Taylor Lautner has become one of Hollywood's top-paid teens, despite never having opened a film on his own.
His salary -- a cool $7.5 million for Universal's upcoming "Stretch Armstrong" -- far outstrips the sums commanded by fellow heartthrobs Zac Efron and Shia LaBeouf at similar points in their career.
True, Lautner's "Twilight" co-star and fellow hearthrob, Robert Pattinson, got $10 million for the vampire sequels, but that includes three movies -- most likely four, if "Breaking Dawn" is split in half, as expected.
(See slideshow: "Ab-tastic: Taylor Launtner's Millon-Dollar Muscles")
And though no figures were available, it's highly unlikely Pattinson made anything in that range for last weekend's mid-budget romantic drama "Remember Me."
LaBeouf made less than $1 million for "Disturbia," $1 million for "Transformers" and $5 million-$6 million for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," according to an individual with knowledge of the deals.
Efron rode his wavy locks and dulcet tones to a reported $3 million payday for the third edition of "High School Musical" and banked a reported $1 million for "17 Again."
Big paydays, but they pale in comparison to Lautner's.
Though many Hollywood heavyweights praise Lautner's poise and acting talent and predict major stardom for the young actor, he remains a relatively unproven commodity.
As a tabloid teen idol, he certainly deserves some credit for "New Moon's" $700 million worldwide gross.
But from a business point of view, Lautner's only other notable roles have been as a minor part of the top-shelf ensemble in February's "Valentine's Day" and a turn as one of the titular characters in Robert Rodriguez's 2005 kids fantasy "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl" -- a movie he made when he was a 13-year-old unknown.
Yet Universal was not the only studio willing to shell out for the young actor's much-on-display though mostly untried abs. Even before he signed on to "Stretch Armstrong," Paramount was pursuing him for "Max Steel," an actioner based on the Mattel toy, reportedly for a multi-million dollar payday.
Lautner ended up passing on "Steel" due to scheduling conflicts and a larger offer from Universal.
In fact, for an unproven neophyte, Lautner's dance card is surprisingly full. Not only did his busy production schedule force him to drop out of "Steel," he also pulled out of the extreme flying story "Northern Lights" and is pushing back the start of his hostage thriller "Cancun" -- perhaps indefinitely.
In the meantime, he has another high-profile production, the spy movie "Abduction," waiting in the wings, along with the rest of "The Twilight Saga."
Universal declined to comment on Lautner's salary, but the studio said he is an ideal candidate for the physically challenging title role in "Stretch Armstrong" given his karate training. He also boasts the looks and charm necessary to sell the role, Donna Langley, co-chairman of Universal Pictures, told TheWrap.
Lautner's camp declined to comment for this article, but those who have worked with the young star say he could become a major star.
