When you think of famous love stories, which ones come to mind? Romeo and Juliet? Harry and Sally? Heathcliff and Catherine? With Romeo and Juliet, you’re probably thinking about the tragedy that ensues when these star-crossed lovers finally get together. But who would’ve thought that one day, the world would be listening to Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson gushing over each other’s beauty?
The “Twilight Saga” has been the biggest cultural phenomenon in the last decade. Its main stars, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, rocketed to fame as the handsome and brooding vampires Edward and Christian respectively. Since then, their on-screen chemistry has been imitated but never duplicated, due in no small part to their famous feud off-screen. It’s the type of Hollywood love story that is as irresistible as it is legendary, and it’s been an inspiration to millions of fans around the world.
Since the premiere of the first “Twilight” movie in 2008, Taylor Lautner has been hard at work appearing in major motion pictures. The actor most recently starred in the action-adventure flick “Killing Gunther” last year and has also been cast in the upcoming Quentin Tarantulinu film “Django Unchained.” His latest project, the fantasy flick “Dragonheart,” premieres this Christmas and he can currently be seen in cinemas around the world.
Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson has been focusing on his music career. The actor released his debut solo album, “Burlesque,” in 2011 and featured on some of the biggest pop songs of the year, including Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Is Possible.” His second album, “Songs From the Unburnt West,” was released last year and features the hit single “Ones and Zeros.”
But just because these two are famous for being famous doesn’t mean their beautiful and complicated relationship doesn’t deserve a spot on our bookshelves. Because here’s the rub: In addition to their musical feud, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson have gone on the record as saying they have absolutely nothing in common. Of course, you’ll soon see they’re wrong!
This article is an in-depth analysis of their complex yet strangely endearing relationship, featuring interviews with close friends, family members, and the people who work with them. In order to better understand Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, we must examine their backgrounds, their individual relationships with the opposite sex, and their public feud.
The Early Years
Taylor Lautner was born in 1986, in the small town of Palm Springs, California. His parents, Nancy and David, were both musicians (his dad played bass guitar, and his mother was a violinist), and they often performed together as a family. Taylor started playing the guitar at a young age and learned to play by ear. He also took lessons with classical guitarist Richard Thompson and attended Cal Arts High School, where he studied drama and film. During his high school years, the teenaged Lautner appeared in several commercials and music videos, including one for Christina Aguilera, in which he played a guitar (he had two).
After graduating from high school, Taylor moved to Los Angeles with his best friend from high school, Matt Dallas, with whom he wrote and directed several short films. One of these films, “Mallory’s First Date,” won several awards at film festivals in 2012 and screened at the Full Moon film festival in Los Angeles that year.
The Musicians Meet
In 2007, Taylor Lautner uploaded a video to YouTube in which he performed a cover of the Jethro Tull song “Teacher, Teacher.” The next day, he was contacted by Jethro Tull drummer Ian Anderson, who wanted to work with the young guitarist. Anderson put Taylor in touch with his long-time collaborator, Robert Pattinson. The two started a musical collaboration and are currently one of the largest and most popular songwriting and recording duos in Hollywood. For the next year, Taylor and Robert wrote and recorded several songs together, which they eventually released under the band name “The Last Stand.”
The two musicians met each other through their mutual love of Tull and the British Invasion. While recording their debut album, the two wrote the classic pop song “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Many fans believe this song, along with “Teacher, Teacher,” are the best on the album. They also collaborated on the song “Take Me Back,” which appears on Lionel Richie’s album of the same name.
Off And Running
After signing with a record label, Taylor and Robert launched a U.S. tour in support of their debut album. They were accompanied by their friend and frequent collaborator Matt Beckett, who also plays guitar in their band. The trek lasted over a month and included stops in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. During one of the final shows of the tour, Robert, Matt, and Taylor performed an intimate acoustic set for a sold-out audience.
That same year, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson started their fashion collaboration. The two got together to discuss the idea of starting a clothing line, and Taylor brought his friend, the artist Stephen Burks, with him to help design the collection. The trio spent three days a week for over a month working on samples and fabrics for the line, and as a result, Burks and the designer Stephen Jean created the unique “Lautner-Pattison” look, which is today considered “classic” in Hollywood fashion. The first collection debuted at the Paris Couture Week in February 2009 and was an immediate hit, selling out almost immediately. Since then, the fashion line has gained a large following and has been featured in GQ, Vogue, and Elle. A second collection was introduced in 2010 and it too was a huge success, selling out its initial 350 units within two weeks. It’s fair to say that Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson’s fashion collaboration has been a roaring success.
An Unresolved Tragicomedy
While the public may still adore and be inspired by the beauty and chemistry of Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, their lives couldn’t be more different off-screen. Despite being professional collaborators, the two have never been closer than when they’re filming, and they very rarely speak to or about each other in public. They have both been famously unfaithful to their partners, which is said to be the reason for their infamous feud. But that’s another article!
The most public display of their enmity came when they were both cast as the love interests of Kate Winslet’s character in the 2009 movie “The Reader.” Although the pair play competing lovers onscreen, they supposedly got along swimmingly off-screen and the movie’s co-writer, David Nicholls, said the two “got along like a house on fire.” The following year, they both starred in the psychological thriller, “Kill Your Darlings.” While Robert played a university student who becomes obsessed with a poet, Taylor portrayed a popular literature professor who befriends the young man. The two reportedly did not get along during this movie’s making but continued to work together after it was completed. The movie premiered in 2011 and was a critical and commercial flop, which may have had something to do with its intense subject matter.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming! After “Kill Your Darlings,” Taylor Lautner continued to work steadily, appearing in movies like “Midnight In Paris” and “The Grand Tour,” which was released last year. He also starred in the short-lived television series “Saving Grace,” which focuses on murders that occur in the small town of Grace, where he plays a police detective. In 2014, he joined the cast of the CW series “The Following,” in which he plays the brother of Victoria’s (Thandie Newton) character. He also has a role in the upcoming Quentin Tarantulinu movie, “Django Unchained.”
Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson had a relatively quiet year, appearing in smaller movies like “The Broken Ones” and “Just Like Heaven.” The latter was an adaptation of the Noel Coward play “In Which Annie Mathews Raises Cain,” in which he played the titular role. The following year, he joined the cast of the Woody Allen film, “Magic in the Moon,’ and had a supporting role in the comedy “Zoolander 2.”