Fans of TAYLOR LAUTNER have been wildly welcoming of the actor’s first lead-starring role – outside of his werewolf duties as Jacob Black of ’The Twilight Saga’ - as Nathan Harper in the new action-adventure, ‘ABDUCTION‘.

Coup De Main was lucky enough to catch up with the nineteen-year-old – who since 2010, has been recognised as the highest-paid teen actor in Hollywood – while he was in Sydney recently to promote his new film.

Read on for Lautner’s thoughts on his leading lady LILY COLLINS, his future parenting style, and that Taylor Swift song…

CDM: Your new film ‘Abduction’ is out soon, what are you most excited for people to see or take away from watching the movie?
TAYLOR: I’m really super excited for people to see it, I’m really proud of it. I think it’s a movie for everyone – it’s got something for everyone in it. I’m excited for them to see Nathan’s journey, it’s an incredible story what the character goes through, but it’s also very entertaining because it’s surrounded by action and suspense and it’s a thriller. It’s a very exciting movie, that I can’t wait for people to see.

CDM: What are the main similarities or differences between you and your character Nathan?
TAYLOR: I can relate to Nathan at the beginning of the movie, I mean… Nathan starts off the movie as a completely normal teenager and then his life is turned upside down when he finds this picture of himself on the missing persons website. So I can relate to the early side of Nathan, and then while I was filming the movie I would try and take a step back and think to myself: ”Alright, I’m similar to Nathan… What if I found a picture of myself on a missing persons website? What would I do and where would I even begin?” It’s very difficult.

CDM: How did you get into that character’s headspace, considering you seem to be quite close with your own family?
TAYLOR: That’s a good question… Nathan is a little distant from his family, he doesn’t really feel like he fits in. So that was just me having to trust the script and just dive into it, but I can relate to the outsider bit of Nathan, because Nathan he is a bit of an outsider. When I was in school I was always a little different, because I was the ’teenage actor’ and that was different for a public school – a little different than the normal teenagers and that is what I was able to pull from. So I can relate to that side a little bit as well.

CDM: Why do you think teenagers are so judgmental in high school?
TAYLOR: I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to answer that question… It’s tough and it’s kind of a stage that everybody has to deal with and you’ve just got to stay true to yourself.

CDM: In ‘Abduction’, Nathan is on a quest to ‘find himself’… Do you personally feel like you’ve found yourself? Or do you feel that you have more soul-searching and growing up to do?
TAYLOR: I hope so, I think there is always growing up and learning to do, I believe that you can never stop learning. I know that I’m doing what I love to do and I’ve have had the time of my life the past few years and I know that this is what I want to be doing for sure, so I’m extremely thankful that I’m able to do it.

CDM: I liked that Lily Collins’ character Karen isn’t a typical Hollywood damsel in distress – do you think it’s important for there to be more strong teenage female characters in action movies to inspire young girls?
TAYLOR: Yeah absolutely, she brings a lot to this movie, her character is very important. She’s really on this journey the entire time with Nathan and whenever Nathan crumbles or falls emotionally she’s there to pick him back up and keep him going. So Lily did a great job and I’m super excited for people to see her in the movie. Yeah, I think it is important – it makes the movie that much more intriguing and it really is a love story as well.

CDM: Nathan’s father in ‘Abduction‘ adopts a tough-love parenting style – what sort of parenting style do you think you’ll have in the future?
TAYLOR: That’s a good question, I don’t know… I really don’t think about that at this point, I mean it’s kind of tough to answer that. But yeah, I could probably picture myself being very protective over my daughter, that’s for sure.

CDM: Some of your fans are wondering if you still remember how to sing the ‘Shark Boy: Dream, Dream’ song?
TAYLOR: Oh my gosh! <laughs> You know what, I’m probably a little rusty at that! I might have to watch the movie once or twice to get back into that. <laughs> That’s funny though.

CDM: What went through your mind when you first heard Taylor Swift’s song, ‘Back To December’?
TAYLOR: What came to my mind? She’s very talented and she writes great music and that it’s a fantastic song and I think she’s amazing.

CDM: Since your mother works at a software development company, one would assume that you’d be technologically all-up into social networking online… but you don’t appear to have a Twitter account? Why is that? 
TAYLOR: I don’t know, I like keeping some things to myself. But I do have a Facebook so I think that kind of makes up for it, that’s my way to communicate with my fans and my Facebook’s very simple it’s just Facebook.com/TaylorLautner and that’s the way I communicate.

…and with that, our time is up. Lautner says: ”I think that I’m being wrapped up right now… they’re telling me that I’m over my time-limit. Thank you so much! Toodle-loo.”

‘ABDUCTION‘ - starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Denzel Whitaker and Sigourney Weaver – is out in New Zealand cinemas now! Click HERE to watch the trailer.

Source: Coup De Main