Growing up in the public eye! Taylor Lautner starred as one of the title characters in his breakout role, the 2005 movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. Years later, he became a total heartthrob following his role as Jacob Black in the Twilight movies, which spanned from 2008 until 2012.

“To be honest, I’m pretty scared because whenever I finish filming a movie and I go home and just have time to relax, I wake up and I’m like, ‘What am I going to do today?'” Taylor told MTV News in April 2011 about the Twilight film series coming to an end. “It’s so weird not having to wake up at 5 a.m., go to work, come back. It’s a weird feeling, so I’m excited but also a little nervous. I might go a little crazy.”

Following the fame brought on by the film series, the actor had nabbed a ton of roles and, eventually, took a brief break from acting.

“I don’t think it was a conscious decision, but it made sense for me at that time in my life,” he told People in January 2022. “I started acting from when I was a child, and it was kind of nonstop until I was in my early to mid twenties.”

Before getting cast in more movies, Taylor explained to the publication that he “wanted to take a step back and enjoy life,” which led to him meeting his now-fiancée, Taylor Dome. The couple went public with their relationship in 2018 and announced their engagement in November 2021.

“How I knew [she was The One], it was just like, she’s the best person,” the Abduction star explained to Extra in January 2022. “She’s just, she’s my best friend … I strive to be more like her every day, and that’s how I knew.”

 

Aside from gearing up to plan a wedding, the Michigan native has also officially returned to the acting world with the Netflix movie Home Team — his first role since 2016. But even though he’s grown up, the actor will never forget his Twilight days, especially since the film series is becoming popular among a new generation thanks to streaming services.

“It definitely feels full circle and it’s like sort of nostalgic … A lot of it was like Twi-mom attention the last like few years and now all of a sudden we’re getting like the teenagers again because they’re just starting to see it for the first time,” Taylor explained while talking with Extra. “It reminds me a little bit of what it was like a decade ago.”

Scroll through our gallery to see Taylor’s total transformation over the years. 

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