Robert Pattinson got his big breakthrough early in his career with the Twilight films. The film adaptations of the popular book series by Stephanie Meyer were huge successes and catapulted Pattinson and Stewart’s stardom to new heights. Pattinson became an instant heartthrob and fans fell head over heels in love with the charming vampire Edward Cullen.
While Stewart was director Catherine Hardwicke’s first choice for the role of Bella Swan, Pattinson was among a few actors who were considered for Edward Cullen. Even when Hardwicke was convinced that Pattinson could play the part, the studio was not confident of Pattinson and particularly his looks.
Studio Heads Were Initially Not Convinced With Robert Pattinson As Edward Cullen
The Twilight book series was planned for a film adaptation by the mid-2000s by Summit Entertainment and director Catherine Hardwicke was hired to direct the first film of what will become a huge franchise. Kristen Stewart was selected fairly easily and early in the casting process as she was Hardwicke’s first choice for Bella Swan.
However, the director and the studio differed on whether Robert Pattinson would be perfect for Edward Cullen. In an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Hardwicke recalled how she was convinced by Pattinson’s performance when she saw his audition tapes.
She also talked about how the studio was not satisfied with Pattinson and felt that he was not good-looking enough for the role. Hardwicke said,
“When he came over to my house, he had black bangs for hair and was kind of out of shape because he was hanging out at the pub all the time. After we did the fun auditions [with Kristen] at my house for a couple hours, then I looked the next morning at all the footage I shot and recorded and I thought it worked not just in person but it works on screen.
“Then I sent it to Summit and he went over to meet them. They called me back and go, ‘Do you think you can make this guy look good?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I do. Did you see his cheekbones? We’re doing a makeover on the hair and everything and he’s going to start working out and he’s going to be gorgeous.’ But they didn’t believe it at first.”
Pattinson as Edward Cullen was a huge success as fans championed his chemistry with Stewart in the film. He gave a charming and likable performance as a vampire which really won people’s hearts especially female audiences. The first Twilight became a huge commercial success and boosted both the lead actors’ careers.
Robert Pattinson Says Twilight is The Hardest Thing He Has Done
Robert Pattinson starred as Edward Cullen in all five films of the Twilight franchise. His turn as the highly charismatic and likable vampire was loved by fans around the world, making the franchise a huge success. Pattinson in an interview with The Guardian said that his work in the film series was the hardest thing he’s ever done.
Playing a character that does not die was a concern for him as he had to find creative ways to make him interesting and fresh with each film so that the character did not feel repetitive and boring. Pattinson said,
“I think Twilight’s probably the hardest part I’ve done. because to do it for five movies, it’s really hard to think of stuff that’s maybe not boring. Especially if you don’t die. Because what’s the drama? You’re not scared of anything! And that’s the whole essence of drama: life and death.”
While many people now look down on the films as cheesy and exaggerated, it gave Pattinson his big break and became a huge movie star. The franchise put him on the radar of many directors and he went on to do other acclaimed films such as The Rover, Good Time, High Life, and The Batman.
