Many years before COVID-19, Taylor Lautner was already living in self-imposed isolation.

A Jan. 27 interview with his friend Jason KennedyNBC Today show, the 29-year-old actor recalled being thrust into the spotlight as a teenager following fans’ borderline obsession with the Twilight franchise. His breakout role as Jacob the buff werewolf in 2008’s first film meant that he avoided all things grocery and mall-related for a decade.

“I spent so many years in my house. If I left, I wore hats and sunglasses. [feeling]Lautner stated that he was afraid. Lautner said, “It created something in me that I didn’t know, but it made me afraid to go outside. It would make me anxious to leave the house. “So I didn’t.”

When he attempted to take a trip with his friends, he was only in his mid teens. “Twelve cars were waiting outside my home for me to follow wherever I go,” he said. He was greeted at the airport by “thousands” of screaming fans.