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What’s the general consensus on Taylor Lautner at this point? I find him to be cute and gracious, of course, but I don’t find him sexy in the least. He just seems like a really sweet kid who is very “handled” by a team of experts and what we’ve gotten is a very manufactured “sexy” that just doesn’t work. But I’m speaking as an adult woman – maybe young girls find Lautner unthreatening and cool. But to me, I just don’t get it. I get Robert Pattinson, I find Pattinson to be much sexier than the Edward character. But Jacob/Lautner? Eh, on both counts. Anyway, I don’t think Lautner is really the ideal cover boy for GQ magazine, but here he is (he was photographed by Mario Testino). He does have lovely arms. As you would expect, Taylor doesn’t say anything unexpected or controversial whatsoever in the interview, he’s simply happy to be the one Twilight star without angst. And there’s something to be said for that, honestly. He’s a real pro, and he’s got his eye on a long career in Hollywood. The full GQ interview is online, here are some highlights:
Lautner on Brazilian Twihards: [He] tells me about Brazil. How he and his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart were trapped in a hotel suite when hundreds of teenage fans stormed the lobby, outwitted security, and charged the stairs to get to them. “We were in lockdown in this little room for forty-five minutes waiting for the SWAT team to arrive,” Lautner says, his eyes wide. “We said to each other, ‘Let’s say they get into this room. What are they going to do? Tear us to shreds? What do they want?’ ”
On presenting at the Oscars with Kristen Stewart: “I would have passed out if she wasn’t there!” Lautner says. “You’re looking down and you’re talking to George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio—and they’re listening to you!” This is his baseline sentiment: honest, enthusiastic bafflement. It’s probably the only suitable reaction.
On the Taylor Swift-Kanye incident: He talks about the MTV Video Music Awards, where he presented a trophy to his then maybe-girlfriend Taylor Swift, only to watch Kanye snatch the microphone. “I was standing behind her as it was happening, and 100 percent I was sure it was staged!” Lautner says, eyebrows raised. “I thought, ‘This was something that they rehearsed.’ I was enjoying the show! But then Taylor turned around and I saw her face.”
He lives with his parents and loves The Olive Garden: Taylor Lautner pulls up for lunch in Valencia, California, a suburb forty-five minutes north of Hollywood. This is where he lives, with his parents and younger sister, in a home that’s almost indistinguishable from the others in the neighborhood. Lautner suggests the Olive Garden for lunch. “Do you like this place?” he asks, a little unsure, adding: “My father turned me on to it.” Without glancing at the menu, Lautner orders the Toscana soup, then asks to substitute the Caesar salad for the house. Before the waiter can reply, Lautner interrupts innocently: “I know,” he says, “it’ll be a dollar fifty extra. That’s fine.”
On almost getting fired from Twilight: Lautner admits to some dark, if brief, moments of self-doubt. He hired a personal trainer on his own dime and started practicing some Tony Robbins mind tricks. “I’m in the gym,” Lautner says, “and I’m doing reps, and I’m reading the books, and I’m studying the character. I’m just saying to myself, ‘I want this role. I love this role. I’m not gonna lose it. And I’m gonna know it better than anybody, and I’m gonna do that extra rep, because I’m gonna be Jacob Black.’ ” He ate every two hours, mostly meat his parents cooked and then packed in a cooler he kept in the car. Sitting in traffic, Lautner would eat cold ground chuck from plastic Baggies. He put on thirty pounds of muscle, consented to a screen test with Stewart (who lobbied on his behalf), and kept his job. He also solved the film’s marketing issues when his abdominal muscles became New Moon’s main talking point, not to mention his calling card. In one scene, Stewart crashes a motorcycle, and Lautner rushes to her aid. “It’s just blood, Bella,” he says. “No big deal.” And then pauses to peel off his shirt.
On talking off his shirt, but not for Valentine‘s Day: “Originally I was supposed to take off my shirt,” he says. “The script said we were walking into school and Willy takes off his shirt. I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out. He’s gonna take off his shirt in the middle of school? No, no, no. The reason I took off my shirt for New Moon is because it’s written in the book that way. And there’s reasons behind it.”
On his future as a bankable action star: “I can’t get caught up in that,” Lautner says. “If I start thinking, Is this movie going to open? Is this movie going to do well? I’m not focusing on the job. The job is to make a good movie.”
On the paparazzi: “There’s some things you just have to live with,” Lautner says, pulling out of the parking lot. “Like twelve cars camping outside your house, and when you wake up in the morning, they’re going to follow you wherever you go. It helps that I live in Valencia. It eliminates some. But they’re still here.”
Does he ever think about moving out of his parents‘ house? “Um, you know, not so much,” he says. Really? What 18-year-old movie star with millions wouldn’t move out of his parents’ house? “There’s really no point. I’m so busy. I really haven’t thought about it.” I think he likes it in this small town, with its strip malls and Olive Gardens. Because there’s too much at stake, and he can’t get into any trouble here. “There’s some of that,” he says. “The thing I love is that my home life hasn’t changed. I still help out with the garbage. I still help out with the lawn.”
[From GQ]
I like him more now that I’ve read the whole thing. He does come across as very wholesome and nice, and that part probably isn’t manufactured. Kristen Stewart is what? Like, a year or two older than him, and she seems a lot more worldly… I guess Taylor just wasn’t interested in trying to come across as the sullen guy, the guy with pain, or damage or whatever. He’s just happy to be working.
GQ photos courtesy of GQ.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Taylor Lautner
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39 Responses to “Taylor Lautner lives with his parents, loves the Olive Garden”
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I guess this is why I can’t feel bad for KStew. This guy is younger and has way more Twihards after him than she does. But he manages to have a bit of grace about it.
Oh and to answer your question Kaiser…yes the tweens love him. My 13 year old niece is convinced they’ll get married some day
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Oooooh he’s just absolutely devine!!!
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He’s a sweetheart and so well raised. It’s rarity among his generation these days.
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He seems like a nice kid, and a lot more mature, grateful, and accepting of his Twilight fame than his older, more experienced costars.
He’s not unattractive, but I have to agree with Kaiser that he just doesn’t do it for me (good thing, since he’s way too young!) There’s something odd about the proportion of his head and neck vs. the rest of his body – most noticeable in the GQ cover shot. Totally a shallow comment, I know, but I always notice it.
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oh no! my gaydar is flashing!
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I like him. He seems like the “kid” any parent would like to have.
As for the looks, I’m 49 and I can see why girls would think he’s hot but I think most of his hotness comes from his body.
If he ever stops working out he won’t be very attractive BUT personality can make a so-so looking person incredibly hot, so, he’s got that workin’ for him.
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agreed. cute and gracious, but not sexy.
seems like he’s well grounded, too, with a very normal family life.
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See i adore him. whether or not this image h has going for him is manufactured or not he comes across as approachable and nice very down to earth.
why can’t K-Stew just take a chill pill? Mot ppl are after her at Sparkles together, this kid gets to deal with it all by himself.
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He seems like a very nice kid but I swear his teeth freak me out. The bleaching was a little too severe in New Moon!
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I feel like a dirty old woman whenever I look at him and I’m not even attracted to him. He’s got the body of a 25+ year old, the face of a 19 year old and the personality/mannerisms etc. of a very nice, sweet and wholesome 14 year old. It’s very creepy in a Children of the Corn sort of way and I feel badly for thinking it.
I like him a lot, he seems like a nice person, but there just seems to be a lot of different things going on there. Give him another ten years to percolate and then we’ll see what he ends up as.
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I love this kid. He just seems like a nice, well-balanced, down to earth guy with a genuine good work ethic. Taylors of the world unite! He and Swifty give me hope for the future of Hollywood. Wish they could all be like that.
I think he’s really cute but in a kid brother sort of way. I agree with Snowball, give him a bit more time to grow into his looks – he’s gonna be a hottie in his 20s.
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He’s a kind, gracious kid. I wish him well.
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Snowball: You and me both! (but Olive Garden? Is he on their payroll?)
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@ snowball – me too!
His body is so hot. I like him way better that R-Patz, whom I don’t get. He always looks greasy to me. But Taylor is fine. I feel like a dirty old cougar.
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meh…a younger, edgier nick lachey maybe.
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Incredibly good looking face. Nice, hard working. What’s not to like? Sexy…If he were about 10 years older maybe. I don’t find Pattinson sexy either tho.
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I find him far more interesting than Pattinson, and if he’s as “manufactured” as you seem to think he is then he’s one heck of a study, because he’s sure got it down for a fellow his age. Hey, give Lautner credit, he’s got to play the guy that doesn’t get the girl for four, five years here…. As for Pattinson, I want to smack the guy everytime I hear that dumb giggle of his, which is about every 30 seconds during interviews. What anyone sees in him I have no idea.
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Count me on Team Taylor. He seems like a sweetheart and he’s cute, too.
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All I can think is “He’s only 18 and he’s on the cover of GQ. Why?” I thought GQ was for MEN, not boys. I suppose they expect a lot of young girls to buy this issue because I’m sure not many men would want that in their home (unless they are gay, of course).
Anyway, I like Taylor a lot but he seems kind of vanilla to me. I do think he will be quite handsome when he grows up. Right now, he’s way too pretty. Nothing wrong with that. It worked for Brad Pitt.
P.S.: I’ve never seen any of the Twilight movies and don’t expect to. So I’ll wait to see a movie he’s in before judging how long he’ll be around.
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I’ve always been meh about him, but he’s cute in this interview. He seems very normal. Oh an I love Olive Garden too. Now I’m craving chicken parm and a glass of white zin. mmmm.
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Good for him liking the simpler things and living with mom and dad.
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He sounds pretty sweet and down to earth. I think most 18yr guys are pretty happy to stay at home esp if they have a great relationship with their parents and they’re on a good wicket, meals cooked, laundry done…. Love that he loves the Olive Garden – the $1.50 quote was precious LOL.
I can see the appeal to teenage girls (but the adults have to STOP!), I vaguely remember similar type guys making the cover of TigerBear and 17 in my day, a long long time ago. Minus the abs though, they weren’t so prevalant in the 80s.
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@ Simone – it’s that picture of him with the water bottle…helloooooo
otherwise, I don’t get that vibe at all. Not that there would be anything wrong with it!
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My 14 year old LOVES him and remembers him fondly as shark boy..yes if you are older than 20 you should not be creeping on him
he seems genuinely nice in every interview I’ve seen.
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he’s nice and has that incredible sexy figure. woah
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Maybe when he gets away from Twilight into other roles and he he doesn’t look so “posed” all the time Lainey will quit calling him “Tom Jr.”
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I think he’s attractive, and I adore that he’s not running around bat-sh!t crazy. And the arm muscles. Yum.
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He’s kind of adorable. Huh. I didn’t realize that.
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im sorry, am I the only one who finds this guy ugly? all his facial features are crammed into one tight spot on his face and his nose is disgusting.
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Couldn’t agree more bros! That is exactely what my husband and I were saying about him last night!
I think TL was a bad casting decision for Twilight, he’s too baby faced and not hot, and he’s also not a good actor. There was another guy they were thinking of casting (can’t remember his name off hand) who is very hot and IMO would have been a better option for the character. I guess they didn’t want anyone that would be better looking than RPattz as Edward.
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He’ll always look a bit like a gay male porn star to me. I love me some Olive Garden too though.
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He’s cute but he has a thumb head. . . Can’t get over it.
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His neck on the cover seems too long and I too always feel a bit uneasy when I see him – something in his physique is unusual.
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I like him allot, he has the type of face that not everybody will fall for. I thinks that is great, so no one will steal him from me.
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Of COURSE he lives with his parents, he’s 17 years old for God’s sake! Why is this news? I don’t care how much money you have, it’s still under age.
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I don’t get it either. I see it exactly the way you do. I can look at him and know that this is supposed to be appealing but he just looks too young to me. I just can’t seem to get into it. Idk. He comes off as really wholesome and sweet and that’s nice. He just has zero sex appeal for me personally. I was thinking it was the muscles but I saw Zefron recently with muscles and he looked hot so I think it’s Lautner’s face looks too young and innocent to be sexy unless you’re a little girl who doesn’t want to be threatened by sexuality or a cougar mom who kind of gets turned on by children who look like adults.
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I thing for a 18 year old boy Taylor did wonderful for himself.Twilight my be his biggest break ,but we dont know what the future will bring.And he do not have a weard body or face.What is wrong,everyone looks like themselfs thats how we are born people.I did not hear him say he was perfect or a profecional model.This is Holywood people what sells is not perfect but always shiny and new. Why is he on a cover of GQ you ask-even just a boy . He is trying to get away from his teenage persona and venture in to the world of us adults.He is young ,sweet Kid.Give him a chance to develop he will bed the next big star. Holywood get ready.
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I LOVE taylorlautner he’s my life.I say if he has a girlfriend he should dump her and take ME!
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Ugh, people are so cruel. Taylor is very cute, handsome, what have you. He’s a good kid, I hope he stays that way. And there’s no way as a 40 year old woman that I should find him sexy, but yep I do. The kid has a future, I hope he keeps his level head. Good luck Taylor..
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