The judge and six-time winner of the ABC series wants one particular former teen star in the hunt for the Mirror Ball trophy.
We're still most likely more than nine months away from this year's season of Dancing with the Stars. Heck, the hit ABC reality series hasn't even technically been renewed yet. But that isn't stopping Derek Hough from putting forward his pick of which celeb he wants to see in contention for the Mirror Ball trophy.
Hough was a professional dancer on DWTS from 2007 to 2016. He took home a record six wins during his tenure, and his work earned him 14 Emmy nominations — and four wins. As he approaches his sixth season as a judge, when asked by Parade at the 33rd Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in West Hollywood which celebrity he'd like to see take on the ballroom next, he turned to a former teen idol.
"Taylor Lautner would be good," he exclusively told us. "He would be great. He would be fantastic. Competitive, athletic."
This is far from the first time that the star of the Twilight Saga has had his name thrown out as a possibility for DWTS. The seven-time Teen Choice Award winner is clearly a fan of the show. Fans have noticed over the past couple of years that he has engaged with celebs and pros alike. For instance, he had pro power couple Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson on his podcast in 2023. And he has engaged with stars who have appeared on the show, like Season 32 winner Xochitl Gomez and Season 33 finalist Stephen Nedoroscik.
Related: Everything You Need To Know About Dancing with the Stars Season 34 (Including When It May Premiere)
What's even more interesting is that there is a Taylor Lautner who is incredibly interested in tackling ballroom. That would be his wife, Taylor Lautner (née Dome), who took the actor's last name upon their 2022 wedding. In January 2024, she revealed her dream on an episode of the couple's podcast "The Squeeze," saying she watched the show growing up with her grandmother.
"It would just be a really crazy, full circle moment," she said, "Getting to bring my nana and being like, ‘Hey nana, I’m not a pro. I’m a star on this.’ Like how crazy is that?"
We'll see if Derek's wish comes true this fall. Hopefully we get a chance to see at least one, if not both, Taylor Lautners lace up their dancing shoes for a chance to make the judges' — or their own — dreams come true.
