BOX OFFICE: TAYLOR LAUTNER TALKS 'TWILIGHT'

Yesterday, Box Office brought us a great new interview with New Moon movie director Chris Weitz (read it here), but today they’ve got another treat for us: a new interview with Twilight Saga film star Taylor Lautner! In this new interview, Taylor talks about what he thinks Jacob should have done to win over Bella, what he likes about playing his character, why he expects more guys will show up to check out New Moon, and more - he even admits his love for The Notebook! Check it all out below:

If the last two books in the series hadn’t already been written, what do you think Jacob should do to win over Bella?

I don’t think he would have changed anything, and I don’t think he should change anything. Jacob and Edward are extremely different guys and it’s just whether you want one guy or another. Jacob is himself, and he has a relationship with Bella that Edward doesn’t. And Edward has a relationship with Bella that Jacob doesn’t. So I wouldn’t change a thing.

As an actor, how do you make the audience root for Jacob and get invested in his feelings when the outcome of the love triangle is already known?

Well, you try and take things one step at a time. When I’m filming New Moon, I’m not thinking about Eclipse. When I’m filming Eclipse, I’m not thinking about Breaking Dawn. We just have to focus on the movie that we’re doing.

What is it like for your family and friends to see people scream at pictures of you topless?

[Laughs] It’s weird. It’s embarrassing for me, and I’m sure it’s awkward for all of them.

Have you gotten teased about it at family dinners?

Not yet, and I’m hoping that doesn’t happen because I’ll start blushing.

You came into acting from karate. Do they overlap—they seem to share the need for focus and concentration.

It’s a lot of hard work. That’s probably the most I got out of karate: it was a lot of work. A lot of training. And you need that for everything in life.

It’s helped you take on these physical roles with Twilight and the Robert Rodriguez film.

Absolutely. And I love action, so it definitely helps with that.

Everybody has been talking about the muscle that you’ve put on. The furor around actors and their weight changes is something you usually see happen with older actors who are more established. You’re 17—what is that like to have people paying so much attention to your biceps?

It’s different. It was all for the job, and that’s all. I knew that Jacob was going to transform not only mentally, but physically as well, from Twilight to New Moon, and I wanted to be able to portray him correctly for all the fans. That was my motivation. It was a lot of hard work, though.

Does your old karate coach wish you had that much muscle on you back when you were still competing?

I probably wouldn’t have been as flexible, so it wouldn’t have worked out that well. He’s probably thankful.

What do you like about playing Jacob?

I love Jacob and Bella’s relationship. It’s very different from Edward and Bella’s. Jacob and Bella start off as really good friends. They become best friends—they can tell each other anything, they do whatever together, ride motorcycles. I love that. And then their relationship starts growing into more and more, and you wonder if they’re going to go past friends. I love being able to do that. And work with an amazing actress, Kristen Stewart, and all of the help around us, our director Chris Weitz, the whole crew. It’s a lot of fun.

Read the full interview with Taylor from Box Office here.