Taylor Lautner Is Now Highest Paid Young Actor

Taylor Lautner is not just a pretty face (and well defined six-pack): he’s shown clear signs that he’s serious about acting and that he has the skills to build for himself a solid reputation in Hollywood. As a plus, right now, he’s also enjoying the perks of being the highest paid teenage actor in the movie industry, Deadline Hollywood has learned.

With “Twilight,” Lautner gained a very loyal fanbase, one that made it possible for him to return to the franchise by putting pressure on the studio behind it, Summit Entertainment. With “New Moon,” the actor virtually became a household name and, yes, his incredibly chiseled body might have had something to do with his soaring popularity, especially with female audiences.

Still, for his next part, he’s getting paid for his talent and not his muscles, even though Deadline Hollywood jokes that his salary is calculated “per ab.” For his upcoming role, for instance, in “Northern Lights,” Taylor will be offered no less than $7.5 million, which is considerably more than any other young star on the scene right now, including “High School Musical” Zac Efron and Disney champ Miley Cyrus.

“The 17-year-old co-star of the ‘Twilight Saga’ franchise who’s famous for his buff physique that is making girls scream when he takes off his shirt in ‘New Moon,’ is getting $7.5 million for his next pic. It’s called ‘Northern Lights,’ to be directed by John Moore (‘Max Payne’) with a start date of April 1st. The logline says the pic is ‘set against the backdrop of extreme flying and follows four young pilots as they compete against the world’s best.’ It’s being made by David Ellison’s new company Skydance Productions, and Paramount has a first look at his development. That [much] money negotiated by WME now makes Taylor Lautner into the highest paid Hollywood teenage actor around,” Deadline writes.

As a plus, “Northern Lights” will also star Tom Cruise, reports in the blogosphere say, though his involvement has not yet been confirmed. Still, at this point, with or without Cruise, it’s safe to say that Taylor Lautner is about to have one amazing year in 2010.