March 22,2017
(Photo Credit: Cleveland Gladiators)
It’s
not Hollywood, but Cleveland has a solid footprint in the movie
industry. Films like The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
and of course, The Christmas Story were filmed in the Ohio city. Also,
Halle Berry is a native Clevelander, and over the past few years, the
city has become home to another actor. Wide receiver Collin Taylor, or CT, is returning to the Cleveland Gladiators for the 2017 AFL season. When he’s not starring on the field, he can sometimes be found on the silver screen. With roles as an extra in The Dark Knight Rises, and Focus, Taylor shared, “I've had a few, awesome opportunities to play roles in a couple of major motion pictures, and they've been experiences I will never forget.” He may actually owe his second career to one of his siblings. CT admits, “I grew up acting in little plays that my sister would "direct" for my cousins and I during the holidays, so I think acting is kind of in my blood!” He enjoys the storytelling aspect of acting. He would love to pursue acting once his playing days are done, and maybe with some different roles. “So far I've been type casted as a "football player" throughout 3 movies and 2 TV shows, but one of these days I'll be able to break that stereotype,” joked Taylor.
Don’t think for one second that Collin’s skillset is limited to catching touchdowns, which he did in a franchise best 32 consecutive games, and memorizing a script. He also took home the 2015 West Park Station Karaoke Championship, one year after finishing runner up with former Gladiators quarterback Shane Austin. His go to songs? “I’d like to think I do a pretty good job of reading the crowd, which is key when singing karaoke,” acknowledged Taylor. “If the crowd is in a live mood, and pretty into the performances, I'll either perform "Cooler Than Me" by Mike Posner, "Ride Wit Me" by Nelly, or if I want to blow the roof off, I'll perform "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, a song that Shane and I performed in 2014.”
Entering his fourth season with the Gladiators, Taylor is as big of a fan of Cleveland, as the city is of him. CT pointed out, “The city of Cleveland has a very special place in my heart. Not only did I fall in love with the city in 2014 when I first arrived; downtown, the flats, the suburbs, I think they're all great, but, I also felt completely accepted by the Cleveland people, and the Gladiator fans.” Taylor knows a good city when he sees one. He grew up in Carmel, Indiana, which was ranked the #1 place to live in the United States by CNN Money in 2012. He considers himself lucky to call Carmel home, and explains, “I truly believe that the people make the place, and we have thousands of great people in Carmel.” They also have a unique traffic design, as the city has been dubbed the “Round-A-Bout Capital of the US.” Taylor said, “Many people look at that as kind of a joke, but it makes it easy to get anywhere in the city in a short amount of time, as long as you know how to handle the round a bouts. Stop lights are overrated anyway.”
For any Clevelanders that haven’t had the chance to get to a game, Taylor sells it this way: “For football fans, you get exactly what you're looking for. Great players, making great plays, and feeding off the crowd at the Q. People who couldn't care less about sports would also love the experience. The marketing team, and game day operations team, put on a show during the game. Get yourself to one Gladiators’ game, and you will fall in love, I promise. If not with the game, for sure with some of these players' personalities, and their stories!
The Gladiators open their season April 8th, at Quicken Loans Arena, against the Tampa Bay Storm. Tickets are available now at ClevelandGladiators.com
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