Twilight

American actor Jackson Rathbone was 23 years old when he first started playing the role of Jasper Hale -- the quiet newcomer of the Cullen-vampire family -- in the romance/fantasy film series "Twilight" back in 2008.

Jackson shared the big screen on all five films with Hollywood greats including Kristen Stewart who played Jasper's smart and sensitive sister-in-law, Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson as Bella's stubborn and charming husband, Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner as the friendly, caring and protective werewolf, Jacob Black.

Jasper's character was romantically involved with Alice the vampire, played by Ashley Greene.

Before this beaming boy turned into an actor and a husband, he was mastering the art of karate, dancing up a storm in hip hop class, and growing up in Hudsonville, Michigan with his rents and little sister.

This on-screen werewolf used his karate skills to fight in a series of movies, vying for Bella Swan's love, and if you don't recall him in those movies ... perhaps you've seen him in "Cheaper By The Dozen" acting next to Hollywood greats like Steve Martin and Hilary Duff.

Need one more hint? Just ask his ball and chain, Taylor!

Move over, Mel Kiper Jr. ... Taylor Lautner's now comin' in hot with the NFL draft advice -- telling TMZ Sports he wants his beloved Lions to go defense in the first round this year!!

We got the "Twilight" actor -- who's a MASSIVE Detroit fan -- out in L.A. on Wednesday ... and he made it clear, when Dan Campbell's guys get on the clock in April, he's hoping for some players who can scare the hell out of opposing offenses.

"Defense was lacking a little bit this year," the Grand Rapids, Mich. native said.

Lautner clearly knows his stuff (he has been, after all, a Lions supporter since he was a kid) -- Detroit had statistically one of the worst D's in the league in 2022 ... giving up the third-most points in the NFL, and the most yards.

The good news? The Lions have two first-round picks this year thanks to the Matthew Stafford trade with the Rams in 2021 -- and most mock drafts have them going with defenders at both picks.

In fact, in ESPN analyst Todd McShay's most recent mock on Wednesday, he had Detroit going with a Clemson pass rusher and a Georgia cornerback.

"Twilight" star Cam Gigandet is in the twilight of his relationship ... because his wife just filed for divorce.

Cam's wife, Dominique Nicole Geisendorff, beelined it to court Monday and filed divorce docs after 13 years of marriage.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Dominique lists the date of separation as May 1 and she's citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.

Cam and Dominique got married back in November 2008 and they have 3 minor children together ... 13-year-old Everleigh, 9-year-old Rekker and 6-year-old Armie. Dominique is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the kids.

Joe Exotic is taking cues from Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart -- he's got a new fiancé behind bars ... and their love is as deep as Edward's was for Bella.

The 'Tiger King' star details his latest relationship in an eye-opening letter sent from his federal prison in Butner, NC, in which he announces he's a groom-to-be with a man named John Graham -- somebody he was in the pokey with last year and apparently fell head over heels for.

In the correspondence, obtained by TMZ from Joe's attorney Autumn Blackledge, JE says he met John after he was released from solitary, when they were housed in the same unit. It wasn't long before they started seeing each other, he explains, and eventually ... somebody popped the question in August.

As for what John's all about ... well, Joe says he's the polar opposite of his soon-to-be-ex-hubby Dillon Passage -- whom he calls "selfish, younger ... and wanting to be famous."

John, meanwhile, is an old soul -- about 400 years, it seems -- who actually practices witchcraft ... this according to Joe. He describes John as someone who isn't seeking the limelight and who loves Joe for him ... the type of love Joe's never experienced, he says.

Sounds like John's a free man now ... but even so, Joe says they talk constantly -- up to 3 times a day -- and exchange mail nonstop. He says their bond is like the one depicted in 'Twilight' ... adding he still has one of John's shirts so he can smell him in the interim.

As we reported ... Dillon's signaled he's ready to finalize his divorce with Joe, with some conditions -- which Joe here calls "extortion," while noting he too wants to be done with it so he can hurry up and marry John.

Of course, he says he's still trying to have his case heard on appeal ... and believes his latest team of attorneys is going to achieve that with "new evidence" Joe says has been obtained in his favor.

Ashley Greene's new husband likes to keep it real and raw ... and she's more than willing to accommodate!

We got the "Twilight" star at LAX Wednesday and asked her about her recent honeymoon in Hawaii ... where Ashley and Paul Khoury hit up a nude beach. Turns out, Paul likes to hang loose and she was happy to tag along ... in her own way.

As Ashley tells it ... her Australian hubby's baring all at home all the time, so a few strangers checkin' out the goods is no big deal. But, the newly married couple had to be strategic about the whole thing ... turns out the nude beach might not even be legal!

Kristen Stewart's showing no signs of flipping back to team Robert Pattinson ... at least not yet.

We got Kristen and her GF, Stella Maxwell, arriving together at LAX on Tuesday but, despite putting on a united front, Kristen still faced questions as to whether she's back with Robert. Kristen and Robert have reportedly had several "secret meetings" in the last few weeks.

You'll recall, Kristen and Robert had trouble in paradise after she allegedly cheated on him with director Rupert Sanders. Sure seems like Kristen and Stella are on the same page, though.

Bella might have ended up with Edward in the "Twilight" series ... but he's out of the picture, so it's Jacob's time now!

Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner staged a mini "Twilight" reunion Tuesday night at The Nice Guy in West Hollywood.

They arrived together, but left separately ... in fact, Taylor took off with an unknown girl.

Nikki Reed's marital status has gone from married to divorced to married again in the blink of an eye ... after getting hitched this weekend to "Vampire Diaries" star Ian Somerhalder.

Reed and Somerhalder exchanged vows Sunday in Malibu, where guests included "Glee" star Lea Michele and her boyfriend Matthew Paetz.

Reed split from "American Idol" star Paul McDonald in March 2014 and began dating Somerhalder in July. They even did a short engagement ... she got the ring in January, now they're hitched in April.

She may be from Florida, but "Twilight" star Ashley Greene tells TMZ Sports she's pulling for the Badgers in the Final Four ... and she's got UPSET on her mind.

Greene explained why she's a fan of Wisconsin at LAX over the weekend -- and when we pointed out that Vegas odds show a UW upset over Kentucky is unlikely, she had the perfect response:

"Isn't that the fun in all of this when they do?"

Kellan Lutz celebrated his 30th birthday Saturday night with a flair ... at Dan Bilzerian's Hollywood Hills pad.

There were hot naked chicks and dudes wearing very little, per the invitation, which says, "The pool is heated to 95 degrees, and the Jacuzzi is on! We bought 150 white towels, and encourage everyone to bring a bathing suit (white bathing suit preferred)."

Everything was white. The invite makes it clear it's "an all white party. You will not get in if you are not wearing all white."

"Twilight" co-star Jackson Rathbone claims he thought he was getting a studio in Studio City ... but he got a dirty shell from the unscrupulous sellers.

Rathbone bought a $1.2 million spread, which he insists included a recording studio that was up and running when he made the offer. But when he moved in, the actor claims the sellers had gutted the studio. To add insult to injury, he says the sellers turned the front lawn into a garbage heap.

Rathbone says the studio was an important selling point since he's a musician who was in the group, 100 Monkeys. He demanded that the sellers return and restore the studio to its glory but they refused.

A rep for the sellers had no comment.

Jackson wants more than $50k to get what he claims is what he bargained for.

Cross crack pipe off the list of possible reasons Ashley Greene's apartment went up in flames -- according to Sheriff's investigators who sifted through the burned out pad right after the fire.

TMZ broke the story ... Ashley's building manager says a cleanup crew claimed to have found a glass crack pipe in Greene's unit. But we got hold of a report filed by the Sheriff's Arson/Explosives Unit ... and there's no mention of a crack pipe.

That could mean there was NO pipe, but it could also be that investigators just missed it. According to the docs ... there was also no sign of arson.

Ashley Greene's apartment that burned to a crisp last year had one remnant ... a crack pipe, according to a sworn statement by the building manager.

TMZ broke the story ... Ashley, her boyfriend and her brother were all sleeping in the unit when a fire broke out after a burning candle ignited some nearby fabric. All 3 fled, but one of her dogs died.

The fire did extensive damage to a number of units and a number of tenants/owners are suing the "Twilight" star.

The manager, Adrian Mayorga, is also suing, claiming he suffered permanent respiratory damage. According to his sworn deposition -- obtained by TMZ -- Mayorga says one of the men who cleared out the unit after the fire told him he found a glass crack pipe.

Mayorga said, he was the first person in the hallway after the blaze broke out and says he saw Ashley and the others "disoriented ... they looked like they were drunk or under the influence of something."

Mayorga also says in the depo ... "The only people I saw getting treated was Ashley Greene, her brother Joe Green, and her -- the current boyfriend, Ryan Phillippe."

Sources connected to the case tell TMZ ... Phillippe submitted a sworn declaration to Greene's lawyer this week, saying not only was he not in the apartment the night of the fire ... he has never been in her unit at that building.

We contacted Greene's people but did not get a response.

A plane carrying Jackson Rathbone -- who played Jasper Hale in "Twilight" -- made an emergency landing in Long Beach Thursday ... after one of the engines exploded and his cabin filled with smoke.

Rathbone documented the whole thing on his WhoSay account ... after the right engine went kaput on a JetBlue flight heading for Austin, Texas from the LBC.

Jackson claims the oxygen masks didn't deploy when the plane got smoky -- so the flight attendant had to manually release them. According to reports ... one person was hospitalized for shortness of breath once they landed.

Rathbone says things got so scary while they were on the way down ... he grabbed his son/wife tightly and started praying.

Luckily they landed safely -- and when the plane stopped Jackson said screw his personal belongings and jumped down the inflatable slide with his family to exit the plane ASAP.