Vanity Fair Twilight Interviews
Interviews with each of the cast and clearer scans behind the cut & Vanity Fair Outtake Videos
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Kristen Stewart, 18, plays Bella Swan, the clumsy new student at Forks High School who falls in love with the vampire Edward Cullen. Stewart’s past film credits include Panic Room, Into the Wild, and In the Land of Women.
VF Daily: Had you read the Twilight books before getting the script?
No, I hadn't. I didn't read the books until I got the part. I was working on another movie at the time and I only had time to read the script. I didn't really want to focus on anything else, but everyone was saying the project was such a big deal that I had to read the books.
What was your initial impression of the project?
I thought it was really ambitious, this portrayal of the ultimate, most epic love story that could be. Also, Bella is not a typical female lead. The power balance between her and Edward is really skewed. Edward is this confident, perfect, idealistic man, although deep down he's actually really afraid. Bella is naïve but also sure-footed. Whatever it is inside of her that drives her is stronger than she is. She just trusts the shit out of herself.
Bella and Edward, played by Robert Pattinson, share a very intense love in his film. How was it working with Robert?
Well, I basically cast him. We did one day of auditions and a bunch of guys came in. Catherine Hardwicke, the director, afterwards was like, "What do you think? This is such a hard choice." I was like, "Are you kidding me!? Its such an obvious choice!" It couldn't have been better. It was sort of perfect.
What did you do to prepare for your role?
We were always trying to figure out what it should feel like when Edward touched me, how far away he would have to be until he could smell me, things like that.
Are you naturally clumsy like your character?
Well, I'm definitely not the most graceful being, but it's really difficult to be clumsy on cue. It's like physical comedy. It was fun.
What was it like to work with this young cast?
We had such a big cast and we were all fairly close in age and we were together constantly. In that situation you might expect drama to ensue. But we were all so obsessed with this project. We were all focused on the same thing, and it was really creative and ambitious. Nikki Reed and I became really, really good friends. She's really smart and funny. And we have a new movie that we're working on together.
Hometown?
Woodland Hills, California. I'm a total Valley Girl.
Siblings?
Brothers. I'm the youngest.
Trademark style?
I'm a really typical girl. I look like everyone.
Favorite movie?
The Jungle Book. I love Disney movies!
TV shows that you TiVo?
I don't watch TV.
Favorite book?
East of Eden.
Favorite cause?
I would love to be involved in a charity that helps kids who live on the street.
New York or L.A.?
New York.
Significant other?
Yes, Michael Angarano.
Celebrity crush?
Michael Angarano.
Robert Pattinson, 22, plays Edward Cullen, a young, non-human-preying vampire and Bella Swan’s love interest. He fights James’s coven of vampires in order to protect Bella from being bitten. Pattinson starred as Cedric Diggory in both Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and played a young Salvador Dalí in the independent film Little Ashes.
VF Daily: Had you read the Twilight books before getting the script?
Robert Pattinson: Not in their entirety before getting the script, no. I did my screen test, had the weekend before my next meeting for it, and read all three over one weekend.
What was your impression of the books at first?
Well, I obviously really liked them, but it is always strange reading a book knowing that I am hopefully going to play the part. It’s read in a very different context.
Did you go into the auditions wanting to play Edward?
Somewhat, but I was literally embarrassed walking into the audition. I had no idea how to play Edward at all. I thought that even going into the audition was completely pointless, because they were just going to cast a model or something. I felt it was kind of arrogant of me to even go in. I was almost having a full-on panic attack before I went to the screen test.
How did the screen test go?
Casting was really easy going, and Kristen [Stewart] is also very cool, but at the same time there is something very, very serious about her. I really wasn’t expecting the girl who plays Bella to be like her at all. Her professionalism made me keep my mouth shut whenever I wasn’t acting. It further gave the illusion of being serious.
What did you do to prepare for your role?
I basically spent two months thinking, “O.K., how can I play this character like he is written and be absolutely nothing like him in real life? How can I get away from the most major aspect of his description-his appearance?” As it is written from Bella’s perspective, she describes him in this obsessively lustful way. She does not see a single flaw in him at all. It’s a very traditional aspect of first or young love. So, it took me ages to think of it, but it ended up being really simple: If you are in love with someone, you can’t see any flaw in the other person. So I finally figured out that I didn’t have to play the most beautiful man on the planet, but just play a man in love.
Why is Edward so alluring?
What I never really understood about his attractiveness, especially to young girls, is his gentlemanliness. I thought that teenage girls like the dangerous aspect of males, and so I tried to emphasize the danger and make the more gentlemanly side of this character a veil to something else underneath. I really tried to make him an incredibly strong and powerful character, but at the same time self-loathing and extremely vulnerable.
So you saw Edward as sometimes vulnerable?
Yes. When his life is put into basic terms, he has nothing to live for and all he wants to do is either become a human or die. The only reason that he hasn’t died is because he is too scared; he doesn’t think that he has a soul. Then he meets Bella who makes him feel like a human and feel alive again. At the same time, her human vulnerability makes him incredibly vulnerable, because even with his super speed and his super strength, he still can’t fully protect her. Whenever she is in danger, he is in danger. If she dies or goes anywhere, then he is gone, too.
What was your favorite scene to shoot?
I knew that there were some scenes where I was going to have to look demonic and have a glare that would scare humans. That was difficult to prepare. My favorite scene that we ended up shooting was this little random one near the beginning where I try and intimidate Bella by being a scary vampire and she doesn’t back down at all.
Hometown?
London.
Siblings?
Two sisters, Elizabeth and Victoria.
New York or L.A.?
I like them both for different reasons. They are literally opposites sides of the coin, so it’s kind of nice to switch between the two. New York is incredibly frenetic, and nothing ever happens in L.A.
Trademark style?
Looking terrible. Truly, I wear the same thing everyday. I don’t know how to use a washer machine.
What book are you reading?
Dennis Potter’s Ticket to Ride.
Celebrity crush?
I don’t know. I am sure that if I did say anyone’s name, it would be really embarrassing if I met them.
Favorite kind of music?
A lot of different things, but especially blues.
Favorite movie?
A tie between The Exorcist and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Do you play any instruments?
Yes, the guitar and the piano.
Mac or P.C.?
I used to prefer Macs, and I have a Mac, but I kind of like the dorkiness of the P.C. commercials.
Do you have any piercings or tattoos?
No.
Do you speak any foreign languages?
I speak French, sort of. At like a three-year-old’s standard.
Significant other?
No.
What are some of your interests outside of acting?
I play a lot of music. That’s what I wanted to do before the acting thing accidentally took off-be a musician. All my best friends are musicians and they have all got their albums and deals, and now I am acting.
What type of music do you play?
Van Morrison-ish, Jeff Buckley-ish stuff.
Do you have any upcoming projects?
I don’t want to curse them, but I am doing this thing called Parts Per Billion, which is a kind of existential love story set against the end of the world. It’s one of the most lyrical scripts that I have ever read in my life. I am quite looking forward to doing it. It’s very different.
THE REST OF THE CULLEN CLAN (& others) CAN BE FOUND AT THESE LINKS
Peter Facinelli
Edi Gathegi
Cam Gigandet
Ashley Greene
Taylor Lautner
Rachelle Lefevre
Kellan Lutz
Jackson Rathbone
Elizabeth Reaser
Nikki Reed
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