Taylor Lautner has opened up about how Twilight‘s Team Edward vs. Team Jacob debate impacted his experience while filming. Based on Stephenie Meyer’s books of the same name, the film franchise began with Twilight in 2008, and concluded with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 in 2012. The films followed protagonist Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), as she found herself often caught in a love triangle between vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). This love triangle sparked heated debates from fans, who declared themselves to be either Team Edward or Team Jacob, based on which love interest they wanted to see Bella ultimately end up with.
In an interview with The Toast podcast (via Variety), Lautner admits that the Edward vs. Jacob mentality of fans impacted his experience of filming The Twilight Saga. Lautner says that, considering he himself was a teenager while filming the movies, it was strange for fans all over the world to be pitting him against his co-star. Lautner says that there was never any real competitiveness between Pattinson and himself, but the constant reminder of fans falling into one camp or the other put a strain on his relationship with Pattinson. Read Lautner’s full comment below:
I was so young. I was 16 when ‘Twilight’ came out, 17 for ‘New Moon’ and ‘Eclipse.’ I finished the franchise by the time I was 19. I was so young and yeah, I do feel like it was very strange traveling the world and being in different cities and having thousands of screaming fans either taking your side or the other guy’s side. Like, we’re a team. We’re both just trying to make the best movies…it was a little bizarre, the competitiveness. There wasn’t a competitiveness between me and Rob, but having that constant reminder, it definitely had an impact.
The Twilight Franchise’s Lasting Legacy
Lautner has been vocal about the negative sides of working on the Twilight films, despite the franchise having been a major part of Lautner’s career. Lautner has recalled the strict “nightmare” diet he was forced to follow to maintain Jacob’s muscles, saying that at age 16, he had to put on 35 pounds of muscle to keep his role in the franchise. He has also stated that the sudden fame that came with working on the Twilight films made him afraid to appear in public, as overeager fans would be following him everywhere he went.
While both Lautner and Pattinson have since moved onto other projects, with Pattinson most recently starring in DC’s newest adaptation of The Batman, the Twilight films have followed both actors since their teenage years. Fifteen years after the first film’s release, both actors are still often being asked about The Twilight Saga, with Lautner even recently admitting that he would even be open to returning as Jacob in a future Twilight revival. Meanwhile, Pattinson is famous for his open and honest dislike of the movies, criticizing everything from Edward’s character to the Edward vs. Jacob debate.
As with many other teenage actors who starred in major franchises, including the casts of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, it isn’t surprising to hear about how difficult the experience was for Lautner. Though The Twilight Saga holds a special place in the hearts of viewers across the world, the cast has been more openly vocal about how filming the franchise negatively impacted them, and it’s important to keep their experiences in mind. While Lautner and Pattison’s relationship survived the Team Edward vs. Team Jacob wars, Twilight fans are still debating the love triangle more than a decade later.