Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 00:29, 22 August 2010

Taylor Lautner
Lautner at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2009.
Born	Taylor Daniel Lautner
Occupation(s)	Actor Voice actor
Years active	2001–present

Taylor Daniel Lautner (Template:Pron-en; born February 11, 1992) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jacob Black in the Twilight film series, though he is also notable for roles in family films such as The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D and Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

Early life

Lautner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Deborah, who works for a software development company, and Daniel Lautner, a commercial airline pilot. Lautner was raised as a Roman Catholic in Hudsonville, Michigan, and attended Jamestown Elementary School until the age of eleven, when the family moved to the Santa Clarita area. Lautner is of mostly Dutch, French, and German descent, and claims some "distant" Native American (specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi) ancestry through his mother. He has a younger sister, Makena. Lautner has studied karate since the age of six. He appeared in an ISKA karate event televised on ESPN in 2003 that was later lampooned on the sports-comedy show Cheap Seats that first aired in 2006.

Career

Lautner began acting due to his karate coach, who had played the Blue Power Ranger. He first appeared in the made-for-television film Shadow Fury, and subsequently had roles on the series Summerland, The Bernie Mac Show, and My Wife and Kids. Lautner also appeared in a number of other television shows and movies, including The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour. He appeared as himself in America's Most Talented Kids, putting on an exhibition of his Martial Arts skills. In addition to television, Lautner has been very successful in voice-over work. Lautner has booked a recurring role as Youngblood on the cartoon Danny Phantom, and has recorded episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo? and He's a Bully, Charlie Brown. Lautner has also been booked as a series regular on a pilot presentation called Which Way Is Up?, in addition to voicing the character of Silas in the animated series Silas and Brittany.

In 2005, Lautner won the role of Shark Boy in the Robert Rodriguez film, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. He spent three months on location in Austin, Texas filming. Months later, he successfully auditioned to play Elliot, the son of the Bakers' rivals, in Cheaper by the Dozen 2.

In October 2008, Lautner played Christian Slater's son in the television series My Own Worst Enemy, until the show was canceled after only 9 episodes. Lautner then played Native American character Jacob Black in Twilight, the movie adaptation of the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Due to major physical changes that occur in the character of Jacob Black throughout the series, the director of Twilight's sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, considered replacing Lautner with a different actor in the second film. In an attempt to keep the role, Lautner weight-trained extensively and gained approximately 30 pounds. Lautner reprised his role as Jacob in New Moon in 2009 and its sequel The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in 2010. In 2010, Lautner appeared in the romantic comedy film Valentine's Day as Willy Harrinton.

In September 2009, Lautner and Shakira presented the Best Female Video award to Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Lautner hosted Saturday Night Live on December 12, 2009, making him one of the youngest celebrity hosts in the show's history.

In 2010, at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Lautner and Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart presented a tribute to honor the horror movie genre. Lautner is currently the highest paid teenage actor.

In 2012, Lautner will star as Stretch Armstrong in a 3D film about the eponymous toy and has been cast in Cancun, which will center more around his martial arts skills. Lautner has also been cast in the thriller film Abduction. The film is directed by John Singleton, and production began in July 2010.

Filmography

• 1992 births
• Living people
• Actors from California
• Actors from Michigan
• American child actors
• American film actors
• American karateka
• American television actors
• American Roman Catholics
• Native American actors
• People from Grand Rapids, Michigan
• People from Los Angeles County, California
• People from Ottawa County, Michigan