Imagine the iconic line “Bella, where the hell have you been, loca?!” being said by someone other than Taylor Lautner. Well, if the team behind the Twilight series had their say, a different actor might have taken on the role of Jacob Black in Twilight: New Moon.
Surprisingly, despite Taylor Lautner’s seamless portrayal of the character in the original Twilight movie and his massive global fan base, the studio considered replacing Jacob.
Taylor explained: “The original idea was to cast a 16-year-old, which they did—I was 16 at the time—and then they thought about casting someone in his mid-20s to continue as Jacob for the series. I had to fight for my role.”
Describing his dedication to securing the role, Taylor said: “Thankfully, I started training right after we finished the first film. I knew if I wanted to keep playing the character, I needed to make a change.”
The thought of losing the role gave Taylor more anxiety than playfully naming someone’s child after a mythical creature.
Taylor shared how his team backed him up in the battle for the role: “When they got that call, my team asked, ‘Have you seen how he looks now?’ They answered, ‘No, why?’ ‘Well, you might want to meet with him.’ I had been working out consistently for around 9 months and had gained about 20 to 25 pounds.”
Recalling the moment, Taylor said: “They were surprised, but it wasn’t a done deal. I still had to audition again. Thankfully, Kristen said, ‘You’re not auditioning with just any casting director. You’re doing it with me.’ It was really nice of her. Everything fell into place.”
In the end, everything worked out well, but just the thought of Twilight: New Moon without Taylor is hard to fathom.
