Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson played rivals in the Twilight saga but the real challenge for the actors was navigating their dynamic off-screen.
“I think it was tough. I don’t know for [Pattinson] but for me at least, … especially at the age I was at,” Lautner, 31, said on the Tuesday, December 14, episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “You get your feelings hurt sometimes when you shouldn’t but it’s hard not to sometimes.”
In Twilight’s heyday, fans were either die-hard supporters of Lautner’s character Jacob or Pattinson’s Edward Cullen, a werewolf and a vampire, respectively, who were fighting over the love of Kristen Stewart’s Bella. Ultimately, Bella ends up with Edward but Jacob finds his happily ever after with the couple’s daughter, Renesmee.
While neither Lautner nor Pattinson, 36, had an issue with one another outside of the set, the onscreen rivalry proved to be challenging for the Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl star.
“It was awkward at times for the two of us standing together on a balcony and a thousand girls booing Rob but cheering for me,” Lautner shared. “And then this [other] half booing me and cheering for [him] but us having to have some sort of friendship was difficult.”
While he and Pattinson did not let the public’s opinion fracture their professional relationship, forming a personal connection didn’t come easy.
“The thing with me and Rob is we’re very, very different people,” Lautner confessed. “We never really connected on a deep level just because we’re different humans but he was always fantastic and the sweetest person ever.”
As Lautner reflected on his time in the Twilight franchise, he shared that he can’t help but have “great feelings” about his time on the project. Lautner’s wife, Taylor Dome, is also a fan of the series, but ultimately backed Pattinson’s character over her husband’s.
This isn’t the first time Lautner has opened up about the awkwardness created by the Twilight fan frenzy. Earlier this year, Lautner spoke about how the reaction to the franchise made him and Pattinson feel competitive towards one another.
“I was so young and yeah, I do feel like it was very strange traveling the world and being in different cities and having thousands of screaming fans either taking your side or the other guy’s side,” he recalled on a February episode of “The Toast” podcast. “Like, we’re a team. We’re both just trying to make the best movies. It was a little bizarre, the competitiveness. There wasn’t a competitiveness between me and Rob, but having that constant reminder, it definitely had an impact.”
