Taylor Lautner Reveals Being Shirtless In 'Twilight' Affected His Body Image

Taylor Lautner has revealed how removing his shirt several times in "Twilight" movies affected the way he viewed his body.

Lautner appeared on the latest episode of "The Squeeze" podcast Wednesday and got candid about how the physical transformation of his character affected him.

"When I was in it, when I was 16 through 20 years old, starring in this franchise where my character is known for taking his shirt off every other second," Lautner shared on the second episode of the podcast, which was co-hosted by his namesake and wife, Taylor. "No, I did not know that it was affecting me or going to affect me in the future with body image, but now looking back at it, of course it did, and of course it is going to."

"In the first movie, I was 140 pounds, and in New Moon I was 175," he continued. "So yeah, that wasn't my natural body. I had to work very hard for it and very, very hard just to maintain it."

The 30-year-old actor said he hesitated to go to the gym after the franchise ended in 2012 as he was "forced to be in a gym multiple times a day, six days a week" while filming Twilight.

"What happens when you don't want to see a gym? You start losing the eight-pack. I started having more normal of a body," he explained. "I remember one of the first times seeing it online was very tough. I was filming a movie called 'Run The Tide,' and my character in that is not supposed to be a bodybuilder or ripped guy in any way. I thought I looked fine."

"They put the side-by-sides of me shirtless in the ocean in a scene from that movie compared to me in Eclipse or whatever and being like, 'Wow, he's let it all go.' I was like, 'Oh, man. Did I really let it all go?' I didn't think I looked that bad," he added.

His experience has taught Lautner that mental health and physical health should go hand-in-hand.

"Your body can look unbelievable, you can be ripped, shredded, whatever you can lose weight, you can put on muscle and if you're not healthy mentally, then that's all for nothing because that can work against you," he said.

The actor also discussed the negative effects of fame, which he compared to a drug.

"If I were to compare it to anything, it's similar to...if you're an addict in any way, alcohol, drugs. You know it will be healthier for you to get off of it but when you pull a plug on it, it's gonna be rough before it gets better. Fame is just like that," Lautner emphasized.