Taylor-made for action

He's shed his role as the wolf in the much-famed Twilight series and is raring to show off his skills as a multi-faceted actor. With his next film up for release, Taylor Lautner talks to CS about his life, roles and fitness:

Just normal
Wrapping up the Twilight series has been tough for all of us, because we had been playing these characters for so long and spending so much time together. It was a little emotional. But the good news is that we'll be able to promote the two films together. Yes, life has certainly become more interesting, but it's the same life that I had before. I go home and see my family, hang out with my friends, play football, and help out around the house. Basically, I do the same things as I did before getting recognition as an actor. I think that is really important. That's what helps you stay grounded.

Packing a punch
My next is an action movie with a strong story line. The role required a lot of preparation and a lot of work, but it was worth it. I had to do about three months of training in boxing, fights, motorcycle riding, wrestling and a little swimming as well. I actually also did Parkour, which was not part of the script. It was a lot of fun. And for the fight scenes, I've pulled off some moves out of the old extreme martial arts bag, as I trained in it for about eight years when I was younger.

Hard at work
But I had to work on getting my body in shape first as I had to gain 30 pounds of muscle for my role as Jacob Black in Twilight. Back then, I had to go to the gym for two hours a day, five days a week and eat six meals a day. But now, it's just a different kind of working out. Now, I get to stay more active and play more sports, which is a treat for me. I trained for boxing and I've realised that it's such a great workout. My sessions were 75 minutes to 90 minutes long, but I never realised the duration. By the end of it you are just dripping wet and feeling exhilarated. I don't think I ever worked that hard even when I was playing football in high school.

I choose to eat
Now, I also just don't have to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry. I don't have somebody shoving food down my throat every five minutes. Earlier, I ate every two hours and I ate a lot, as to add muscle you need a surplus of calories. I'm now relieved that I can eat what I want, which is not necessarily junk, because I've always pretty much eaten healthy. It definitely is nice to not have to keep up the whole regimen as before.