You must watch these 7 Taylor Kitsch movies and TV shows if you love the actor

Taylor Kitsch has already developed a reputation as a rough and passionate, no-nonsense actor who brings his entire being to his performances. Be it blowing off marauding aliens on another planet or trying to strip away emotional scars in intimate dramas, this Canadian actor has left a lasting impact on audiences through the various roles he has played. He has made a versatile career: deep drama, war stories, crime thrillers, and human portraits. He can undertake roles requiring physical makeovers and emotional sensitivity with grace. Here is a list of 7 movies and TV series you can watch if you are a fan of this actor, and if not, these will make you one in no time.

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Taylor Kitsch in Only the Brave (2017)

Taylor Kitsch puts in what is perhaps one of his best, most grounded performances as Chris “Mac” MacKenzie, an actual wildfire specialist and member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. In Only the Brave (2017), Kitsch manages to be tough but tender, conveying through his physicality what it means to bust your ass as a hotshot firefighter, but also the emotional gravity of what that brotherhood and sacrifice mean.

It is no secret that the film industry has provided the actor with enormous swings, apparently a few big-budget misses despite so much unrealized potential, but in Only the Brave, every drop of Taylor Kitsch’s talent as a performer finds justice. His vulnerability, restraint, and even physique were all utilized. He is not after bravado and action spectacle here. He is secretly paying his respects to true heroism. To most fans and critics alike, MacKenzie is the character that shows Taylor Kitsch to be a profoundly capable actor when the script allows him a chance to breathe and the viewers to feel.

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Taylor Kitsch in Friday Night Lights

Taylor Kitsch played Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights (2006-2011), and it is among the most emotionally charged performances on television in the last twenty years. The distinctive feature of the given role is that Taylor Kitsch does not follow the same football‑jock stereotypes but uplifts his character with silence, tension, and genuineness. In Season 1, Riggins would have been super easy to roll his eyes at as a cliche: a depressed, moody, party animal fullback who didn't have a lot of depth. The show and Kitsch transformed him into much more than just that later.

The point at which the story turns is in Season 2, with Riggins as a leaner character, fiercely loyal and haunted by pain. As we embraced his transition, we saw him as this remorseful, broken soul in need of salvation and loving. Tim Riggins, played by Taylor Kitsch, is not a loud guy. He does not have to be. It is in the silences, the times one does not speak, and in his faithfulness during tough times that his character speaks. He turned into the emotional center of the series that, at its most poignant, dealt with masculinity/heartbreak/hope with complexity that you rarely see in this era.

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Taylor Kitsch in John Carter (2012)

John Carter fizzled out with one of the worst box office receptions when it was released in 2012. Mind you, that is being quite generous with die-hard Taylor Kitsch enthusiasts, but to them, this Mars tie-in is a testament to his dedication, endurance, and raw screen presence. Kitsch went all out in portraying John Carter. Eleven months of training and discipline, working out hard early in the morning, and eating like a soldier could, the man never recoiled from exhaustion or pain. He embraced it. He took up physical stunts, green-screen acting, and emotional beats as a once-broken Civil War vet who became an unwilling interplanetary hero.

Taylor Kitsch portrayed the role of a man striving to defend not only a planet but also the very identity that he wore. John Carter might not have put Kitsch on a megastar planet, but it did provide him with a stage to explore the area he is fundamentally good at: playing a physically and emotionally compelling part. He added soul to an epic Martian adventure and demonstrated that he can hold the screen with a colossal ambition on his shoulders.

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Taylor Kitsch in American Primeval

Taylor Kitsch gives one of his most intense performances to date in American Primeval as a rugged, reserved man of few words with quite a turbulent life. As Spotted Hawk (aka Isaac Reed), a tragic mountain man tormented by personal loss and brought up by the Shoshone, he is the grounding influence of this brutal drama of the 1857 Utah War, with its brooding intensity and an intangible feeling of subconscious struggle.

To the core, American Primeval is a realistic, ruthless, and unsentimental foray into life, along with personal morality on the unforgiving land of the West, years before many contemporary Westerns even stooped to that level of realism. A traumatized man reluctantly turns into a protector, guide, and silent pillar to Sara (Betty Gilpin), and her son, Isaac, played by Taylor Kitsch, is the emotional heart of this gripping series. Together, they form a temporary family of sorts in a world where wrong and right are often interchangeable. This is the one to watch in case you are a real fan of him.

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Taylor Kitsch in The Normal Heart (2014)

In The Normal Heart (2014), Taylor Kitsch gives one of his most heartbreaking and moving performances as Bruce Niles, a closeted investment banker struggling privately with loss, fear, and the moral urgency of activism. It is a defining transition from his physical and action-heavy characters to an internal and character-driven role. This HBO production of the play written by Larry Kramer and directed by Ryan Murphy tells the story of the movement against the early days of AIDS in the 1980s in New York, when activism and identity were being fought in the worst scenario.

Kitsch is restrained in his turn, and that is what makes him so uniquely modern. There is no machismo stuff here; Bruce is quiet wrath and heartbreak refracted through measured expressions. His blonde wig and styling became a part of the transition and a decision he gladly took to accurately reflect the personality of the early 1980s, alongside Murphy’s direction. This is a breakthrough in his career characterized by psychological depth, moral ambiguity, and the audacity to enter into a quieter but deeply affecting style.

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Taylor Kitsch in Waco

The role of David Koresh, played by Taylor Kitsch in the six-part mini-series Waco, is an in-depth look at a real-life historical figure who is still controversial, mysterious, and unsettling. After intensive preparation and full dedication, Kitsch physically and emotionally transformed himself to embody the cult leader so vividly that he was eerie and convincing.

In the intro, Kitsch as David Koresh is warm and personable, plucking a guitar and joking with his groupies, then lapsing into explosive rage almost soap operatically: the duality is hard to ignore. This is the best Taylor Kitsch can be. Raw, naked, disturbing, and completely indelible. Assuming you like tough acting choices and nuanced characters, David Koresh is one of his all-time richest performances.

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Taylor Kitsch in Lone Survivor (2013)

One of the most powerful and emotionally sound portrayals that Taylor Kitsch has done to date was in Lone Survivor. In the 2013 true story war drama written and directed by Peter Berg, Kitsch portrays the character of Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, or Murph, a Navy SEAL whose courage and leadership play a critical role as part of the emotional core in the movie. The reason this is one of Kitsch's finest performances is because of the perfect synthesis of physical grittiness and composure of internal determination, all based on an empathy with the real-life character he depicts.

In the beginning, you get the feeling of the burden that Kitsch has on his shoulders: he did not simply put on a costume to play a character, but practiced like a real SEAL. Although Mark Wahlberg is brought on board as Luttrell, Murph, portrayed by Kitsch, draws your attention differently. It is solid, without all the show, but deserved, with Kitsch's performance rooted in training, dignity, and a sense of emotional authenticity that adds additional heft to the cast as a whole.