Jackson Rathbone stood tall astride the weekend’s big movie premieres — “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” and “The Last Airbender.”
Two years ago, this Singapore-born son of a Texas oil executive stashed his belongings with pals in LA and made nine feature films (one of which, “Girlfriend,” he also produced) back to back.
“Twilight” and its sequel, “New Moon” — in which Rathbone plays vampire Jasper Hale (choosing animal over human blood) — grossed more than a billion dollars.
To Generation Y, “Twilight’s” leads are the Beatles, and Rathbone is Ringo, puckish and down-to-earth. With his deadpan performance in “Eclipse,” Rathbone’s Jasper moves from the background to the foreground, and the actor is poised to seize the day.
Last year Rathbone spent almost four months filming M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender.” In the martial-arts fantasy based on the Nickelodeon cartoon, he plays Sokka, warrior of the South Water tribe, trying to neutralize Fire Lord Dev Patel.
Rathbone also sidelines as a singer in the band 100 Monkeys.
While not yet a star of the magnitude of cast mate Robert Pattinson, the John Lennon of the “Twilight” quartet (outgoing Taylor Lautner would be Paul, and moody Kristen Stewart would be George), Rathbone is no stranger to Twi-hard fanaticism.
In a sit-down with a pair of teenage “Twilight” authorities, Maddie Addis, 14, and Cora Levy, 13, Rathbone regales them with his “craziest fan experience.” Returning to his Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room last year while shooting “Eclipse,” Rathbone noted a knot of stalkerazzi. He started signing autographs.
“A woman smiles at me and hands me her baby. I thought she was going to give me the baby and just walk away, and I was like, ‘No, lady, no!’ Then she snaps a photo, takes the kid back and walks away without saying anything.”
Rathbone talked about how he, the only son of conservative parents with three daughters, went from a household where he didn’t watch “Airbender” “because we weren’t allowed to watch TV,” to being the star of a big-budget movie based on a Nickelodeon television series.
“In my ‘Twilight’ family, I’m the cutup. In my ‘Airbender’ family, which is younger, I’m the big brother and role model,” he said. “With my band I’m the peacemaker, and in the Rathbone family I’m the joker.”
And also the gallant one who, when his older sisters beat him up (and he asked, “Dad, what do I do?”), followed his dad’s advice: “Just take it.” Credit Dad for Rathbone’s ladies-first manners.
“I’m from Texas and really am a Southern gentleman,” he said. He’s also a descendant of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson.
His heritage helped inform his interpretation of Jasper, whose “Eclipse” flashbacks reveal that his vampire conversion came while in the Texas cavalry during the Civil War.
“I channeled my ancestor a bit,” he said.
Commonalities between Jasper and Sokka?
“Both are warriors at heart, and each sticks up for those he loves.”
Differences?
“Jasper is a 200-year-old vampire, and Sokka is a 17-year-old boy.”
Rathbone loved his martial-arts training for “Airbender”: “I got to wield double swords! And got to have that Keanu ‘Matrix’ moment: ‘Hey, I know kung fu!’ ”
For his last two years of high school, Rathbone attended the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, alma mater of Norah Jones, where he studied acting and music.
“Then I was accepted at the Royal Scottish Academy to study classical theater,” he said. “But the summer before I was to start, on a lark I moved to LA and then decided to take a gap year.”
He got small gigs (a one-shot as an interviewer on television’s “Disney 411”), which led to bigger gigs (TV’s “Beautiful People”), which led to here.
“The point of going to college was to learn what I wanted to do and start working, and there I was, knowing what I wanted to do and already working.”
He does not regret his decision to bypass higher education.
“Once you find your passion, life is great.”
Source via JRO
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