Taylor Lautner on Manila: Awesome!
First-time Manila visitor Taylor Lautner of the highly-successful Twilight series has reason to believe all the good things he has heard about the Philippines the minute he set foot in the country in the early morning hours of Friday, August 16.
“What I’ve seen so far is awesome!” he told media who attended a press conference Bench sponsored for him as its latest global endorser.
“I heard that Manila has beautiful people who are amazing and gracious,” he beamed at the crowd who went to see him in the flesh at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel hours after he arrived in the country.
The 21-year-old actor was dressed simply in a plain white t-shirt and a dark jacket – the kind of outfit he says he is most comfortable in.
Huge on comfort
“My personal style is comfort, which is huge for me. I like (to keep it) simple. I’m a t-shirt guy and I like comfortable jeans. What I love about this jacket (the one he’s wearing) is that you can dress it up or down. I can make it look real fancy or just keep cool and relaxed.”
The fun, comfortable vibe extends to his lifestyle. Like most people his age, the 21-year-old actor reveals that he loves to have a lot of fun and have a good time.
“I feel good about being 21. I feel so thankful because I’ve learned so much.”
Lautner also feels blessed that he is doing what he loves to do – play different roles.
Five years after portraying Jacob Black in the highly-successful “Twilight” franchise, he thinks it’s time to move on. The new Bench endorser is doing the action-thriller “Tracers,” where he does what he considers are his most challenging stunts.”
“Moving on from Jacob Black in the Twilight franchise gave us the opportunity to do other things. I wanna play many different roles. As much as I love Jacob, I want grow and challenge myself to do a variety of roles and become a better actor. That was what the franchise did to me.”
Upcoming movie
Taylor is in love with his new role as a bike messenger in “Tracers.”
“My character finds himself in serious debt. He’s a loner and is all by himself.”
The sports-minded actor did all the stunts himself the way he did in the Twilight series. And he trained long and hard for it.
“I had to feel everything. I made sure I knew what I was doing.”
But before that, Taylor will meet his fans up close on Saturday, August 17, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena (aside from Bench, Wilbros played a big part in helping bring him to the country) and on Sunday, August 18 at the Glorietta Activity Center, Palm Drive. And he can’t wait to get things started.
His message to fans reflects this eagerness.
“Thank you so much for having me. I am honored to be here in behalf of Bench. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night. I won’t be here without you.”
Judging from the warm welcome he got at the airport, Taylor will see a lot of cheering and screaming again – this time in bigger, more fan-friendly venues like MOA and Glorietta.
