The Movie Scene Taylor Lautner Regrets Filming
Even though it's been a minute since we've seen Taylor Lautner on screen (his last appearance was in the BBC's Cuckoo in 2018, per TV Wise), who can ever forget his role as hunky teen werewolf, Jacob Black, in the Twilight series? Lautner started out in the franchise's first installment as the reserved, long-haired, boy-next-door type, playing second fiddle to the movie's main heartthrob, Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson). But when the Twilight sequel New Moon premiered, Lautner reappeared as a feast for the eyes, having gained 30 pounds of what looked like pure muscle, according to Cheat Sheet. The added bulk was a necessary transformation for the role, since Lautner's character was about to discover his werewolf tendencies.
Naturally, shape-shifting into a wolf on screen led to a number of shirtless scenes for Lautner, but the directors certainly didn't shy away from having Jacob strip down just for the heck of it every so often. Fans will easily recall the steamy moment when Bella (played by Kristen Stewart) wrecks her motorcycle and Jacob rushes to her rescue, whipping off his shirt and using it to blot her bleeding forehead (via YouTube). Or the time Bella confronts shirtless Jacob in the rain, demanding to know why he's acting so strange. Or this moment, when bare-chested Jacob casually pops into Bella's second-story bedroom window for a heart-to-heart chat. As much as viewers likely enjoy these generous displays of Lautner's finely tuned physique, the actor has some regrets.
Taylor Lautner would choose never to take his shirt off again
Despite all the effort Taylor Lautner put into bulking up for his role in New Moon, he had concerns about his abs upstaging his acting chops. Following the movie's premier, Lautner told AceShowbiz, "I worked hard to get in shape for this role. My motivation was the movie and the fans, but I don't want to become known as just a body. If I had to choose, I would never take my shirt off again in a movie," adding, "but I guess that's not very realistic."
Indeed, a constantly-clothed Taylor Lautner proved not to be very realistic. The Twilight franchise's third film, Eclipse, features topless Taylor again, prompting his on-screen adversary Edward Cullen to ask, "Doesn't he own a shirt?" (via YouTube). But by the time the fourth movie, Breaking Dawn Part 1, rolled around, it seems Lautner finally made his voice heard. According to MTV, Lautner negotiated his way down to only one shirtless scene in the film, although his motivation was a bit simpler this time. He explained, "... it's just so I don't have to freeze to death while I'm filming this movie... I'm just chillin' there naked. It's uncomfortable." Fair enough.
Although Taylor Lautner has dropped off the radar lately, rumor has it he could be making a return to the big screen in a new superhero movie — at least that's what fans on Twitter are hoping for, anyway. Whether or not his abs will receive screen time remains to be seen.