from Azle High School in 2006.
Wright’s passion has been something of a surprise to those in town who knew him. As a child, Wright’s sister said he didn’t have any interest in theater.
“I will tell you, he was never involved in theater, drama, ever all his education years, never involved at all,” Meshia Neely, who is six years older than her brother, said. “He was (about) soccer his entire life, played sports all through school, soccer.”
Seeing his progress today, Neely, who is the administrative assistant to Matt Adams, assistant superintendent of Azle ISD, said she is immensely proud to see Taylor, a heavily involved brother and uncle, succeed.
“I could cry about it,” she said. “Finally, maybe something's paying off for him, not being around us for 10 years and only getting to share him, you know, on holidays when he comes home. That's the hard part, is not having him local, but we're heavily involved in FaceTime and phone calls … I'm excited to see him on the big screen. More than anything, I just want him home so I can hug him. That's what I'm looking forward to the most.”
After graduating AHS, Wright studied at Texas Christian University and eventually graduated as a film major in 2010. While in college, he attended an intensive class where he and other students lived in Los Angeles and attended the University of California at Los Angeles for a time. It was there Wright determined that if he wanted to pursue acting seriously, he’d be best off doing it in the City of Angels. While he was nervous making speeches, Wright found that placing a camera in front of him melted the anxieties away.
So, he packed his bags and in 2011, he moved to the city. While his sister and parents worried for him, he managed to carve out a life for himself and find the time to visit and call often. When not acting, Wright also paints pet portraits for the stars. Wright receives commissions and showcases his painting skills on dirtypawprint.com.
“You learn to be a jack of all trades,” Wright said. “Probably not just L.A., I'd assume anywhere, if you're in the arts of any kind. On top of that, too, I am an artist. I am a painter. I have also a pet portrait company that people commission me to paint their pets. And then I also am a pet handler for somebody that I have signed a (nondisclosure agreement) with, so that all these things collectively keep you afloat.”
Wright starred in several student films while attending TCU and in his pursuit of acting, he would often find himself back in Texas shooting small budget films in Austin and elsewhere. These movies include 2011’s “Searching for Sonny,” 2013’s “Black & White” and 2014’s “Balls Out” where Wright said he earned the nickname “Sweaty” after having to constantly glue elf ears back on while playing a live action role player in the scorching Texas heat.
Wright earned his most recent acting credit as semi-fictionalized Weatherford coach Ben Williams in “You Gotta Believe,” which came to theaters around the country at the end of August. After making a connection to the film’s producer, Houston Hill, through his wife and Fort Worth Film Commission representative Jessica Hill, Wright was sent the script, which he said he could not put down. After auditioning for another speaking role, Wright was ultimately asked to play the small part of Williams, whose team the Westside Little League players competed against in the film.
While Wright attended Azle schools, he had a Weatherford mailing address and was excited to authentically represent his hometown on the big screen. He was also excited about the prospect of getting to return home again for filming but had his “mind turned upside down” when he learned the studio would instead be recreating the Fort Worth area in a Toronto, Canada film lot. For Wright, seeing his home-away-from-home was an interesting but surreal experience.
“They have the whole baseball field in this tiny, this little city with Texas flags, Fort Worth memorabilia and I was like, ‘this is trippy,’” Wright said. “When you get on set, and you kind of have to take a moment. This is a huge crew. There's one of your idols. You're not in Texas, despite how much this feels and looks like Texas, and then action and everything else feels like a blur, until they say ‘Cut!’”
To add to the oddity, Wright said Toronto was battling major wildfires nearby which contributed to a Texas-orange sunset and high humidity. The perfect storm would even come together to produce a tornado nearby, forcing the cast and crew to take shelter.
“You couldn't get more Texas than that,” Wright said. “I felt like I was right at home.”
Wright went on to perform a scene alongside Greg Kinnear, whose movies he has enjoyed since he was a child.
“I'm a huge fan of his,” Wright said. “I have been for a long time, and so I was really appreciative that he was very generous and kind and really nice to work with. I will be honest, I was like, ‘oh, this is really happening. I'm getting to act with one of my idols.’ So, it took a took a quick minute to get the nerves settled but it all ended up great and he's a very gracious acting partner.”
During an Aug. 29 special screening in Fort Worth for the cast and crew, Wright was excited to be back home for real and to get to see the movie for the first time with his sister’s family and his mother.
“(It’s) surreal,” Wright said on the red carpet. “I'm so glad (my family) could all be here. My mom always said, ‘just please one more or one red carpet before I'm in a wheelchair.’ So, yeah, I guess check that off the list.”
Wright does not know what future projects might await, but he is grateful for the experience and is excited by growth happening in the Fort Worth film scene.
