The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn star Taylor Lautner talks to us about the new movie, his character Jacob Black, and what happened when 2,000 fans broke into their hotel.

In this film, your character Jacob breaks off from his old wolf pack to protect Bella from his them. Tell us about his new-found freedom in Breaking Dawn Part 1?

It’s difficult because Jacob, at the beginning of the film, is like the Jacob you’ve always seen before – he’s young, he’s immature and he’s in love with Bella, but then he gets his heart crushed. He doesn’t really handle it very well. He handles it how Jacob would usually handle it. He’s kind of forced to mature and become his own man. He has to take a stand and, if that means separating from his pack, he‘s willing to do that – and he does. It was very challenging, but I had a lot of fun with that. 

What are your fight scenes like in these movies?

In most of my fight scenes, I’m actually a wolf, so it’s a bummer. I wish I could actually be doing that, and I’m super-jealous of my CGI wolf, even though he is pretty cute and fluffy. I actually got beat up a little bit in both movies. Rob gives me a nice punch in this one after he finds out I imprinted on his daughter.

Would you like to continue doing action movies?

No, I don’t want to do the same thing over and over again. That’s what I was saying when I said that the biggest thing this franchise has given us is the opportunity to do whatever we are passionate about. What I am passionate about is challenging myself and not doing one thing over and over. I have loved this franchise, I love that type of movie, and I love the action/drama that Abduction is, and I would love to continue to challenge myself in different genres.

You’ve been called the most promising young star of the Twilight franchise. What do you say to that?

Really? I don’t know. I leave other people to make that call but, for me, it’s just important on focusing on doing what I am passionate about. The most amazing thing about this franchise is that it has given us all the opportunity to do what we love: as actors, you really want to make movies that you believe in and that you are passionate about. It is rare to be given that opportunity, and that is the opportunity that this franchise has given me, so I could not be more thankful for that.

Do you look up things about yourself online or in magazines, or do you avoid it?

Avoid! It’s tough, because sometimes it’s impossible. You will just be on the web and things pop up, or you get emailed something from a friend. It’s just tough, because it’s very rare that things are true about yourself that are on the internet, so it’s just sad sometimes reading things that you feel don’t represent you or aren’t true.

Some of this film is shot in Brazil. Did you get to go?

Not for filming. I have been there promoting. We didn’t have much time in Brazil but the number one thing I can say about Brazil is that the fans show their passion in an interesting way. They are very physical. We had 2,000 girls break into our hotel in Brazil.

Was that scary?

Yes, it was. Kristen and I were doing interviews in a room and, all of a sudden, in the middle of the interview, our security barges in the room, closes the door and locks it. We were like: “What’s going on?” and they’re like: “Remain calm, but 2,000 girls have just broken through the hotel lobby. They got past security and they’re on the way up the staircase to get to this room.” We were pretty scared at first and we were on lockdown in that tiny room for 45 minutes, but the National Guard arrived and we were able to get the girls out, so we continued the day. But it was an interesting experience, for sure.

Looking back now at the series, what do you think, in ten years, the Twilight series will mean as a whole?

It’s crazy, because it has already meant so much. You can already see all these supernatural television shows and movies, and it has really affected everything, which is really a testament to Stephenie Meyer, who wrote the books. But I would be curious to see if, ten years down the road, it still has an effect. I am sure zombies are the next thing, and then it’s aliens after that – or wait, they already did aliens, didn’t they? But I don’t know!

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is in cinemas from 18 November. Look out for an interview with Robert Pattinson in next week’s First News.