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BIOGRAPHY

Taylor Lautner
	BIOGRAPHY | GALLERY | GOSSIP

Taylor Lautner, born February 11, 1992 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an American actor and martial artist, best known for his family film performances in "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2", and and as Jacob Black in the 2008 film "Twilight".

Lautner has shown he was destined for a successful life from a very young age. He began studying karate at the age of six, training at Fabiano's Karate School, and by the following year, he was already winning tournaments. He continued to flourish in the martial arts circuit; in 2003, at only eleven years old, he was ranks number one in the world for NASKA's Black Belt Open Forms, Musical Weapons, Traditional Weapons and Traditional Forms and and, by the age of twelve, he had three Junior World Championships under his "black belt".

However, in addition to his love for karate, Taylor was bitten by the acting bug when he was seven years old, after his martial arts instructor persuaded him to audition for a part in a Burger King advert in Los Angeles. Soon, he and his family were traveling back-and-forth from their home in Michigan to California so Taylor could audition for acting roles on a regular basis. When he was ten, with the frequent traveling and air fares starting to drain them out, his family made the hard decision to relocate to Los Angeles where Taylor would have the advantage of being able to audition on a full-time basis.

Since moving to Los Angeles, Taylor has booked roles on "My Wife and Kids" (2001), "Summerland" (2004), "The Bernie Mac Show" (2001), and the The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour (2004) (TV).

Lautner made his film debut in in 2005 when, at the age of thirteen, Taylor won the role of Shark Boy in the Robert Rodriguez film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005).

Lautner's big break came in 2008 when he played Native American character Jacob Black in Twilight. In an attempt to keep the role for the sequel "New Moon", he weight-trained excessively and gained approximately 30 pounds.

In his spare time, Lautner loves playing football and baseball, both sports which he is very strong in. In football, he running back on offense and middle line backer on defense and, in baseball, he takes part in the Hart Baseball Program where he is positioned at center field and second base. He also participates in the LA Hip Kids, a hip-hop dance group.

Although, he wants to continue acting into adulthood, Lautner wouldn't mind becoming a film scriptwriter and director.