“Little Bit Of Resentment”: Twilight Star Gets Candid About Playing Jacob Black

Taylor Lautner reflects on his the impact that playing Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga had on his life, saying he had some feelings of resentment.

Twilight star Taylor Lautner reveals how his feelings about playing Jacob Black have evolved over the years, sharing that he initially harbored some resentment. Based on the novels by Stephenie Meyer, the first Twilight movie was released in 2008, starring Kristen Stewart as Bella, a high school student who falls in love with Edward (Robert Pattinson), a vampire. The first film was a major hit, spawning four sequels that would see Bella torn between her feelings for Edward and Lautner’s Jacob, a werewolf.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM, Lautner opened up about how his feelings on playing Jacob have changed in the years since the Twilight franchise ended. While he looks now back on his time as the werewolf fondly, the actor recalls a time when he was unhappy with the high degree of fame and attention that came with the role. Check out Lautner’s full comment or listen to a portion of the interview below:

“Now, only fond memories. But I do think that also needed the space because I was always incredibly grateful and felt super blessed for what it brought me but maybe there was a little bit of resentment deep in there. Like, ‘I wish I could have just experienced this part of normalcy.’ Now, I wouldn’t change it, but I think it needed the growth to get to that place.”

How The Twilight Phenomenon Impacted The Stars’ Careers
The Twilight book series had already garnered a large and passionate fan following when the first film was released. The 2008 debut entry ended up earning over $407 million at the box office and all subsequent entries would earn significantly more, bringing the franchise total to a whopping $3.4 billion. While Stewart, Pattinson, and Lautner had all appeared in movies prior to landing their roles in Twilight, the franchise propelled each star to new heights.

The franchise made the trio some of the most recognizable young actors in Hollywood and undoubtedly opened doors for future roles, but not all the long-term effects were positive. In addition to Lautner’s comments about any notion of a normal life going out the window, all three stars will struggle to emerge from the shadows of their former roles after the Twilight franchise ended.