Twilight Saga Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Taylor Daniel Lautner (born February 11, 1992) appears in all movies of the series as Jacob Black, the best friend of Twilight's protagonist, Bella Swan. Jacob is a human boy who turns into a werewolf in the film New Moon, where he becomes one of the main characters of the series. In 2005, Lautner became well known for playing the role of "Sharkboy" in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, as well as Elliot Murtaugh in Cheaper by the Dozen 2, the 2005 sequel to the 2003 family film, Cheaper by the Dozen. Taylor also played the role of Nathan Price in the action/suspense movie Abduction.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Taylortr

Taylor Daniel Lautner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan to parents, Deborah, and Dan Lautner on February 11, 1992. When asked about playing Native American character Jacob Black in the 2008 film, Twilight, he revealed that he has some Native ancestry, specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi.

At the young age of six, Lautner became interested and soon started studying karate, training at Fabiano's Karate School in Holland, Michigan. A year later he was winning tournaments, and was also invited to train with seven-time world karate champion Mike Chat. By the time he was eight he was asked to represent the United States of America in the "twelve years and under division" in the World Karate Association, where he became the "Junior World Forms and Weapons Champion". He won three gold medals.

Lautner's acting career began after his martial arts instructor persuaded him to audition for a part in a Burger King advertisement. Despite his unsuccessful attempt to make it into the commercial, he enjoyed the experience so much that decided to pursue a career in acting. Not long after that, he and his family were traveling back-and-forth from their home in Michigan to California for Lautner to audition for acting roles on a regular basis. When Lautner was ten, his family relocated to Los Angeles to allow him to pursue acting full-time.

He continued to flourish in the martial arts circuit; in 2003, at only eleven years old, he was ranked number one in the world for NASKA's Black Belt Open Forms, Musical Weapons, Traditional Weapons and Traditional Forms and, by the age of twelve, he won Junior World Championships. However, at the age of 13 he gave up martial arts to focus on his acting.

Career[]

Jacob2

Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Lautner began acting in 2001, appearing in the made-for-television film Shadow Fury. He subsequently had roles on the series Summerland, The Bernie Mac Show, and My Wife and Kids. He also had a recurring role on Danny Phantom as YoungBlood. He is perhaps most famous for his starring role as Sharkboy in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, a film that showcased his martial arts skills. He also starred in "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" as Eliot Murtaugh. Lautner has stated that while he has been trying to succeed in his acting career, he also wants to finish high school.

He has had small roles in a number of other television shows and movies, including The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour. In addition to television, Taylor has been very successful in voice-over work. He has recorded episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo? and He's a Bully, Charlie Brown. Taylor has also been as booked a series regular of a pilot presentation called Which Way Is Up?, in addition to voicing the character of Silas in the animated series Silas and Brittany.

27258 381669591462 303350461462 4297894 3207841 n

His big break came in 2005 when, at the age of thirteen, Taylor won the role of Shark Boy in the Robert Rodriguez film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. He spent three months on location in Austin, Texas filming. Within months, he successfully auditioned to play Eliot, the son of the Bakers' rivals, in Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

ImagesCAR5Z3W0

As Sharkboy in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

Lautner was cast as Jacob Black in the movie adaptation of the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

During an appearance at a Breaking Dawn midnight release party at a Barnes & Noble in his hometown in Michigan, Lautner revealed that he would be in a new show with Christian Slater starting in October 2008. The show, called My Own Worst Enemy, was described by Taylor as a mix between Alias and 24. However, the show was canceled by NBC in November.

48255012

Lautner hosting Saturday Night Live.

Director Chris Weitz considered replacing Lautner in the role of Jacob Black for the film The Twilight Saga: New Moon, due to large physical changes that occur in the character following Twilight. However, in January 2009 it was announced that Lautner would continue to play the character of Jacob in New Moon. In February, 2010 he was featured in the film Valentine's Day alongside Taylor Swift. He reprises his role as Jacob in Eclipse, which hit theaters on June 30, 2010. Lautner also returned as Jacob in the two-part movie adaptations of Breaking Dawn.

Lautner hosted Saturday Night Live on December 12, 2009, making him one of the youngest celebrity hosts in the show's history. In 2013, Lautner was also signed as a new endorser for international fashion line Bench.

Between 2014-2015, Lautner starred in UK sitcom Cuckoo as the son of Dale. In 2016, he starred on the second season of Scream Queens as Dr. Cassidy Cascade, a mysterious doctor with a rare medical ailment.

Personal life[]

Lautner has a sister named Makena. He was a junior at Valencia High School (Santa Clarita, California) for the 2008-09 school year, but tested out of high school and is taking college classes. In his spare time, Lautner loves playing football and baseball, and he is a fan of the Texas Longhorns and Michigan Wolverines. He was a part of the Hart Baseball Program in the Los Angeles area, where he played center field and second base. He also participated in the "LA Hip Kids", a hip-hop dance group, and "Hot Shots", a performing jazz dance group.

As for his dating life, Lautner has dated singer and Valentine's Day co-star Taylor Swift as well as Abduction co-star Lily Collins. He's also been romantically linked to singer/actress Selena Gomez. From 2013 to 2015 he was in a relationship with Canadian-Greek actress and Tracers co-star Marie Avgeropoulos.

Since 2018, he has been publicly dating Taylor Dome, a nurse from California.[1][2][3] In November 2021, Taylor announced he and his girlfriend were engaged.[4] They married on November 11, 2022.

Lautner has an intricate workout plan, which was covered by Men's Health, and has a specific diet after developing his body for New Moon. In addition, he still practices and trains in martial arts regularly. He has stated that he is drug and alcohol free.

Filmography[]

Year Film Role Notes
2001 Shadow Fury Kismet (child) TV movie
2003 The Bernie Mac Show Aaron TV
2004 My Wife and Kids Tyrone TV
Summerland Boy on beach TV
2005 Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Elliott Murtiugh Film
Danny Phantom Youngblood TV; voice
Duck Dodgers Reggie Wasserstein TV; voice
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D Sharkboy Film
What's New, Scooby-Doo? Dennis/Ned TV; voice
2006 Love, Inc. Oliver TV
He's a Bully, Charlie Brown Joe Agate TV special; voice
2008 Caught Up in You by Cassi Thompson Love interest Music video
My Own Worst Enemy Jack Spivey TV
Twilight Jacob Black Film
2009 The Twilight Saga: New Moon Film
2010 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Film
Valentine's Day Willy Film
2011 Abduction Nathan Price Film
Field of Dreams 2: Lockout Iowa farmer Short film, with Funny or Die
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Jacob Black Film
2012 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 Film
2013 Grown Ups 2 Frat Boy Film
2014 Tracers Cam Film
Run the Tide Reymund Hightower Film
2014-2018 Cuckoo Dale, Jr. TV; series regular, season 2-4
2015 The Ridiculous 6 Lil' Pete Movie; co-star Julia Jones
2016 Run the Tide Reymond Hightower
2016 Scream Queens Dr. Cassidy Cascade TV; series regular; season 2

Awards[]

Year Award Category Result Role
2006 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film (Comedy or Drama) - Leading Young Actor Nominated Shark Boy in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D
2009 MTV Movie Awards Best Breakthrough Performance - Male Nominated Jacob Black in Twilight
Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Fresh Face Male Won
2010 People's Choice Awards Favorite Breakthrough Movie Actor Nominated Jacob Black in Twilight
Favorite On-Screen Team Nominated Twilight shared with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.
Golden Raspberry Award Worst Screen Couple Nominated New Moon shared with Kristen Stewart.
2012 People's Choice Awards Favorite Action Movie Star Nominated Abduction, as Nathan Price

Trivia[]

  • Lautner's favorite book from The Twilight Saga is Eclipse.
  • He had to learn how to ride a bike for New Moon.
  • The crew were considering replacing Lautner in New Moon, prompting him to work out and expand his muscles to fit the role.

Salary[]

  • Twilight (2008): $1,000,000
  • The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009): $4,000,000
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010): $7,500,000 + 2.5% of the profits
  • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011): $12,500,000 + 7.5% of the gross
  • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012): $12,500,000 + 7.5% of the gross

References[]

External links[]

Advertisement