Growing up in Hudsonville, Michigan, Taylor Lautner had all the banalities of a regular American middle class existence. His parents had good jobs, he was healthy, handsome and blessed with various athletic skills. He was also a prodigious martial artist, racking up trophies in karate as early as age 7, and dominating the Xtreme Martial Arts circuit shortly thereafter. Under the guidance of former Blue Power Ranger Mike Chat, Lautner embarked on a career in Hollywood, landing small roles in shows like Summerland, The Bernie Mac Show and My Wife and Kids. Realizing that his son had potential, his once apprehensive parents packed up the family and moved to Los Angeles so that Taylor could pursue his career and become the teen icon that he his today. Girls with braces everywhere, we think you owe Mr. and Mrs. Lautner a thank you card.
Taylor Lautner lands his first big role
After toiling away as the jock, bully or love interest in various run-of-the-mill sitcoms and TV movies, Lautner landed what his parents thought would be his breakout role. With internationally acclaimed director Robert Rodriguez at the helm, and a chance for the young Lautner to showcase his considerable martial arts skills, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D seemed poised for success, despite its clunky title. Unfortunately it flopped, and Taylor’s next film Cheaper By The Dozen 2 didn’t fare much better. The young actor was relegated to voice over work on cartoons, and it seemed as though stardom was perhaps out of reach. In 2008, however, Lautner was cast as Christian Slater’s son in the show My Own Worst Enemy and in a movie about vampires. Wanna guess which one made him a star?
Taylor Lautner and the twilight franchise
When Taylor Lautner was cast as Jacob Black in the film version of Stephenie Meyer’s cult vampire romance Twilight, he didn’t know what he was getting himself into. But when Twilight grossed $70 million on its opening weekend, Taylor realized his life would never be the same. Though his rise to fame wasn’t as meteoric as costars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, Lautner showed perseverance when director Chris Weitz wanted to replace him for New Moon. Instead of allowing the director to cast someone bulkier for the sequel, Lautner dug deep and gained 30 pounds of muscle to portray the beefed up version of Jacob Black. Um, good move. New Moon went on to score the third highest opening weekend in box office history, and with Lautner featured as one-third of Twilight’s epic love triangle, he officially joined Stewart and Pattinson as the three superstars that Twilight built. Look for Lautner-mania to reach overdrive when The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is released in June 2010.
Taylor Lautner’s fame reaches epic heights
As if starring in one of the biggest films of all time when you’re just 17 wasn’t enough, Taylor Lautner graced the cover of Rolling Stone, became the youngest male host in the history of Saturday Night Live, and was involved in a high-profile Hollywood romance with fellow superstar Taylor Swift, whom he met on the set of the upcoming romantic comedy Valentine’s Day. Call it a perfect storm, but it’s safe to say that Taylor Lautner is officially one of the biggest stars on the planet, a fact reinforced by his record-breaking $7.5 million payday for the upcoming action flick Northern Lights. Add the title role in the rumored Max Steel movie, and it’s apparent that Taylor Lautner is on his way to becoming one of Hollywood’s hottest leading men.
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