Taylor Lautner Talks About Acting and Filming New Moon

How is the Twilight phenomenon sitting with you?

It’s the weirdest thing. Nobody really saw it coming. I mean, we knew we were making a movie of a very popular book, but we didn’t know how well it was going to do. When it opened, it exploded, and that was not something any of us saw coming. Filming New Moon is a lot different than the first one because this time we know what we are getting into.

So what’s in store for Jacob?

He’s a lot different than he was before. He transforms mid-story—in the first half, he’s Twilight Jacob. I’m wearing a wig. My character’s very clumsy, outgoing, and friendly. When he transforms into a werewolf, he becomes something very different. It’s like I’m playing a split personality. Which is tricky, because sometimes I’ve had to play pre- and post-transformation Jacob on the same day of filming.

Is the premise similar to the book’s?

The coolest thing about the series is that we stay very true to the books; it would be silly for us not to, because the books are exactly what the fans want to see. There’s an action side to it, which I love, and there are werewolves now. There aren’t just vampires. There’s a wolf pack.

Are Twilight fans as intense as they seem?

They are very intense, but it’s cool that they’re so dedicated and so passionate. They’re the reason we’re here doing this sequel. So I’m thankful for the fans. I like meeting them. But, yeah, they’re pretty intense. Sometimes it becomes a little overwhelming.

Do they scream and rend their garments?

We’ve met many different fans: the criers, who come around quite often; the hyperventilators who stop breathing and have to have a medic come. We’ve definitely seen some passion.

Do you hang out with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart?

The whole cast is really close. It would be difficult for our characters if we weren’t. It’s a love triangle, and we need to understand each other. So the fact that we’re close and can talk things through in rehearsals, and if we’re out at dinner, we’ll just randomly start talking about the scene we’re shooting the next day . . . If we weren’t able to do those things, I don’t know where we’d be.

What would you be doing if not acting?

I always played sports when I was young. I played football and baseball for eight years. I loved football. So maybe I’d be doing some kind of sport. I also loved writing and directing. So maybe that could be in my future too. I’d love to get into that.

Is the third Twilight movie happening, and are you in it?

Yeah. We’re all staying focused on New Moon right now, but that’s in the back of our minds.

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