Seeking new horizons after a howling good time
By Piya Sinha-Roy |
November 18, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
As dusk sets on the "Twilight" saga with the final film, actor Taylor Lautner is looking at a new dawn for the next stage in his career.
Lautner, 20, shot to fame after being cast as werewolf Jacob Black in the "Twilight" films, entangled in a torrid love triangle with Kristen Stewart's Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson's vampire Edward Cullen. He became a household name and pin-up for his clean-cut good looks and shirtless scenes. In "Breaking Dawn - Part 2," Lautner's character finds new love, albeit unusual, and indulges his comedic side as the story comes to an end.
Lautner spoke about leaving Jacob and his cast mates behind, and why the final film may leave fans in tears.
Q: What's different about Jacob in "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"?
A: He's always been so stressed and emotional and things aren't going his way and there was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders in this one, huge. It was nice to play that side of Jacob where he could sit back and relax and have a smile on his face and crack a few funny jokes every now and then.
Q: Jacob finds his soulmate in Bella and Edward's daughter Renesmee from the moment she is born. Was it challenging to balance his affection for her without coming across creepy?
A: It was a challenge, and it is so complicated, but really nobody understands it more than Stephenie Meyer who created it. I was picking her brain all day long about it. She basically told me over and over again, 'Taylor, stop trying to overthink it, stop trying to take it different places ... It's a life-long bond between two people, that's it.' In the movie, (Renesmee) is 10 years old, it's much more of a protector relationship right now, and of course the relationship will grow but we don't explore that, but it was important for me to keep it simple.
Q: What are you going to miss most about your character and the franchise?
A: These characters have never stopped changing throughout the entire franchise, and that's what I love about Jacob. Jacob himself has grown up so much and gone through so many hurdles and it was a fantastic character to play. For me, it'll be tough to say goodbye to spending time with people that I love. We've grown so close over the past few years.
Q: "Twilight" fans are not just interested in your characters, they're also interested in your personal lives. How do you handle that level of scrutiny?
A: The scrutiny, is it unfortunate? Yeah, but you just got to make your way around it.
Q: Do you feel protective of your cast members?
A: Yes, I definitely do, we're so close. I think that it's hard not to.
Q: What do you hope "Twilight" fans take away from "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"?
A: I just hope they're happy and they're proud because we really do make these movies for them.. This last one specifically wraps it up so nicely, it's an amazing movie. During the movie, it'll keep you on the edge of your seat but by the end, I think more than a few of the fans will be in tears.
Q: Post-Twilight, where do you want to take your career to? I hear you have a cameo in comedy "Grown Ups 2"?
A: It was great to do (comedy) and work with somebody like Adam (Sandler). But now I'm looking forward to doing something different from that. There are a few projects that I'm very excited about that are challenging and dramatic, and would be tough.
Lautner, 20, shot to fame after being cast as werewolf Jacob Black in the "Twilight" films, entangled in a torrid love triangle with Kristen Stewart's Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson's vampire Edward Cullen. He became a household name and pin-up for his clean-cut good looks and shirtless scenes. In "Breaking Dawn - Part 2," Lautner's character finds new love, albeit unusual, and indulges his comedic side as the story comes to an end.
Lautner spoke about leaving Jacob and his cast mates behind, and why the final film may leave fans in tears.
Q: What's different about Jacob in "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"?
A: He's always been so stressed and emotional and things aren't going his way and there was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders in this one, huge. It was nice to play that side of Jacob where he could sit back and relax and have a smile on his face and crack a few funny jokes every now and then.
Q: Jacob finds his soulmate in Bella and Edward's daughter Renesmee from the moment she is born. Was it challenging to balance his affection for her without coming across creepy?
A: It was a challenge, and it is so complicated, but really nobody understands it more than Stephenie Meyer who created it. I was picking her brain all day long about it. She basically told me over and over again, 'Taylor, stop trying to overthink it, stop trying to take it different places ... It's a life-long bond between two people, that's it.' In the movie, (Renesmee) is 10 years old, it's much more of a protector relationship right now, and of course the relationship will grow but we don't explore that, but it was important for me to keep it simple.
Q: What are you going to miss most about your character and the franchise?
A: These characters have never stopped changing throughout the entire franchise, and that's what I love about Jacob. Jacob himself has grown up so much and gone through so many hurdles and it was a fantastic character to play. For me, it'll be tough to say goodbye to spending time with people that I love. We've grown so close over the past few years.
Q: "Twilight" fans are not just interested in your characters, they're also interested in your personal lives. How do you handle that level of scrutiny?
A: The scrutiny, is it unfortunate? Yeah, but you just got to make your way around it.
Q: Do you feel protective of your cast members?
A: Yes, I definitely do, we're so close. I think that it's hard not to.
Q: What do you hope "Twilight" fans take away from "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"?
A: I just hope they're happy and they're proud because we really do make these movies for them.. This last one specifically wraps it up so nicely, it's an amazing movie. During the movie, it'll keep you on the edge of your seat but by the end, I think more than a few of the fans will be in tears.
Q: Post-Twilight, where do you want to take your career to? I hear you have a cameo in comedy "Grown Ups 2"?
A: It was great to do (comedy) and work with somebody like Adam (Sandler). But now I'm looking forward to doing something different from that. There are a few projects that I'm very excited about that are challenging and dramatic, and would be tough.
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