Twilight wasn’t the first movie Taylor Lautner appeared in, but it was the one that made him a mega-star.
Being a mega-star has its ups and downs, and for Lautner, the downs were enough to send him running from Hollywood.
In a new interview on Today, Lautner talked about the pressure that came with him becoming an instant teen idol in Hollywood and how it made him afraid to leave his house.
Taylor Lautner on why he quit Hollywood after Twilight
Taylor Lautner tried to make a career in Hollywood after Twilight, but things didn’t work out for the young star.
Before Twilight, Lautner had a career as a child star, appearing in the Robert Rodriguez movie The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lavagirl 3-D and the Steve Martin movie Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
However, when he took the role as Jacob Black in the Twilight Saga, it turned his life upside down.
He tried to branch out with romantic dramas like Valentine’s Day and starred in his own action movie Abduction, but fans only saw him as Jacob Black.
It also didn’t help that the fanbase became quite scary for the young star.
“When I was 16, 17, 18 years old, waking up and trying to just go out for a walk or go on a date and I had 12 cars waiting outside my house to follow me wherever I’m going or show up to an airport or anywhere, and you have thousands of fans screaming,” Lautner said.
He also said that he wouldn’t even go to the store, theater, or mall for over 10 years because he was scared people would recognize him.
“I went so many years either not leaving my house, or if I did, hat, sunglasses, and just like, scared,” Lautner said. “It built up something inside of me where, I didn’t know it, but I was scared to go out. I’d get super anxious to go out. So I just didn’t.”
Lautner making return in Netflix’s Home Team
While Lautner was a promising young star, this fame drove him to quit acting for a long time.
“In the moment, it got frustrating because you just wanted to live a normal life. But then when that’s taken away from you at all, you start to question yourself and start to be like ‘oh, do people not care about me anymore?’” Lautner explained.
“When it goes away a little bit, you notice it, and that’s the dangerous part because that can mess with your mind.”
However, that is all changing with the Netflix movie, Home Team.
He said that he feels better today than he has in four or five years.
He is engaged to be married and said that his fiancée had guided him to this point in his life – even though she was a Team Edward fan as a girl.
“I am happy because of what it’s taught me. It’s made me who I am right now and for that, I’m thankful,” he said.
Home Team hit Netflix on Friday, January 28, and is currently streaming right now.