Taylor made for Bench

PERHAPS of all Global BenchSetters, Taylor Lautner is the one with the most “global” identity. He is said to have Austrian, English, German, Swiss-German, French, Irish and Dutch heritage. He also claims to have “distant” Native American ancestry, specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi, on his mother’s side.

Taylor joins an increasingly long list of local and international endorsers for Bench, and was recently in town to promote the lifestyle label as well as to meet his adoring fans. Giggling and blushing, he answered with gusto questions from the press moderated by TV host Sam Oh in a whirlwind press appearance at the Makati Shangri-La.

So, what does he like about Bench and being its endorser?

“Comfort is huge for me, and I’m also simple. I like simple. I’m a jeans and T-shirt guy. I’m very relaxed, and I like to be myself, and going back to that comfort thing, I can’t do that [be a Bench endorser] if I’m not comfortable because I like to have a good time. To me, all that Bench is about is being yourself; it is about expressing yourself, being relaxed, and having fun, and it was just the perfect marriage,” Taylor enthused.

What articles of Bench clothing does he prefer to wear?

“I love some of Bench’s really comfortable jeans and just simple V-neck T-shirts. But there are other stuff, like this jacket for example [pointing to the blue blazer he was wearing]. I mean, what I love about Bench is you can dress it up or down, you know, the same outfit. I could show up at something in this jacket and I can make it look really fancy and spiffy, or I can just wear it up and about and be cool and relaxed.”

Taylor is best known for now as Jacob Black, the shapeshifter/werewolf in the blockbuster Twilight saga. But he is not the first werewolf that Bench signed up. That honor goes to the dreamy Michael Trevino, who plays Tyler in the hit series The Vampire Diaries.

Taylor is also the second actor-Bench endorser who figures in a love triangle in a tentpole franchise. The first is Liam Hemsworth, who plays Gale, the best friend and hunting partner of Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) who complicates matters between her and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) in the ongoing The Hunger Games series.

“I think [Jacob’s] a great guy. He gives so much to the series. It’s all of his characteristics, his constant loyalty, and everything about him that makes you fall in love with him. But then, also, I love Jacob and what he has brought to my life personally. I love making those movies, and I made so many amazing new friendships during those years of my life. Making the movies, the memories from Jacob, and that franchise will be with me forever,” said the 21-year-old.

It’s interesting to note that, had Taylor not bulked up for New Moon, the role of Jacob reportedly would have gone to Michael Copon, who had a recurring role in One Tree Hill and also starred in Power Rangers: Time Force. Michael was born to a German mother and a Filipino father. Can you imagine what Twilight would have meant to Pinoys?

Anyway, Taylor was then asked about how he maintains his awesome physique.

“I love playing sports. I’m a massive football fan. I’m a sports fan in general. I love all sports. You get me and a few friends together and I will play any sport for hours, so that takes up most of my activity. I still find time to get in the gym and keep that up, but I don’t get to do that quite as much now since I’m not filming the Twilightfranchise anymore. And I just try to maintain a healthy diet somewhat, but I get to cheat every now and then,” he shared.

I have a gnawing fear that Jacob would be the one iconic role that Taylor would best be remembered by, in much the same way Bo Derek never slipped past 10. Or that Christopher Reeve will always be Superman. That Macaulay Culkin will forever be Home Alone. And Linda Blair will endlessly turn heads as Regan.

In between and after Twilight, however, Taylor appeared in Valentine’s Day, Abduction and Grown-Ups 2. He just wrapped up filming for the suspense thriller Tracers, where he met his current girlfriend, Greek-Canadian actress Marie Avgeropoulos.

“My character Cam in Tracers is a bike messenger who’s trying to pay some serious debt that he’s found himself in. He borrowed some money and it’s time to pay the guys back. It’s set in the world of Parkour, which is a very, very cool world,” Taylor shared excitedly. “There are a few [stunts] that I did for Tracers that were pretty dangerous and I’m shocked that they’d let me do [them]. So, that’s probably one of the most exciting stunts that I have done.”

Of Parkour, Taylor said: “There’s a lot of jumping off the wall. It is an art form, so there’s a lot of training because I pretty much had to do all the stunts for the movie to be as real and authentic as possible.”

A practitioner of Parkour, as per Wikipedia, “is often called a traceur, with the optional feminine form being traceuse. They are nouns derived from the French verb tracer, which normally means ‘to trace,’ as in ‘tracing a path,’ in reference to drawing.” Maybe that’s how the movie title was derived.

Taylor’s recent visit reminded me of another superstar Bench endorser, Adam Levine. The Maroon 5 frontman apparently has an entrepreneurial streak. After launching his eponymous fragrance line, Adam has collaborated with Kmart and ShopYourWay.com to create a men’s and women’s apparel collection called 222 by Adam Levine. The number 222 is tattooed on his forearm and is said to be his lucky number.

So, I became intrigued with the idea of Bench possibly collaborating with a celebrity to design for the brand. If that were so, I nominate Channing Tatum, Kit Harington and Armie Hammer.

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