As the Twilight renaissance rages on, the internet becomes blessed with more and more gems from the legendary vampire series. In a new episode of The Big Hit Show podcast, director Catherine Hardwicke reveals how they ended up casting Edward…by looking through the Harry Potter cast.
Twilight producer Eric Feig met with Summit executive Gillian Bohrer and looked through cast photos for the popular wizarding series when one face struck him. “I remember saying, ‘It’s someone Byronic. It’s someone British, I’m telling you, it’s someone who’s on a bluff staring off into the distance, looking romantic.’” They found that half longing, half absent stare in the face of a young Robert Pattinson.
Catherine Hardwicke recalls meeting Pattinson for the first time in her home. “He walked in and he had his hair was died black for some play, with these wacky bangs. He was a bit out of shape. His shirt was just all messy, and I’m like, ‘Ooh, okay. Okay, let’s see how this goes.’”
Pattinson then did a scene with Kristen Stewart. “Rob and Kristen auditioned on my bed, the kissing scene, Rob was so into it he fell off the bed. I’m like, ‘Dude, calm down.’” That’s when Hardwicke knew that she had found her brooding male lead, who was vastly different than his Harry Potter character, Cedric Diggory. Though they did share a common thread — one of them was undead, the other ended up dead. And now he’s Batman, so it all works out.
You can listen to the full interview here.