Taylor Lautner has been known for his role in the Twilight series playing Jacob Black who fought for the heart of Bella Swan. With each movie, the fandom seemed to grow more and more, whether Twi-Hards would camp out for days before the final movie premiered or were responsible for sinking their teeth into ticket sales. But this young actor proves that fame isn’t everything, as Lautner admits that he used to have past "resentment" towards this fantasy-romance franchise.
This American actor was only 12 years old when he made his first big film splash in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl as the superhero lead, and was only 16 years old when he introduced audiences to Jacob Black on the big screen. So, that basically means his whole childhood was spent being eye candy to many young fans mesmerized by him in feature-length goodness. While speaking on Sirius XM, Taylor Lautner admitted the “resentment” he used to have over The Twilight Saga, saying:
Now, only fond memories. But I do think that I also needed the space. I was always incredibly thankful and feel super blessed for what it brought me but maybe there was a little bit of, like, resentment, deep in there, going like 'I wish I could have experienced this part of normalcy.' Now, I wouldn't change it, but I think it needed the growth to get to that place.
I can understand the initial resentment toward being part of the franchise. Taylor Lautner explained previously the downside to fame and anxiety he had while filming the Twilight series due to thousands of screaming fans waiting for him as he tried to have a normal life. He explained it was hard for him to go on a walk or even take a girl on a date without having 12 cars anticipate his next move. The Valentine's Day actor practically getting stalked by his biggest fans made him not even want to leave his house!
Not to mention, Lautner was under a lot of pressure once he was almost fired after the first Twilight movie due to casting wanting someone older and with more muscle. This led to his “absolute nightmare” of a diet routine to stay in shape for the role by consuming a crazy number of calories. But then once The Twilight Saga was over, the attention for Lautner was able to die down which he said felt like “freedom” to him. Plus, I’m sure he was able to eat the calories he was comfortable with afterwards. With no commitments going forward to play Jacob Black anymore, this will leave room for Lautner to expand his acting range with roles outside of the shirtless teen wolf trope.
The Home Team star isn’t the only Twilight cast member who’s felt prior resentment over the franchise before. Robert Pattinson felt he was losing a sense of self playing Edward, as he explained that being part of a series based on a book meant Edward’s fate and actions were sealed with the events set in motion. But looking back on the series, Pattinson apparently has nice things to say about Twilight in the cool soundtrack and for its nostalgic purposes of the late ‘00s. It was also a struggle for Kristen Stewart to deal with canceling out “the noise” during the height of Twilight in not having a moment to herself with the paparazzi all over her. But when the Twilight series hit streaming a year ago, Stewart felt fortunate enough to be part of a franchise that was hitting a new generation of fans.
The Twilight series may have been an overwhelming experience for Taylor Lautner and other actors portraying their iconic roles, but it proves that once a craze dies down, you learn to appreciate it more. Take a look at our 2023 movie releases so you don’t miss out on the next role Taylor Lautner could appear in next.
