Could there be a happier teen in Hollywood than Taylor Lautner?
The 17-year-old reprises his role as Jacob Black in “Twilight Saga: New Moon,” and is dating country superstar Taylor Swift.
Of course, since Swift is his love interest in the upcoming “Valentine’s Day” movie, there is the question of this being a publicity hookup.
“Well,” he answered, “the very funny thing is that all of you (the press) have seen every single move I make. So I guess I can leave that up to you to decide.”
Once Lautner found himself in a hit franchise, there were questions whether he could become a plausible romantic rival to vampire hero Edward Cullen (Rob Pattinson) for Bella (Kristen Stewart).
“Honestly, I knew where my character went in ‘New Moon’ and that’s all I tried to stay focused on. I couldn’t control things outside. But I could control what I was doing to portray Jacob Black correctly.
“Jacob transforms a lot in ‘New Moon,’ ” Lautner added. “Not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well.”
Director Chris Weitz (“American Pie”) noted, “I was convinced Taylor was able to do it. But there were some reasonable facts we had to come to grips with: In the second book Jacob is described as six feet five.”
Lautner couldn’t get taller but he immediately began training and eating to bulk up - gaining 30 pounds in eight months. And no, he didn’t use steroids.
As for the pivotal scene where Jacob strips off his shirt to staunch Bella’s wound, “I start laughing so hard every time I see that scene. It’s so embarrassing,” he said.
But making Lautner strip down is not just an eye-candy maneuver.
“There’s a reason that he’s not wearing clothes all the time. One, when he transforms (into a werewolf), all his clothes get shredded. And when he goes into the woods to get something to put on so he’s not naked, it’s just a ripped pair of jean shorts. And he’s also hot, he’s 108 degrees.”
Subject: Taylor Lautner takes bigger bite of fame in ‘Twilight Saga’ 
Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:55 pm
