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Taylor Lautner shot to fame overnight with his performance as the mopey werewolf Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga movie series. Since then, lovers of Twilight have gushed over the actor's impressive physique, so it was quite a shock to hear the actor confess to having suffered from body image issues while he was working in the film.
In Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast that took place on December 13, 2023, Taylor Lautner and his wife, Taylor Dome, appeared for a chat and the actor got real about his vulnerability.
"I’m much better at it now, but there’s good days and bad days still," the 31-year-old actor said in the podcast.
As the actor delved into the topic, it was revealed that much of it stemmed from his role as Jacob in Twilight for which he had to be shirtless most of the time. Given that he was in the limelight all the time, Lautner was excessively concerned about staying in shape all the time.
"I dealt in the last five to seven years with a lot of body image issues because in the franchise, not wearing that many clothes, you know. And 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 said.
Taylor Lautner's fight to retain his role was the highlight of the interview.
"I had to fight for my role back": Taylor Lautner reveals he was almost removed from the Twilight franchise
In the podcast, Taylor Lautner recounted how his body image issue was triggered after starring in Twilight in 2008. He was told to reaudition for the role and if he didn't make it then he would be replaced with a 20-year-old guy to play his part for the rest of the series.
"I had to fight for my role back," Lautner remarked.
Going into details about what went on at that time, the actor paints a pretty rough picture. As a young actor with the prospect of being in an enormously successful franchise, Taylor Lautner knew what was at stake.
"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," Lautner said in the podcast. "So their plan all along was to cast a 16-year-old, which they did. I was 16 at the time. And then they were going to cast like a mid-20s guy to carry on and be Jacob for the rest of the franchise."
Taylor Lautner recounted how he started hitting the gym after that and worked out for hours and ended up gaining 20 to 25 pounds which pretty much convinced the people in the film to retain him for that role. It was the "hardcore working out for about nine months" that saved his career.
While speaking about where his place is now with his relationship with his body, Taylor Lautner said that it's much better now, although it's "certainly not perfect." He also acknowledged that his wife and friends had a role to play in helping him reach that comfort zone.
