Taylor Lautner might be a heartthrob now, but he was once bullied in school for being an actor. The Twilight Saga: New Moon actor says people teased him, but he refused to give up and let go of his passion for acting.

He said: “I was never extremely confident. Because I was an actor, when I was in school there was a little bullying going on. Not physical bullying but people making fun of what I do… I just had to tell myself I can’t let this get to me. This is what love to do. And I’m going to continue to do it.”

The 17-year-old star, who gained 30lbs of muscle ahead of shooting the vampire sequel, also insisted the female attention he receives is for his character, werewolf Jacob Black, not himself. He told Rolling Stone magazine: “This could have happened to anybody who played Jacob. I was just lucky enough to be the one that has the opportunity. I’m so grateful. It’s Twilight. It’s not me personally.”

Despite his youth, Taylor has impressed his Twilight co-stars with his maturity. Kristen Stewart said: “He’s so picky. I was the first person who got him to eat sushi. He’s very set in his ways. But that is very informative of his personality. He’s very steady. He has a really solid sense of himself.”