Lautner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Deborah, who works for a software development company, and Daniel Lautner, a commercial airline pilot. He was raised in Hudsonville, Michigan, and attended Jamestown Elementary School until the age of eleven when the family moved to the Santa Clarita area. Lautner is of mostly Dutch, French, and German descent, and claims some Native American (specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi) ancestry through his mother. He has a younger sister, Makena.
Lautner is an accomplished martial artist, having studied karate at Fabiano's Karate School in Holland, Michigan from the age of six to thirteen. When he was eleven, he was ranked number one in the world for NASKA's Black Belt Open Forms, Musical Weapons, Traditional Weapons and Traditional Forms and, at the age of twelve, he won the Junior World Championships. His coach was Michael Chaturantabut
Lautner began acting in 2001, appearing in the made-for-television film Shadow Fury. He subsequently had roles on the series Summerland, The Bernie Mac Show, and My Wife and Kids. He also appeared in a number of other television shows and movies, including The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour. He appeared as himself in America's Most Talented Kids, putting on an exhibition of his Martial Arts skills. In addition to television, Lautner has been very successful in voice-over work. Lautner has booked a recurring role as Youngblood on the cartoon Danny Phantom, and has recorded episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo? and He's a Bully, Charlie Brown. Taylor has also been booked as a series regular on a pilot presentation called Which Way Is Up?, in addition to voicing the character of Silas in the animated series Silas and Brittany.
His big break came in 2005 when, at the age of thirteen, Lautner won the role of Shark Boy in the Robert Rodriguez film, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, a film that showcased his martial arts skills. He spent three months on location in Austin, Texas filming. Within months, he successfully auditioned to play Elliot, the son of the Bakers' rivals, in Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
In October 2008, Lautner played Christian Slater's son in the television series My Own Worst Enemy, until the show was canceled after only 9 episodes. Lautner then played Native American character Jacob Black in Twilight, the movie adaptation of the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Due to major physical changes that occur in the character of Jacob Black throughout the series, the director of Twilight's sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, considered replacing Lautner with a different actor in the second film. In an attempt to keep the role, Lautner weight-trained extensively and gained approximately 30 pounds. Lautner reprised his role as Jacob in New Moon. Lautner has also been cast in the film Valentine's Day as Tyler Harrinton. Lautner will take the lead role as Max Steel in the Paramount film production of the animated television series Max Steel.
Lautner hosted Saturday Night Live on December 12, 2009, making him one of the ten youngest celebrity hosts in the show's history and the first 17-year-old host to be male. Lautner is currently the highest paid teenage actor.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
2001 Shadow Fury Young Kismet
2003 The Bernie Mac Show Aaron TV
2004 My Wife and Kids Tyrone TV
Summerland Boy on beach TV
2005 Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Elliot Murtaugh
Danny Phantom Youngblood TV; voice
Duck Dodgers Reggie Wasserstein TV; voice
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D Sharkboy
What's New, Scooby-Doo? Dennis/Ned TV; voice
2006 Love, Inc. Oliver TV
He's a Bully, Charlie Brown Joe Agate TV special; voice
2008 Twilight Jacob Black
My Own Worst Enemy Jack Spivey TV
2009 The Twilight Saga: New Moon Jacob Black
2010 Valentine's Day Tyler Harrinton Post-production
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Jacob Black Post-production
Northern Lights Pre-production
