Taylor Lautner talks transformations for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Taylor Lautner plays Jacob Black in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
‘New Moon’ cast talks transformations
Taylor Lautner transformed for sequel
LOS ANGELES — Dangling from wires 10 feet above the ground, “Twilight” actor Taylor Lautner had time this spring to ponder his transformation.
“The famous trailer shot when I’m running through the field and I jump up and try and fly in midair, I’m attached to wires and … I let the wires pull me up in the air and jerk me to a stop and I just have to freeze there and let them convert my body into a CGI wolf. The whole time I’m like, ‘I hope I look cool,’” Lautner said during a recent press conference at the swank Four Seasons Hotel ballroom.
For the anticipated sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” opening in theaters today, Lautner, 17, metamorphosed in more ways than one. In the second film based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book series, heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is devastated when her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaves her. Bella’s growing friendship childhood pal Jacob Black (Lautner) raises her spirits, but her life again gets supernaturally strange when Jacob turns into a werewolf.
“Jacob transforms a lot in ‘New Moon,’ not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well. So it was a matter of getting to the gym and eating the right food and a lot of it. But also reading and studying the book and the character over and over and over again so I could have his character down,” he said.
“Basically my job was to continue what I started in ‘Twilight,’ which was this extremely happy, friendly, outgoing guy, best friends with Bella. I had to continue that for the first half of the film, but as soon as I transform, I snap and I become a completely different person.”
Jacob plays a small part in the first film, but his role expands as the Quileute Indian teen takes his place in the series’ paranormal love triangle. While Stewart and Pattinson were already set for “New Moon,” Lautner had to earn his role in the sequel.
In the book, Jacob rapidly grows tall and muscular as he becomes a werewolf. So Lautner packed on 30 pounds of muscle to secure the part. Before that, recasting was a real possibility, said director Chris Weitz.
“But I was always convinced that he was going to be able to do it,” Weitz said. “The doubts came up because he had very few scenes in the first movie. Also because he’s described as being 6-foot-5 in the second book, (there were) some reasonable facts that we had to come to grips with. But I like the sort of sweetness of this character in the first movie, and I knew that it was easier to take an actor in the direction of anger and rage than it was to find someone who is kind of a hunk or 6-foot-5 Native American and somehow turn him into that very sweet-natured persona that Taylor brings out so well.”
To bulk up, Lautner spent five days a week in the gym. But the hard part was consuming more than 3,200 calories a day. which meant “putting something in your mouth every two hours.”
“I’m busy, I’m downtown L.A., I’m (going) from meeting to meeting. There’s not time for me to be eating,” he said. “So I literally would have to carry a little Baggie of beef patties, raw almonds, sweet potatoes.” So it’s not like every two hours I’m eating ice cream.”
Pattinson first saw Lautner’s new look when filming started in spring in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“I had the same reaction as everybody else. “I was like, ‘Now I have to go to the gym,’” he said.
The time spent shaping his physique paid off. when filming started. Despite the Canadian cold, Lautner spent most of the sequel shirtless.
“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. He can’t help it. 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. He’s also hot. He’s 108 degrees,” said Lautner, who wore dark slacks, a white button-down shirt and gray jacket.
“The thing is, “I love this character, I love this story, and putting on the weight and not wearing much clothing was required by the role. A year from now, if I love a story and I love a character that requires me to lose 40 pounds, I’m ready to do it.”
“The Twilight Saga” also has transformed Lautner into a tabloid star. In between filming “New Moon” and making the next sequel, “Eclipse,” this fall, he starred opposite country music star Taylor Swift in the upcoming movie “Valentine’s Day.” He declined to address the rumored romance between them, but said she was great to work with on the film.
“I’d have to say the biggest transformation would be my schedule. I’m really, really busy, but it’s a lot of fun,” Lautner said. “It’s been a great experience. I’m really excited to be part of this.”
-BAM
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