Taylor Lautner Reveals He Struggled With Body Image Issues After Filming 'Twilight'

Many viewers of the Twilight series have developed a deep attachment to the plots and characters, notably Taylor Lautner. He displayed his stunning, muscular body while portraying the werewolf Jacob Black in all 5 Twilight Saga films. He was, however, under a great deal of pressure, and now he admits what is hidden behind his appearance.

#1 There has been a massive Before/After for him.

Source: © taylorlautner / Instagram

In the Twilight series, Taylor Lautner played Jacob Black, and it was well known that he underwent considerable bodily transformations for the part in order to reflect the character's shift from a teenage boy to a werewolf.

#2 At first, he didn’t know that there would come a time for him when his body image would cause problems.

Source: © The Twilight Saga: Eclipse /Summit Entertainment

Taylor Lautner disclosed how tough it was for him to "be perceived as having this unbelievable figure" when the Twilight Saga movies were completed.
“When I was in it, when I was 16 through 20 years old, starring in this franchise where my character is known for taking his shirt off every other second, no, I did not know that it was affecting me or going to affect me in the future with body image.”
“But now, looking back at it, of course, it did, and of course, it was going to.”

#3 It made a lot of effort to get Jacob Black’s body.

Source: © taylorlautner / Instagram

In order to take part in New Moon as the wolf, the actor had to go through an amazing transformation that transformed him from a thin teen to a hot celebrity. He said that his 3,200 daily calories and 5 days of exercise a week turned him into a werewolf.
It was tough for him to "be seen as having this unbelievable body."

#4 Lautner confessed that the physical change had a negative effect on his body.

Source: © GettyImages

When remembering those times, Lautner told that the show was his “entire life.” “In the first movie, I was 140 lbs, and in New Moon, I was 175. So yeah, that wasn’t my natural body. I had to work very hard for it and very, very hard just to maintain it.”
After standing “forced to be in a gym multiple times a day, 6 days a week” for years, according to Lautner, he started “rebelling against the gym” and ultimately stopped exercising at all.

Source: © GettyImages

“What happens when you don’t want to see a gym? You start losing the 8-pack. I started having a more normal body,” Lautner spoke.
After he quit going to the gym, his body changed, and fans soon began comparing side-by-side pictures. This criticism, which continued for years, finally led to a decline in Lautner’s mental health.

#5 But the actor could learn to appreciate and love his body no matter what shape it was in.

Source: © taylorlautner / Instagram

“Don’t find happiness in what you want your body to look like,” Lautner went on. “Don’t think just because you lose the 20 lbs or put on the muscle, that you’re going to wake up and look in the mirror and all of a sudden be happy. That’s not where you should be finding value.”