What Taylor Lautner Has Been Up To Since Twilight

From 2008 to 2012, the Twilight franchise basically dominated the movie industry, and it was hard to avoid the masses of screaming fans and success that followed the films. The first movie grossed more than $400 million, which was a good indicator that the franchise was going to be huge. During casting for the Twilight films, actor Taylor Lautner surprisingly wasn't a shoo-in for the role of Jacob Black. But as we know, he snagged it, which shot him to almost-instant stardom. 

It seems like from that moment on, Lautner's entire career revolved around Jacob Black and the love triangle with Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Living up to a role like that is a tall order, so Lautner's journey post-Twilight has been challenging at times, and while he's managed to land several roles since 2012, he kind of disappeared from the spotlight. So what is Jaco– we mean, Taylor up to now? Let's find out.   

Sometimes, the first big role of an actor's career is what defines them, such as Daniel Radcliffe with Harry Potter, but Lautner actually had several roles prior to Twilight. His first acting gig was as Kismet in the 2001 action/sci-fi movie Shadow Fury. It didn't receive the best reviews, per Rotten Tomatoes, but it landed 9-year-old Lautner on the map as a child actor.

From then on, he scored small roles on TV series such as The Bernie Mac Show and Danny Phantom. When he was 13 years old, he was cast as Sharkboy in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D, alongside Taylor Dooley. It wasn't until he was 16 years old that he snagged the role of Black in the first Twilight film. And, as E! Online reported, even though there was some doubt about whether he would be recast after the first movie given the character's physical development, he endured a grueling training regime to prove himself worthy. The rest is history.

Unfortunately, Taylor Lautner's success from Twilight has been a bit of a blessing and a curse. Although he made a name for himself by being such a mainstay in the series, it was difficult for Lautner to get work after the last movie, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (Showbiz Cheat Sheet).

Since 2012, Lautner has had only six other roles, whereas other members of the Twilight cast, such as Stewart and Pattinson, haven't faced many issues moving on from the franchise. Lautner's string of so-so roles includes Cam in Tracers, Lil Pete in The Ridiculous 6, Reymund Hightower in Run the Tide, Dr. Cassidy Cascade on Scream Queens, and Dale on Cuckoo. His first semi-breakout role happened between Twilight films as Nathan in Abduction, which, according to E! Online, should've been a success but wasn't. In fact, there was a lot riding on the success of this movie since John Singleton, known for his involvement in films such as Shaft, Boyz n the Hood, and Four Brothers, was onboard. Unfortunately, Abduction only grossed $82 million worldwide.

It's been three years since Taylor Lautner was last on-screen, and, of course, there are many theories about why his career seemingly disappeared into thin air. One reason could be that his head got a little too big after Twilight and he began demanding major paychecks for upcoming roles. Since Abduction didn't do so well and his other lead roles dried up, his big role options were limited, per The Hollywood Reporter.

In 2020, We Can Be Heroes, a sequel of sorts to Sharkboy and Lavagirl, was released as a Netflix Original and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Per The Sun, Rodriguez approached Lautner about having a small role, but Lautner ultimately turned it down.

The Sun also reported that in interviews, Lautner has mentioned that he hasn't quit acting but has also made it apparent that he has other sources of happiness. According to his personal Instagram account, he's in a committed relationship with Tay Dome, a registered nurse and social media influencer.