When it came to the prospect of auditioning for the best-selling book-turned-movie "Twilight," the Sharkboy from the Robert Rodriguez movie "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl" admits that he didn't realize what he was sinking his teeth into.

"I had no idea what 'Twilight' was before I auditioned for it," Taylor Lautner said in a recent @ The Movies interview. "But I remember my agents telling me, 'This one is big. We have to get this one.' I was like, 'OK, I've never heard of this before!'"

It shouldn't come as a big surprise that Lautner, 16, wasn't aware of the "Twilight" book series. After all, it's mostly a sensation propelled by a fan base of teen girls and women: a phenomenon that's led to more than 17 million of author Stephenie Meyer's books being sold worldwide.

"Twilight" tells the tale of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), a pair of star-crossed high school juniors who are hopelessly attracted to each other. But there's a lot at stake for Bella for being in Edward's company: He's from a family of vampires -- and his desire for her includes a thirst for her blood.

Lautner plays Jacob Black, a childhood friend of Bella who reacquaints himself with her after she moves from her mother's house in Phoenix to her father's home in Forks, Wash. Knowing of Edward's past because of an ancient tale shared throughout his Native American family for generations, Jacob is pivotal to the story because he confirms Bella's suspicions about her potential new love being a vampire.

One thing Lautner discovered is that, despite the female attachment to the book series, the story has much broader appeal. In other words, he said, guys shouldn't dismiss "Twilight" as a chick flick.

"It's a movie that I would see myself or with guy friends," Lautner said. "The cool thing about it is that it has every different type of genre in it. Yes, it's a romance, which the girls love. I wouldn't call it a horror movie, but 'Twilight' also has a very dark side to it. The second half of the movie is non-stop action until the very end. I'd call it an action-romance. It's definitely is a movie for everyone."

Lautner, a Michigan native, and his fellow "Twilight" castmates, have been touring the country in the past couple of weeks as a way to immerse themselves in the fan frenzy. Judging by the response, the only thing that he's been missing with stops at Hot Topic stores, where the promotional appearances are being held, is an electric guitar.

"It's absolutely insane -- it's the closest any of us will get to becoming rock stars," Lautner said, laughing. "We've been averaging 2,000 people at the question-and-answer sessions. But I really wouldn't call it a question-and-answer session because you don't get to answer too much because they're screaming the whole time."

With any luck -- and at this point it seems to be all but a given -- Lautner will get another chance to hear thousands of screaming fans with the release of a "Twilight" sequel. And if that happens, he'll be able to let out his inner-beast with a major transformation of his character.

"I'm a human in 'Twilight,' but because of the tribe I'm in, at age 16 some of us transfer into werewolves," Lautner said. "The transformation skips a generation, so my father in the tribe isn't one, but I will become one -- at least in the next book."

In the meantime, Lautner said he'll enjoy the notoriety of being in "Twilight," which in addition to the crowds at the personal appearances, has developed a massive following online. And, as Lautner has discovered, every topic seems to be covered -- even the bare essentials.

"I got an e-mail with an attachment from a friend in Michigan who said, 'Click on this link -- what is this?' It led to a Web site that sells women's underwear that has 'Team Taylor' written on the front of it," Lautner said. "That's kind of weird and scary. Now I'm just waiting for the day for someone to give me their underwear to sign."