Taylor John Smith Is Entering His Leading-Man Era

Welcome to Boys on Film, a series where we turn the spotlight on some of the most talented and stylish men in music, film, television, and fashion. Through an exclusive shoot and interview, we’ll give you a taste of how these men dress and what personal style means to them. 

I have three words for you: Taylor John Smith. If you’ve watched Where the Crawdads Sing—the highly anticipated adaptation of Delia Owens’s best-selling novel—you know where I’m going with this. If you haven’t, get to a theater pronto! My enthusiasm comes from the fact that Smith is nothing short of excellent in the film as Tate Walker, the kind, thoughtful, blue-eyed, blond-haired boy from town who falls for the story’s protagonist, Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones). In real life, the actor—who previously starred in HBO’s Sharp Objects—is every bit as likable. Sweet natured, funny, and handsome, Smith is the ideal leading man. 

What’s more, the 27-year-old is a self-proclaimed Swiftie (yes, an actual Taylor Swift stan) with an approach to style that is equal parts dapper and outdoorsman. Swoon. For recent press appearances, Smith has demonstrated an array of stellar suit moves, such as the tailored sky-blue Sandro number he paired with Manolo Blahnik loafers for the MTV Movie & TV Awards and the double-breasted pinstripe Canali two-piece he wore with a crisp white tee to the Crawdads NYC premiere. For our interview, however, I got his more casual attire, a fitted black long-sleeve tee with basketball shorts. Here at Who What Wear, we appreciate this kind of sartorial dichotomy, so we sent Smith some disposable cameras and gave him free rein to creative-direct and style his own shoot for us. The result? *Chef’s kiss.*

Where the Crawdads Sing is a global phenomenon and one of the best-selling books of all time. How did you personally connect with this story?

When I first read it, it was the coming-of-age aspect. One of my favorite movies growing up was Stand by Me, and there were a lot of [coming-of-age] elements in that film, just from a female perspective. I remember calling my sisters and telling them that I had gotten [the part], and the response was immediate. They were like, "Wait, Where the Crawdads Sing?!” And I said, "Yeah.” And they were like, "Shut up! Tate or Chase, who are you playing?” They have never cared about anything I’ve done before, and I told them Tate, and they were like, "Oh, thank god” and hopped off the phone. That was all they needed to know. If they cared that much about it, I knew that it must be huge. And then I got to hear everyone else’s stories about when they read it and what they were going through when they read it, especially during COVID because of all the isolation aspects of it. … It connected a lot of people. I was just excited to jump into it and be a part of it. 

I imagine there is a certain kind of pressure that comes with adapting this work. What can fans of the book expect from this film?

Because Reese [Witherspoon] is involved, she wanted to make sure it was such a loyal adaptation and that none of the elements or moments that so many people loved from the book were missing. If we didn’t have her at the helm, I don’t know if it would have gone the same way. It’s got everything that the book has—this beautiful romance story, this whodunnit murder mystery—and just the whole world that it exists in with the marsh and Barkley Cove was captured so beautifully in the movie. Creating a world like that from an existing book is really hard to do, and Olivia Newman, our director, and Reese did an amazing job. At least in my mind, it’s exactly how I imagined it would be. I was blown away every day on set getting to see it for real. 

Was there a set in particular that immediately transported you into the Crawdads world?

Instantly, Kya’s shack. I remember it wasn’t even finished being built yet, but it was in this beautiful lagoon where they had this dock they built that was just for the boat. I don’t know how they came up with it, but it was to a T exactly how I pictured it in my head with the little garden and the swing and just open water for miles with the Spanish moss hanging down. I was like, "This is so freaking cool.” I was so excited, and we hadn’t even started filming yet. I was excited to see it furnished with all of her drawings. They did such an amazing job.

I want to talk about stepping into the role of Tate Walker. He has such a sweet and gentle nature about him. How did you find him?

I try to pride myself on being a good person, but that being said, everybody makes mistakes. Even Tate on paper is this sweet and curious and loving kid, but he still ends up making a huge mistake with Kya, and I liked that he wasn’t just this cookie-cutter, one-sided character. He did end up making mistakes and tried to come back and fix those. But for Tate, honestly, it was just spending time with Daisy, getting out in nature. Any time we weren’t working, we were hanging out together. That was like movie nights or doing a lot of nature walks or her teaching me how to DJ and just hanging out walking around town. Because we had a month of prep [and] all that time spent together, we developed our own little Kya and Tate friendship and relationship. Tate was a lot easier to find once I had time with Daisy. 

I was going to ask about that because there is such strong chemistry between you and Daisy. Did that come about pretty instantly?

It was kind of instant. It’s funny. When I was doing the chemistry read with her, I was in Australia, and I think she was in London. It’s a weird feeling being over Zoom and trying to see if you have chemistry with someone. I felt like it was pretty immediate, and then I remember seeing her in person for the first time, and she did a running jump and jumped on me. I was like, "Oh my god, here we go!” It was perfect. She makes it so easy too. She’s incredibly funny and charming and sweet. So it’s hard not to have chemistry with her.

I love that she has DJ skills. 

She brought her own decks. She had the setup. 

What do you love about what Daisy brought to the character Kya specifically?

She really fought for Kya in the aspects that she didn’t want her to just be this gentle, sweet, aloof woman. She really wanted the grittiness of Kya to come out and that she was a fighter. And you can really tell, especially in the first half of the film and carried on through. You see this woman truly have to survive on her own, and she brought this internal intensity to it. She did so much with the accent and the physicality. She worked with a movement coach on that. And just every day, she had the book with her like it was the bible, and she would always refer back to it to do right by Delia Owens. She just worked so hard, and that was inspiring. It made you want to step up your game every day. I’m grateful to have her as a friend and a scene partner. 

You shot this movie in Louisiana. What was it like filming in the marshes? Any crazy experiences with the wildlife?

Yes, all the time! I’m thinking, "New Orleans—oh, that will be fun.” We were in the middle of nowhere, and it had to be that way, but you forget that just because you are on a film set doesn’t mean it’s safe. There was this one scene at the end—after the trial and whatnot—and I’m taking samples for this biology lab I’m working at. I’m in water up to my chest, and I remember hearing one of the wildlife wranglers saying over the radio, "Hey Taylor, just a heads up. Just wanted to let you know there is a gator about 10 to 15 feet behind you. He’s just swimming upstream to check on you. Don’t worry about it. If he looks a little bigger than six feet, maybe hop out of the water. Oh, we’re rolling. Alright, action!” And the only thing I can think about is this giant log. It looks like a log floating by, and all of a sudden, I can see it looking at me. That was terrifying. One of those, and I was like, "No, thank you. Did we get it? Did we get the shot?” 

Taylor Swift wrote an original song for the film, "Carolina.” I heard she was one of your very first concerts. Would you consider yourself a Swiftie today?

Absolutely. At this point, if you have heard her music and you are not a Swiftie, I think it’s illegal. So my aunt took me and my little sister Lexie and my older sister Chelsea to the Delaware State Fair, and she was like, "We are going to go to a concert.” And Taylor was up there with her little guitar. I can’t remember the songs she played, but I do remember her hair was really curly, and she was so beautiful and sweet, and her voice was incredible. And I remember being in awe of her, maybe my first crush. It was one of those things where I was like, "I do enjoy country music.” 

What is your all-time favorite Taylor Swift song?

Probably the 10-minute version of "All Too Well,” especially with the music video. It hits differently. It’s like a movie.

For our Boys on Film franchise, we sent you some disposable cameras and let you take free rein with the imagery and wardrobe. What did you want to convey about your personal style through these images?

I am so easy-peasy. You give me jeans and a T-shirt and a flannel, [and] I’ll take that all day. The only other qualm was I was moving during [the shooting of] this thing, and I had shipped out most of my clothes already and didn’t have as many options as I’d like to. But I’m very casual. I’m right now wearing a long-sleeve tee and shorts, and I would probably go to the gym in this. I think I’m guilty, like most guys who have five to 10 outfits that they rotate over and over again, and no one seems to question it. I’m just simple, you know? I don’t like being an art project, per se. Maybe later on in life, I will get out of my comfort zone, but I’m just a jeans-and-a-T-shirt, big-flannel guy. The only sneakers I ever wear are Converse. Other than that, I just wear boots. 

I’m seeing both a dapper side and an athletic side.

Yeah. I like to dress up. I love a good suit. I love feeling suave. That’s not the right word. I like feeling handsome. I like dressing up on occasion, but most of the time, I’ll be wearing something I can go run around in. I like the dichotomy.

Do you have any style influences, or do you look anywhere specific for inspiration?

I think Daniel Craig always looks great. I don’t know. Maybe I should start a Pinterest or vision board.

What was your big designer purchase, and do you still have it or wear it?

I love thrift shopping. I usually find pieces that I really like and just stick with them. When I was younger, maybe like 19 or 20, when I got my first big paycheck, I went and got an AllSaints leather jacket. And I think that’s the fanciest thing I own, but I haven’t worn that in a long time. I don’t think I’ll do expensive purchases again. I’ll stick with my white T-shirt and jeans. 

Don't miss Taylor John Smith in Where the Crawdads Sing in theaters now. 

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