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TIL Taylor Lautner at 17 y/o had to gain 30 lbs of muscle in 8 months or be recasted for the Twilight sequel

Saucycarpdog

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Oct 25, 2017
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I was watching Sarah Z's recent video on the Twilight saga and listened to the section on Taylor Lautner having to gain a bunch of muscle for New Moon. (1:11:46)




I feel kinda bad now as I was one of the people making fun of him and his shirtless scenes back when the movies were big.

I don't know if he used drugs or not to get that amount of muscle but it's still shitty no matter what. This was a teenager who had an enormous amount of pressure to get hulked out of his mind so he could meet an unrealistic image of a teenage boy from a trashy romance novel.

I'm glad that Robert Pattinson refused to bulk up for Batman. Wish more actors followed this and stop trying to sell unrealistic body images.
 
entremet

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I don't follow this at all (or have followed it), but dude was pretty jacked if I recall the trailers. He was made fun of?
 
shaneo632

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I thought they had already committed to recasting him because he was so scrawny, and he just went out and bulked up on his own and that changed the producers' minds?
 
Lobster Roll

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entremet said:
I don't follow this at all (or have followed it), but dude was pretty jacked if I recall the trailers. He was made fun of?
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Hating Twilight was a sub-culture of the movies so that people could feel above it. Making fun of sparkly vampires and shirtless, super fit werewolves was part & parcel with belonging to that culture.
 

Deleted member 8579

Oct 26, 2017
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I can't remember what he looked like in the first film but he was ridiculous in the other films, like those men's health front covers. Pattison wasn't as bulky but certainly had the swimmers 8 pack cut going on.
 
Donepalace

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He would have had the best personal trainers the best food etc that's always the hardest part he was very handsomely paid for it as well I'm sure the part required his top to be off a lot since he was a werewolf lol and the audience was mostly horny teen girls lol
 
toastyToast

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30lbs at that age is doable if its something that he wanted (and had the body type). You can make some big gains in that first year.

The pressure to do so however was bullshit and is a form of child abuse. All for a shirtless scene.
 
UltraMagnus

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30 pounds in 8 months is difficult but if you treat that as your daily job and adhere to a strict diet along with well some help from Captain Steroids, it's doable. Your natural testosterone levels at age 17/18 are going to be sky high so that helps a lot too.

Movies aren't the Olympics or a pro sports league, no one's going to drug test you for steroids or other substances.

Not sure what the making fun of him part was about, you're making fun of what exactly ... the guy is in a big Hollywood movie and desired by many women and men on the cover of magazines and travelling the world while most kids his age maybe can drive to the mall or movie theater at best? Yeah you sure burned him, Mr. 112 pounds sitting in their mom's basement doofus.
 
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Quad Lasers

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Yeah, uh, the producers basically forced that poor kid to take PEDs to get jacked while he was still physically developing. And it sounds like they didn't even really give him the resources/professionals to look after him and he kinda had to navigate that shit own and find the right people himself.

Dangerous, stupid, abhorrent shit. Fuck Hollywood.
 
Herne

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From what I can recall, it's not that they were forcing him to - the studio was already willing to go with another actor. It's Lautner who stepped up and said he wanted it, and could do it. He didn't have the height necessary that they were looking for in a new actor, but he bulked up so much and wanted the role so much he convinced them.
 
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Saucycarpdog

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shaneo632 said:
I thought they had already committed to recasting him because he was so scrawny, and he just went out and bulked up on his own and that changed the producers' minds?
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He had a personal trainer and everything so I doubt he did it on his own.

Dennis8K said:
30 lbs?

I don't think that is even possible.
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That's what he and his PR said. Although I've seen some articles say 26 lbs. Either way he did get jacked. Seeing him in the first movie and then the second is crazy.

156664995_4292891664074328_6764941775331977353_n.jpg
 
Scottoest

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I think asking a teenager who was already cast to do this is wrong.

I think asking an adult playing Batman to bulk up for the role as part of their contract is completely fine, just like I think Pattinson refusing to do so is fine, if he thought he had the leverage to make the studio acquiesce (which he apparently did).
 

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toastyToast said:
30lbs at that age is doable if its something that he wanted (and had the body type). You can make some big gains in that first year.

The pressure to do so however was bullshit and is a form of child abuse. All for a shirtless scene.
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30lbs of pure muscle with no water weight or without adding fat is impossible without PED's no matter what age or genetics you have. It's the shitty reality of Hollywood unfortunately. I wish actors would be more open about it before the average kid thinks it's possible natural and kills them self by putting too many plates on a barbell without supervision.
 
Shedinja

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I didn't realize he was that young in the first movie. That's messed up.

If I recall correctly, around the time those movies were finished, he said he never wanted to have to be in that shape again.
 
curiouscharles

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I gained 25 lbs in two months when I was 18 and hit the gym for the first time ever with my dorm pals... it's doable.

No I never experienced such drastic gains (or losses) ever again, just seemed like I had missed a bunch of potential muscular development during puberty or something?!

Edit: I'm certain it wasn't pure muscle, mind you - that should have been scientifically impossible.
 
PeakPointMatrix

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curiouscharles said:
I gained 25 lbs in two months when I was 18 and hit the gym for the first time ever with my dorm pals... it's doable.

No I never experienced such drastic gains (or losses) ever again, just seemed like I had missed a bunch of potential muscular development during puberty or something?!

Edit: I'm certain it wasn't pure muscle, mind you - that should have been scientifically impossible.
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You must have been as skinny as a rail before starting and near-malnourished. That weight on the end was likely some fat and water weight too, it's physically impossible to put on 25 pounds of pure muscle WITH steroids in even twice that time, let alone 2 months.
 
TAJ

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Neurotic said:
30lbs of pure muscle with no water weight or without adding fat is impossible without PED's no matter what age or genetics you have. It's the shitty reality of Hollywood unfortunately. I wish actors would be more open about it before the average kid thinks it's possible natural and kills them self by putting too many plates on a barbell without supervision.
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I did it my first eight months in construction, but I was older and I was carrying beams around 37 hours a week. A lot of that was in my thighs and ass, though. I actually gained that much weight with less fat. I'm also hairy, started losing my hair at like 20, and started going gray in high school.
 
Maximo

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toastyToast said:
30lbs at that age is doable if its something that he wanted (and had the body type). You can make some big gains in that first year.

The pressure to do so however was bullshit and is a form of child abuse. All for a shirtless scene.
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1.1kg of muscle per month is the average *max* for a new beginner trained under a heavily guided program, 15kg of muscle in 8 months is not doable without heavy PED's (if the story of 30 pounds - 13kg is true).
 
darz1

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Herne said:
From what I can recall, it's not that they were forcing him to - the studio was already willing to go with another actor. It's Lautner who stepped up and said he wanted it, and could do it. He didn't have the height necessary that they were looking for in a new actor, but he bulked up so much and wanted the role so much he convinced them.
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Still pretty shitty to even just up and replace him cause he wasn't "tall enough". He wasn't exactly a minor character
 
Herne

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darz1 said:
Still pretty shitty to even just up and replace him cause he wasn't "tall enough"
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Not tall enough and nowhere near the build needed for the character. In the books the character grows to over seven feet and is as well muscled as Arnie was in his prime. For a low budget film where the character was very much tertiary and not necessary, but being brought to the fore in a big way for the sequel I can see why they'd be worried about a more accurate representation. The two other Quileutes around Jacob's age were also replaced with other actors. It happens all the time. Cedric Diggory was briefly seen in Prisoner of Azkaban and was replaced with Pattinson for when it came time that the character needed to be portrayed much more centre stage.

Doesn't mean it's right, but I can see why the studio would want a change.
 
darz1

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Herne said:
Not tall enough and nowhere near the build needed for the character. In the books the character grows to over seven feet and is as well muscled as Arnie was in his prime. For a low budget film where the character was very much tertiary and not necessary, but being brought to the fore in a big way for the sequel I can see why they'd be worried about a more accurate representation. The two other Quileutes around Jacob's age were also replaced with other actors. It happens all the time. Cedric Diggory was briefly seen in Prisoner of Azkaban and was replaced with Pattinson for when it came time that the character needed to be portrayed much more centre stage.

Doesn't mean it's right, but I can see why the studio would want a change.
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Didn't realise Twilight was low budget. Also the books were written years before the films. They knew the character when they originally cast him
 
entremet

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Gaining 1 to 2 pounds of muscles a year is a win for a natural lifter as an FYI. This is more for an advanced lifter btw. And I'm talking about pure muscle here.
 

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Lobster Roll said:
Hating Twilight was a sub-culture of the movies so that people could feel above it. Making fun of sparkly vampires and shirtless, super fit werewolves was part & parcel with belonging to that culture.
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Nah, the movies were just legitimately terrible to the point where even the cast shat on them at every opportunity. There are very few, if any, redeeming qualities to be found in any of the four movies and they were pretty insulting to the entire vampire genre.

I mean, they had Michael bloody Sheen play the villain and he's the guy that somehow made his role in Underworld of all movies work but the Twilight movies were so bad he was wasted on them.
 
toastyToast

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Maximo said:
1.1kg of muscle per month is the average *max* for a new beginner trained under a heavily guided program, 15kg of muscle in 8 months is not doable without heavy PED's (if the story of 30 pounds - 13kg is true).
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The lean mass could be exaggerated but if we're talking in general terms and allowing for a bit of water + fat while still looking good, 15kg for a teen in that time frame isn't impossible. Especially from under nourished to a caloric surplus of good food. 10kg of lean mass is an insane amount and would have him looking completely different.

People are vastly under estimating the rate of gains when starting from scratch. Plateauing and hitting points where improvements in quality of food and training are negligible is when you get to 1-2kg a year. Chris Hemsworth turning from an SUV to a freight train is far more indicative of "assistance" than this.
 
Dekuman

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I recall there was some fuss about this a decade ago. Given how poorly child actors are treated generally, not surprised. Also the issue of male/boys and body image was always lesser/secondary to focusing on positive body image for girls and women and probably still is these days, not that the issue itself for boys or girls is handled well at all by the media
 
Herne

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darz1 said:
Didn't realise Twilight was low budget. Also the books were written years before the films. They knew the character when they originally cast him
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Twilight cost $37 million to make. Not chump change, but pretty low by Hollywood standard. New Moon cost $50 million, Eclipse $68 million and Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2 cost $110 million and $120 million respectively. The first was was expected to well but it was also a gamble, and with a change of directors comes a change of production staff and they have their own vision for how things should go. Reportedly they were happy with Lautner's acting but they wanted the dramatic change that had been explained in the book, where the character goes through a ridiculously sudden growth spurt to become absolutely huge.

The studio wanted someone else a) to be true to the character from the book and b) because Lautner had a very slight build and they didn't think it would be fair to ask him, nor to expect him to actually achieve, the necessary change in his body over the course of a scant few months. It was Lautner who said he could do it, who wanted the role bad enough to go through with it. In the end his height wasn't enough of a problem since he was a decent enough actor, already played the role so he was familiar with the character and helped with continuity, and he bulked up the requisite amount needed to portray him.

As for knowing the change they'd need, Jacob had only the tiniest bit part in the first film so focusing on his actor was surely nowhere near what they were thinking of. Again Hardwicke and her team left so it was different people at the helm and if they thought it was necessary to get a new actor in to play a much meatier role that also had the more relevant appearance, that was their decision to make.
 
EJS

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I don't necessarily doubt it. If the guy has decent genetics and had an enthusiast's routine and an extremist's diet, I think the results are incredibly plausible - those are extremes, sure. He's already going through rapid cellular growth at that age. Did they do a breakdown of his composition and ensure it was 30 pounds of muscle?

Edit: saw the photo - yeah, you need to have great genetics to have the chest develop that way. His traps are big, too. He might have used PEDs but if he said he did it naturally, I wouldn't necessarily doubt him.
 
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entremet

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Zhou said:
I don't necessarily doubt it. If the guy has decent genetics and had an enthusiast's routine and an extremist's diet, I think the results are incredibly plausible - those are extremes, sure. He's already going through rapid cellular growth at that age. Did they do a breakdown of his composition and ensure it was 30 pounds of muscle?

Edit: saw the photo - yeah, you need to have great genetics to have the chest develop that way. His traps are big, too. He might have used PEDs but if he said he did it naturally, I wouldn't necessarily doubt him.
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No. It's BS put out by his agent and stuff. No way he put on 30 pounds of muscle in a year even at his age and with PEDs.
 
Herne

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This is what he said in an interview back in 2009 -

Specifically, to gain the muscle and weight, what did you eat and how did you exercise? What was the rundown of a typical work-out day for you?

"Oh boy. You're putting the pressure on me now. (laughs) I was in the gym about five days a week, because it's important to get your recovery time and not overworking yourself, because if you're overworking yourself — I was trying to put on weight, and if I was in the gym too much, I'd be burning the calories I'm trying to take in. The most important thing was the eating side. Everybody thinks it was the actual getting in the gym. That was easy — I was motivated. So getting in the gym was easy for me. But the eating was pretty hard. It was just eating a lot. I found out that I had to consume at least 3,200 calories a day just to maintain. And I'm not trying to maintain, I'm trying to gain. So I had to eat more than that, and putting something in your mouth every two hours. And I'm busy. I'm downtown L.A., I'm from meeting to meeting. There's not time for me to be eating. So I literally would have to carry a little baggie of beef patties, raw almonds, sweet potatoes — so it's not like every two hours I'm eating ice cream. It was difficult."

Did you have a personal trainer?

"I do. I definitely had one that helped me out."

Source - Digital Journal
 
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curiouscharles

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PeakPointMatrix said:
You must have been as skinny as a rail before starting and near-malnourished. That weight on the end was likely some fat and water weight too, it's physically impossible to put on 25 pounds of pure muscle WITH steroids in even twice that time, let alone 2 months.
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I went from 125 to 150 (5'11") ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Was def a lot of fat and water, but I'm not lying nor exaggerating...

I hadn't stimulated my muscles with any sort of resistance training (but plenty of cardio) at all prior to then.

And went from under eating and cross country mountain biking to working out in the gym every day and eating over 3k calories a day...
 
steveovig

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He had to be on something like test or more. Nothing wrong with it but still, even if he has freaky genetics, 30lbs. natural is a ton.
 
Barrel_Roll

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Saucycarpdog said:
He had a personal trainer and everything so I doubt he did it on his own.

That's what he and his PR said. Although I've seen some articles say 26 lbs. Either way he did get jacked. Seeing him in the first movie and then the second is crazy.

156664995_4292891664074328_6764941775331977353_n.jpg
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Seems like his haircut AND his body got an upgrade.
 
SapientWolf

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Bulking as an ectomorph is just as much about moving a knife and fork as it is about moving weights. And he didn't put on 30lb of pure muscle lol. Frank Zane competed at 185 at 5'9", for example.
 

Imperfected

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I was initially really confused by this because of the thumbnail and my own admitted ignorance of Twilight actors. I was like, "They had a teenage girl put on 30 lbs. of muscle mass. For Twilight?!"
 
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