Kellan Lutz Auditions to Be Mr. Clean: ‘I Like Being Neat and Tidy’

Kellan Lutz is probably best known for his role as Emmett Cullen in the Twilight movies, but he’s trying to move away from the whole teen heartthrob thing. In search of a gig where he can actually keep his shirt on, Lutz decided to audition for the role of Mr. Clean. Yes, the white-clad bald man who has been cleaning America’s kitchens and bathrooms since the 1950s.

Though Lutz, 31, thought he was the perfect man for the job (check out his audition video below), he did not end up landing the role after someone in the video shared a “dirty” video of the actor with the casting director. However, the brand decided to keep him around anyway to help kick off the official #TheNextMrClean campaign.

During a break in his audition process, Yahoo Celebrity hopped into Lutz’s trailer (while he was in full-on Mr. Clean mode — a skin-tight white tee and flashy hoop earring), where he filled us in on his favorite childhood chore of “watering the pigs” on the farm, admitted to being a clean freak behind closed doors, and revealed that he has one current mission in life: To become the next He-Man!

Yahoo Celebrity: After having spent a day as Mr. Clean, what can you say are the characteristics that the next Mr. Clean should have?
Kellan Lutz: He’s clean, he’s tidy, he’s respectful … he has a great sense of humor. You really have to have fun with it and live it and be it. He is every kitchen’s hero. He is every bathroom’s hero. … You don’t have to shave your head, but there are points for that — or put a bald cap on. And [you need to be wearing] all white: clean white shirt, clean white pants, clean white shoes, a white belt, and clean-shaven. I haven’t been clean-shaven in years, so I feel like a little boy again, which is pretty fun.

You are wearing head-to-toe white to pull off your Mr. Clean look today, but in real life, do you wear white? Or are you the person who will get stains on yourself in five seconds?
I can wear white. I like wearing white. I feel more angelic.

So is it safe to assume that you are a neat freak then?
I am very clean. A big thing for me since I travel so much for work is I love making my bed every morning. Cleaning out my sink. Cleaning out my toilet, the bathroom… I just like cleaning right before I leave because when I come back, it’s like [sighs] I’m in a hotel room! It’s the best!

Do you have a cleaning lady?
I do it myself. I hide everything from myself in a fun way. I have money in jeans just because it makes my day when I find, “Oh $50, $20!” My friends think I lose it. But I’m very meticulous and I know where things are. So when a cleaning lady comes and she’ll move something, I notice. I’m like, “Something’s not right.” I’m not OCD or a neat freak, but I’m a little bit of a perfectionist, and I like being neat and tidy. I think I’m going to do it the best that it can be done.

You have to be somewhat human, though, and have one room that isn’t completely perfect. What’s the messiest part of your house?
My invention room. I have my guest room that I do all my invention-making. So I have a lot of prototypes hanging around and the paperwork for it. I have my little chemist lab, because I was making some different inventions. I was going to college for chemical engineering, so I still work with some elements. And it’s an organized mess. That door is always shut because I want to patent some of the things, and I don’t want anyone to steal any of the ideas. But it’s like my mad-scientist workstation.

What are you inventing right now?
I have one that just came out called Blackout Bands. So they are kind of like the new-age sleep mask. They are sunglasses that you really can’t see out of. And we’re in Hudson News. They are amazing. And I have another one called Whip Weight, which is a workout device. This other one, they are called Sticks and Stones, and they are kind of a flavored food alternative that you can just suck on. It curbs your appetite. There are a bunch of other ones — all random stuff.

Growing up, what chores did you love? And which ones did you loathe?
I have six brothers, one sister. We lived on a farm in Iowa, so we had dairy and pigs. I loved watering the pigs. That was a chore, getting the pigs dirty. That and burning [our trash]. I know that’s probably not good now, but we would have our fire pit and burn [our trash] because there were no garbage trucks coming. That’s where my pyro nature came about. I loved mowing the lawn because we had the cart mowers where you push right, you push left; it turns you right, it turns you left. I just loved chores that were outside. I didn’t mind because it was so beautiful outside. The inside ones, that was like the punishment when we had to do that. And when you have so many brothers, cleaning the toilet is not fun. They are not as tidy, and they will leave something special for you in there!

What does your current bachelor pad look like?
I live by myself. My dogs are over at my mom’s place. I’ve just been traveling so much. I live by the water in Venice, [Calif.,] so it’s very therapeutic for me. I just love relaxing because I’m never home. So that’s why it’s very important — because I travel so much — to come home to a clean place. It’s kind of a staycation.

How would you describe your décor?
My theme is very He-Man. I have all my He-Man toys. Sony is working on the script for that, so [I’m] visualizing that. Got all my He-Man toys out, got my Power Sword out, got my autographed Dolph Lundgren — the old He-Man — photo above my bedroom TV. And my theme is very country-coastal. So it’s very warm blues and grays, antique wood floors. I love Tres Amigos for furniture, or I love making [my own]. My buddy and I have started making our bed frames. And then from all my travels, I collect different pieces from places like Egypt or Jordan, Bulgaria, New Zealand. And then [I have] pictures of family and friends everywhere.

Even though you didn’t land the Mr. Clean gig, you’re still helping the company find his replacement. How can others audition to become the next Mr. Clean?
I [didn’t] get it, so it’s still open for anyone and everyone [in the United States and Canada] to submit a video as to why they think they [should be the next] Mr. Clean. You can find all the information on the website (www.thenextmrclean.com) and keep up on social media at #TheNextMrClean. The grand prize winner will be awarded $20,000 in prize money and will get a chance to appear in the 2017 limited edition Mr. Clean calendar.