A Big Leap for Taylor

BEVERLY HILLS — All members of the Twilight Saga family are fun to talk to but by far the most fun of them all is Taylor Lautner who plays the werewolf Jacob Black. He’s engaging, he answers all questions (even those perceived to be “personal”) always with a smile, looking you in the eyes as he does, and, unlike his menacing on-screen alter ego ready to crush you with his fangs, he flashes a toothy smile at everybody with his dimples highlighting his cheeks. If only all werewolves were like him!

It’s Conversation’s fourth face-to-face interview with Taylor and he seems not to have changed at all, except that with Breaking Dawn 2 (now showing nationwide, released by Pioneer Films), a certain sadness crosses his face when he talks about the end of the worldwide phenomenon based on Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga. (Oops, Meyer is not the author of Casual Vacancy as erroneously mentioned in last Sunday’s conversation with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart who play Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in the Saga, but J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame.)

During the seven-minute TV one-on-one, Taylor was as “game” as he was during the round-table session with the nine other “international journalists” with me at a function room of Four Seasons. He was definitely the Darling of the Press on that day.

It’s goodbye to the Twilight Saga. Do you feel sad or relieved?

“Ahhh, both. Sad is probably the more overwhelming feeling but at this point, it is a relief and exciting for us to be done, and have everyone sitting on the franchise. The thing I’ll miss the most about it is probably just the excuse to spend time with my friends every single day. I mean, I will still continue to see them but not as often as we used to.”

How do you see yourself beyond the Saga? (He has done a few solo starrers.)

“I’m excited to start a new chapter and continue to challenge myself and grow as an actor. I’m extremely thankful for this franchise because it has given all of us the opportunity to go off and to do other things. I wanna do something different; there’s a few things I am excited about right now. That’s what I love about acting — not doing the same thing over and over again, but being able to challenge myself to do different things.”

You are so beefed up. How did you get that kind of body? (In one scene in Breaking Dawn 2, he stripped down to his underwear.)

“Did I work out for it? Yes, absolutely! Quite a bit. That was definitely a lot of work. Yeah, I remember that scene where I take off my shirt and my pants, too. That was my last shirtless and pant-less scene in the whole franchise. I remember that after shooting that scene, I went straight to dinner and just ordered dessert for my meal and I had nothing but dessert for dinner for the next week.”

What sort of workout did you do and what diet did you have?

“It wasn’t just for that scene but for the whole franchise. I had to work really hard to put it on in the first place for New Moon (the second installment in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga). And then I lost a little bit of it for Eclipse (third installment) and I wanted to make sure that I got it back, or even more, for Breaking Dawn. It took a lot of work to get back up there. My diet? Lots of chicken, lots of steak, not too much fish.”

Your character Jacob Black seems to have gotten over his heartbreak over Bella Swan. In real life, what do you think is the best way to get over it or mend a broken heart?

“For me, it’s probably spending time with friends. I mean, the worst thing you or what most people do is lock themselves up in the room and do nothing. The best is still to surround yourself with friends and family.”

More than a werewolf, people look up to you as a sex symbol. How do you feel about it?

“I have no idea. I don’t understand it, I don’t know, but I guess it comes with the job.”

Do you sometimes wish to go back to the days when you were not in showbiz?

“No, I wouldn’t wish that because that means I wouldn’t have the memories that I do have and I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. I never thought I’d be here today; I never thought I’d be able to make movies and play awesome characters and meet the people that I have met. So I’m willing to take the negative things that come with it just to be able to do that. It’s worth the price.”

What’s the hardest part of being a star?

Taylor Lautner through the years: As a growing boy in 2007 to a macho man in 2012

“Obviously, the lack of privacy. Sometimes, when you just wish you can go to the theater and watch a movie calmly…hmmm, I don’t really look at it as a negative thing because there are so many positive things to consider.”

Any weird thing a fan has done to you?

“Oh, let me see…Probably the strangest thing for me to wrap my head around was when a fan asked me to autograph her arm and she had it tattooed the very next day. I was just like ‘Wow!’ That’s very serious! I’ve been trying to picture that girl with my signature tattooed on her arm for the rest of her life.”

How do you deal with the lack of privacy?

“You just try and not let it affect you too much. Hmmmm, the worst thing you can do about it is, again, lock yourself up inside your house and not do anything. Maybe I did that more when it instantly happened because when it did, you would tend to retreat. Not anymore. I’m able to figure things out better and plan things way ahead. Like if I wanna go see a movie, I won’t go to the Friday night showing at 8 p.m.; I would go to the Tuesday showing at 11 a.m. It works! Hahahaha!”

What do you do on your days off?

“It depends. Like when I’m really, really busy…Like after this junket, for example, I just want to do nothing. I just wanna sit on the couch and watch some football. But if I have the energy, since I’m a sports fanatic I usually kind of line up my days off around sports. I’d probably play with my friends two hours of basketball and then two hours of football. Nothing really profound.”

How about time you spend with your family?

“Well, just like things that normal families do. I’m so close to my family and I’m so fortunate to have an incredible family that is supportive.”

Any fears?

“I wouldn’t be normal if I don’t have any. I’m definitely afraid of sharks, reptiles. But I guess I’ve conquered my shark fear because I went out to it head-on. I’ve done shark-diving three times in Sydney; no cage, just me and the shark. They have this aquarium with sharks that are just pretty comfortable with humans. No, I’m not afraid of wolves. I’m one, you know, hahahaha!”

In Breaking Dawn 2, your character Jacob Black shows such fondness for Mackenzie Foy who plays Renesmee, the daughter of Bella and Edward. How are you with kids in real life?

“I’ve always love kids and being around kids. It was fun having Mackenzie on the set. Not only Mackenzie but the other little kids playing Renesmee in different stages of her life. The kids put a smile on everyone’s face.”

Is Robert really as serious as he seems to be?

“Uhm, Rob is very funny, a very hilarious guy on the set. If you guys would spend 20 minutes with him, you’d be laughing as well. He’s a funny dude. I think a lot of it is British humor.”

What’s your fondest memory about the Saga and the best lesson that you learned from it?

“Uhm, it’s so hard to think of just one. My fondest memory in general is just the feeling that I got when I knew it was time to go back to the set and film another (Twilight) movie. It’s this feeling of, you know, going back to camp and spending more time with the family and getting back in the Jacob Black mode. Time to go to Vancouver again! That was very exciting for me; it made me so happy. And the best lesson? I really can’t sum it up. As an actor, I learned, 1) from working with my fellow cast mates, and 2) from the directors that we have worked with, four different directors in the five movies who were extremely talented.”

Any kind of roles you would like to portray that would take people’s mind away from your Twilight persona?

“You know, like what I said I want to do things that are different so I’m looking at doing comedy. I might start working on that soon. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to do different things.”

If you were an animal, what would you be…a werewolf?

“I always want to fly so I’d probably be an eagle. I still have the wish that I could fly. That’s why Superman is my favorite superhero.”

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