Taylor Lautner's Success Doesn't Surprise Robert Rodriguez

'New Moon' star made a big impression on his 'Sharkboy' director in 2005.



Back in 2005, an up-and-coming Taylor Lautner, then 13-years-old, auditioned to play a young superhero named Sharkboy and instantly won the heart of director Robert Rodriguez. Of course Taylor Launter got the role in "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D" and would eventually win the hearts of teen girls everywhere as werewolf Jacob Black in the "Twilight" franchise.

Rodriguez says he isn't at all surprised to see the now 17-year-old Lautner becoming a household name. He knew the young star possessed that "it" quality four years ago. "He was the first actor we saw for 'Sharkboy and Lavagirl' and we picked him right off," he explained to MTV News at the "Star Trek" premiere in Los Angeles. "He was the first actor who came in, and we knew he was the guy."

It was Lautner's natural charisma that won over the "Sin City" director. "He had so much personality," he said. "[He's] athletic [and] smart."

Now that Lautner is filming "New Moon" and rumored to be dating "Wizards of Waverly Place" star Selena Gomez, it appears that he has found a place as one of the princes of young Hollywood. "It's no surprise to me that he was going to go on to great things," the director said. "We knew it immediately when we saw him."

Rodriguez is very unwilling to take any credit for Lautner's success, insisting that it's all Taylor's own doing. "He kind of made himself," Rodriguez said. "He may have walked in fully formed."