Netflix star reveals he was ‘homeless and sleeping on the subway’ before big break
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He might be starring in one of the biggest shows on Netflix right now, but Taylor Kitsch has revealed he was ‘sleeping on the subway’ at the start of his career. The Canadian actor is best known for his roles in Friday Night Lights, True Detective, The Terminal List and now American Primeval, which was released on Netflix this month.
However, after moving to New York in 2002 to pursue modelling and acting Taylor struggled to make ends meet and faced homelessness. ‘I was literally sleeping on the subway,’ the now 43-year-old told People this week. Taylor had previously explained how he would take ‘a blue train from downtown all the way up to 182nd and at night they’d change, they’d take longer, A, C or E’.
![[Mandatory Credit: Photo by MediaPunch/Shutterstock (12996821as) Taylor Kitsch 'The Terminal List' premiere, DGA Theater, Los Angeles, California, USA - 22 Jun 2022]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235819782-4131-e1737564696813.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
But after meeting his talent manager, who he still works with over 20 years later, she ‘took a risk’ on him, which kickstarted his career. It was four years later that Taylor was cast on the sports drama series Friday Night Lights, on which he played high school football star Tim Riggins across all five seasons until it ended in 2011.
![[AMERICAN PRIMEVAL. (L to R) Preston Mota as Devin Rowell, Taylor Kitsch as Isaac, and Betty Gilpin as Sara Rowell in Episode 101 of American Primeval. Cr. Matt Kennedy/NETFLIX ?? 2023]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234700161-acea.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘People, for some reason or another, just really gravitated to Riggins,’ he added when speaking to People. ‘It truly affected my life, and all for the better.’. Taylor went on to say that ‘all I ever wanted to do was disappear into different characters’ and he never had the desire to seek out ‘leading a show or being in the limelight or money’.
