JACOB BLACK

Jacob "Jake" Black is the fictional tritagonist in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. He is described as a Native American of the Quileute tribe in La Push, near Forks, Washington. In the second book of the series, he undergoes a transformation that allows him to morph into a wolf. For the majority of the series, Jacob competes with Edward Cullen for Bella Swan's love.

Concept and creation
According to Stephenie Meyer, Jacob was originally meant to only be a device through which Bella could learn Edward's secret in Twilight. However, Meyer, her agent, and her editor all liked the character so much that they decided to give him a larger role in the following book, New Moon, with Meyer calling the character, "my favorite gift that New Moon gave to me."

"Jacob was my first experience with a character taking over—a minor character developing such roundness and life that I couldn't keep him locked inside a tiny role....From the very beginning, even when Jacob only appeared in chapter six of Twilight, he was so alive. I liked him. More than I should for such a small part."

Meyer has said that after Jacob started emerging as a prominent character in New Moon, she went back to Twilight, which she was editing at the time, to "weave Jacob and [his father Billy] throughout Twilight more centrally."

Characterization
Physical appearance
Jacob has russet skin, black hair and dark eyes. In Twilight, he is described as a lanky 6'2" fifteen-year-old with hair down to his shoulders. By Breaking Dawn, Jacob stands at 7 feet and has a muscular build. In New Moon, after discovering that he can turn into a wolf, he cuts off his long hair. He later grows it out in Eclipse, thinking that Bella prefers it long. This makes his fur as a wolf shaggier and longer than that of the other wolves. He is said to be quite handsome, once being described by Bella as "sort of beautiful". He tends to wear only cut-off style jeans or shorts, since clothes are often ruined during his transformations into a wolf. As a wolf, Jacob's fur is described as reddish-brown.

Personality and abilities
Bella describes Jacob as a "happy person" who extends this happiness to the people around him. As Jacob's character emerges in New Moon, he is shown to be cheery, passionate, adventurous, but hot-headed. Jacob is also able to phase at will into a giant wolf, and sometimes when angered he will involuntarily phase. His body temperature is warmer than a human's body should be, reaching about 108.9 °F (42.7 °C), which allows him to withstand very cold weather. His body also heals quickly, he can communicate with his werewolf pack telepathically when in wolf form, and he is physically stronger and faster than a human. Werewolves do not age if they regularly turn into their wolf form, with Jacob's body physically grown to the equivalent of a 25-year-old. Once they begin phasing, a werewolf may "imprint"—a method of finding one's soulmate—on someone, and will act as whatever the imprintee needs, whether it be a protector, a lover, or an older sibling. Jacob imprints on Edward and Bella's daughter Renesmee in Breaking Dawn.

Film portrayal
Taylor Lautner played the part of Jacob Black in the film adaptation of Twilight. Due to major physical changes in the character of Jacob between Twilight and New Moon, director Chris Weitz considered replacing Lautner in the sequel with an actor who could more accurately portray "the new, larger Jacob Black." In an attempt to keep the role, Lautner stated, "I have been working out. I've been working out since the day we finished filming Twilight. I just weighed myself today; I've put on 19 pounds... [and] I'm guaranteeing Weitz 10 more [pounds] by filming." In January 2009, Weitz and Summit Entertainment announced that Lautner would continue to play the role of Jacob in New Moon.