Taylor Lautner might be several years removed from the “Twilight” film franchise, but that doesn’t mean elements of it don’t still haunt him. While speaking on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast this week, the actor revealed that he wasn’t initially cast for all five movies. He said he was only meant to star in the first movie, and the film’s team intended to “cast like a mid-20s guy to carry on and be Jacob for the rest of the franchise.”
Lautner explained the decision came down to how his character transformed in the books. He said, “My character in the first book is supposed to be like a 16-year-old little scrawny boy, and in the middle of ‘New Moon,’ he transforms into this 25-year-old-looking built, muscular man.”
The actor had to “fight” to keep his role and gained 20-25 pounds after he decided to commit to “hardcore working out for about nine months.” He continued, “I was ready, so when we got that call, my team was like, ‘Have you seen him recently?’”
Though he still had to audition for the part, Lautner made it work and went on to play Jacob in “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn” parts 1 and 2.
He also admitted to struggling with body image issues as a teen, in part because he was “not wearing that many clothes” in the films. Lautner added, “I also was 17, 18, 19 years old, and it was a lot easier to have a body like that, but that’s what most of the world knows me as.”
Lautner also spoke about his relationship with Taylor Swift, which spanned 2009 and 2010. The actor had only positive things to say about the singer. He explained, “I’ve always had the deepest respect for who she is as a person before anything else.”
“So, it’s been really fantastic over the past year,” he added. “I mean, honestly, I would say one of the greater things to happen in my life over the last year is the rekindling of our friendship because she just is … just a wonderful human. And she’s pretty great to have in your life.”
As for who ended things with whom and brought their relationship to a close, Lautner admitted, “I’m thinking back on exactly what happened, but nope, yeah, she did.”
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