Actor Taylor Lautner, most famous for playing Jacob in the Twilight film series, came forward recently on a podcast to talk candidly about the toll that making and maintaining the ripped body the character demanded took on his long-term body image.
Talking his his wife (also named Taylor Lautner) on their new podcast The Squeeze, the actor remarked:
"In the first movie I was 140lbs, and in 'New Moon' I was 175...That wasn't my natural body. I had to work very hard for it and very hard just to maintain it."
You can watch parts of his interview below:
After the movies finished, he continued to be plagued by body image issues as media outlets would make comparison pieces discussing his movie physique and his more normal post-filming body.
To finish the interview, he had a message for any of his fans about body image:
"Your body can look unbelievable. You can be ripped, shredded, whatever...if you're not healthy mentally, then that's all for nothing.
Lautner unfortunately has company in being a celebrity with body image issues.
This starts as early as Lord Byron, a poet in the 19th century.
In recent years, many celebrities have stepped forward to talk about how being in the spotlight has affected their body image issues.
One Twitter user admitted that Lautner's time as Jacob in the films gave them body image issues.
Others pointed out that Lautner's physical transformation and body type in the Twilight series was only the beginning for male actors.
But this applies to more than actors in Hollywood, a K-pop fan pointed out.
Others contextualized this in the larger cultural conversations about body image issues.
Someone pointed out that even if a celebrity doesn't see your comments about their weight, friends around you might, seeing as we live in this media landscape together.
Fans praised the Lautners for being open and honest about mental health struggles.
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You can watch to the entire interview below:
Taylor Lautner: Fame is a Drugyoutu.be
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