- “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner spoke about the franchise’s rivalry between Jacob and Edward.
- Lautner said that he was young at the time and the debate affected him.
- He said the competitiveness was “bizarre” but he and Robert Pattinson were on good terms.
“Twilight” star Taylor Lautner weighed in on the franchise’s Team Edward vs Team Jacob debate and revealed how the intense fan reactions affected his real-life dynamic with castmate Robert Pattinson.
Lautner appeared on the latest episode of the Dear Media podcast “The Toast,” hosted by Jackie and Claudia Oshry and released on Thursday.
The actor was joined by his wife, who is also named Taylor Lautner (née Dome) and has previously spoken about being a “Twilight” fan.
Lautner portrayed a werewolf named Jacob Black in five “Twilight” films released between 2008 and 2012, based on novelist Stephenie Meyer’s fantasy series of the same name. The movies costarred Kristen Stewart as an ordinary teen named Bella Swan and Pattinson as a 108-year-old vampire whom she fell in love with.
The rivalry between Edward and Jacob was a prominent aspect of the books and movies, particularly during the third installment, “Eclipse.”
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Lautner was asked if the Team Edward vs Team Jacob debate affected him during his “Twilight” years, especially since the discourse pitted two people against each other who were likely friends off-screen.
“I feel like I’d be lying if I said no,” Lautner said. “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.”
The actor explained that being at the center of that rivalry, at that age, did get to him even though he and Pattinson were on good terms.
“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,” Lautner said. “Like, we’re a team. We’re both just trying to make the best movies.”
“Yeah, it was a little bizarre, the competitiveness,” he added. “There wasn’t a competitiveness between me and Rob, but having that constant reminder, it definitely had an impact.”
