Today is Taylor Lautner’s birthday! MTV has a look at where his career is going. It’s been a huge launch going from a relative unknown to the biggest in demand teen actor today. According to MTV

“Taylor Lautner, who, just one year into adulthood, is the highest-grossing member of “The Twilight Saga” trio and one of the hottest young adult stars in Hollywood. This coming year will undoubtedly be one of the biggest years of the 19-year-old’s career as he finishes filming “Breaking Dawn” and embarks on his journey as a leading man after “The Twilight Saga” is finished.

In honor of his big day, we’re taking a look at all the projects Lautner has on the horizon. If his current trajectory is anything to judge by, we have a feeling he will be even more popular and earning even more box-office gold at this time next year.”

See what Taylor has on his plate on MTV.

According to Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, Taylor Lautner has manged to ink himself quite lucrative deals in 2011.

“I’ve learned that the Taylor Lautner juggernaut continues in Hollywood as this 18-year-old Twilight Saga action star and teen heartthrob just keeps booking movie after movie. Last year’s highest paid teenage actor (for a reported $7.5 million pay day in Universal’s Stretch Armstrong with Hasbro and Imagine) is starting off the new year by producing and starring in 2 new studio tentpoles during 2011. I can scoop that Fox 2000 and New Regency each coughed up an 8-digit paycheck to work with 8-pack-abs Tay-Tay for his two only available time slots this year. Meanwhile, three top producers including Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes are circling Taylor to star in their movies for 2012 and beyond. That’s because of Lautner’s enormous Twi-hard fan base and aggressive promotion of his films, and not because of any solo box office he’s done yet.”

Full story here

Probably because Taylor and Rob split the vote, Zac Efron was able to win favorite male movie actor.

According to the LA Times24 Frames Blog:

“In 2011, Lautner will appear in his first major lead role with “Abduction,” a film that, though a commercial thriller, gave the 18-year-old a chance to work with an auteur director, John Singleton of “Boyz N the Hood” fame.

Lautner already had admired Cruise, and Singleton coached him on how to follow in the A-lister’s path (professionally). “I told him to watch the transition from ‘Top Gun’ to ‘Rain Man’ to ‘Born on the Fourth of July,’ ”  Singleton told 24 Frames of his sessions with Lautner. “To think about what he did as a young man and what he did later on. And then think about what you want to do.”

Hollywood is rife with fresh faces who never become anything more. That’s the far more common route, in fact. Can Lautner take the other path?

” ‘Twilight’ is a great stepping stone for his career. It’s like, ‘Wow, he’s an icon already,’ ” Singleton said. “But now that you have this stature, it’s a question of what you do with it. And that’s what he’s been working hard on.”

See more on the LA Times.