Robert Pattinson might be a major star now, but there was a time when the actor couldn’t catch the attention of casting directors, even though it was a casting director who helped him land his first major role.
When he was only 16, Pattinson was discovered by a talent agent while performing in a neighborhood play. The agent helped the young thespian land his first role as Reese Witherspoon’s son in the 2004 movie “Vanity Fair.” Pattinson went to the screening, only to learn his role had been cut, according to W Magazine. “But the casting director, Mary Selway, who sadly passed away, she felt so guilty that no one had informed me that she basically gave me a first run at the part in ‘Harry Potter,'” he recalled. “So I was quite glad I got cut in the end.”
Not only did Pattinson land the role of Cedric Diggory – debuting the character in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” – but he was forced to choose between going to university or accepting the part. Since it was the role that started his successful career, Pattinson fondly looks back on his decision. “‘I really like that movie,” he told The HFPA In Conversation podcast in 2019. “I wouldn’t be acting professionally if it wasn’t for that movie.”
A lie might have helped him land his role in “Twilight”
While starring in a major franchise such as “Harry Potter” might seem like a boost, Robert Pattinson’s acting career wasn’t guaranteed. The British actor found himself unemployed for years after. When speaking to The HFPA In Conversation podcast, he explained that, after “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” he struggled at auditioning, using his parents’ old camcorder to shoot samples to send to his American agent
He told the Mirror he eventually traveled to Los Angeles to find work. “I’d been unemployed for ages, and when I came to Los Angeles all the casting directors would ask what I’d been doing for the past few years,” Pattinson recalled. “I’d say, ‘Oh, I was at Rada’ — if you’ve got an English accent you can get away with it. I’d say I went to Oxford, too. I did it for years. But it didn’t work when loads of English people started moving to Los Angeles.”
After moving to Los Angeles and miserably failing an audition for a movie he’d been assured was his for the taking, Pattinson called his parents. “I was like, ‘I’m done. I can’t torture myself like this anymore.’ Then the next day, I got the ‘Twilight’ audition,” he told The HFPA In Conversation podcast. Pattinson played the iconic role of Edward Cullen in five films.
Even though his “Twilight” experience wasn’t always fun, Pattinson continued to act steadily and will next be seen in 2022’s “The Batman,” per Screen Rant, proving that sometimes telling a little white lie can greatly improve your career prospects.
The Reason Robert Pattinson Still Has ‘Terror Memories’ From His Twilight Days
Starring opposite Kristen Stewart in the Twilight franchise may have helped Robert Pattinson achieve international fame, but filming the movies wasn’t all a walk in the park. The star recently opened up about his experience during that time, revealing that he still gets some pretty intense flashbacks to those days.
In an interview with GQ, Pattinson said that back in his Twilight days he got stalked by the paparazzi a lot more than he does today. “I have so many terror memories of the paparazzi… and I still don full-on protective armor, hood up, hat down,” said the star.
Robert Pattinson wishes he could dress like A$AP Rocky
Pattinson’s “protective armor” may help protect him from intrusive paparazzi shots, but he sometimes dreams of rocking a wilder look. “I wish I could dress like A$AP Rocky, he just has serious style,” admitted Pattinson. “We have been to quite a few different fittings together and I will see the craziest thing and really want to wear it, but look like a total moron. Then we will go to the show and I will see Rocky in it and be like, ‘Jesus Christ, you can literally wear anything!'”
Instead of mimicking A$AP Rocky’s look, Pattinson is sticking to a more clean-cut image, typically wearing T-shirts and blue jeans.
Robert Pattinson is taking care of his skin
Pattinson’s skin may not sparkle in real life like it does in the Twilight movies, but it does glow, thanks to an intense skincare regimen. “As I am getting older I’m definitely noticing things,” he said. “I used to not do anything at all, up until a few years ago, and I can definitely see the difference [in my face now], especially if I am traveling a lot.”
The Twilight star also revealed his go-to skin secret: sheet masks. “It’s very American Psycho, but [they] make a massive difference,” he said. “I’m fully committed and I even put an eye mask on over the top too. Try it!”
Things In Twilight You Only Notice As An Adult
When the fantastical vampire and werewolf inhabited world of Stephenie Meyer first came to life on the big screen in 2008’s Twilight, audiences clamored into theaters to watch the immortal love story of Bella and Edward. The film proved to be so popular (as was the book series upon which it was based) that it led to four more sequels, amounting to billions in worldwide receipts combined at the box office.
Now that time has passed since the initial fervor, though, have you revisited Forks? When you manage to move beyond adolescent obsession and watch the movie as an adult, there are some interesting details you may have missed the first time around.
The mysterious intro has a special meaning
In the opening scene, a fawn drinks from a puddle in the forest before being chased and captured by someone. As this scene plays out, Bella can be heard cryptically saying, “I’d never given much thought to how I could die, but dying in the place of someone I love seems like a pretty good way to go. So I can’t bring myself to regret the decision to leave home.” At this point, nothing is known about Bella, so the sequence fosters confusion. Since the scene segues straight into Bella leaving Phoenix, the meaning of those first few moments is unclear.
Author Stephenie Meyer admits that this passage was confusing even in the book — not to mention it occurs much later in the book than the movie. “Sometimes, things in the story are so clear to me that, when I write them, I don’t flesh them out or explain them well enough. Usually the editor will catch these kinds of things. However, if it’s just as clear to her, then confusion slips through.”
She explains that she now knows that this went over some people’s heads, so she continued: “So, to clear it all up: James is ‘the hunter.’ I think this term has caused some of the confusion, because later, he is a tracker. But he is hunting Bella, so, in that moment, that is how she thinks of him.” Meyer also clarifies on her website that Bella’s thoughts on dying are heard in the dance studio, near the end of the book.
They made a scientific mistake in the movie by showing Edward’s breath
After the parking lot debacle, Bella understandably gets it into her head that there may be more to Edward’s unique attributes than meets the eye. It’s at that point she does what any of us would do: turn to the internet for answers. The internet points her in the direction of a nearby bookstore, where Bella finds a book that delves into the myth of the werewolves and vampires Jacob once referenced. She starts to put two and two together, with one of the big qualifiers being that Edward is always icy cold to the touch. Now, hold that thought.
In several scenes of the movie, it’s made clear how cold the temperature is by seeing clouds of hot breath as they hit the frigid Forks air. This is particularly noticeable during scenes Edward and Bella share in the forest. But, wait… since Edward is a vampire and icy all the time, wouldn’t his breath also be cold and therefore not show up against the cold forest air? Hello, plot hole.
There are two weird things in Bella’s bedroom
Although it’s incredibly sweet that Bella’s dad had her bedroom ready and waiting for her when she arrived in Forks, one has to wonder who he enlisted to help with the decor. He credits the sales lady at the store for picking out the purple bedding set, which is nice enough. But there are two items of far more interest that jump out when Bella walks into the room for the first time. On a shelf opposite the door to her room, there appears to be a baby doll head (see 3:38 minute mark in clip). Where is its body? Why would one keep decapitated baby dolls lying around? Aren’t you grateful that’s a design trend that failed to launch?!
The second notable decor choice is a piece of artwork on the wall by the door. When the camera swings around to show Bella walking into the room, a painting or picture of a wolf comes into focus (see the 3:30 minute mark in the clip above). Since Bella will soon become best friends with a werewolf, this feels like a clever slip of foreshadowing.
Billy Black looks very familiar (and he should)
Shortly after Bella arrives in Forks, her dad’s best friend and his son show up with a truck they restored for Bella. The son, of course, is none other than Bella’s future-BFF-slash-imprinter-of-her-child, Jacob. Bella’s dad introduces Jacob’s old man as Billy Black.
If that face looks familiar upon re-watching, it’s because the actor who plays Billy — Gil Birmingham — has enjoyed regular roles on a few hit television series since Twilight was released in 2008. If you’re a House of Cards fan, you know him as Daniel Lanagin. If you’re a Banshee fan, you know him as George Hunter. And if you’re an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fan, you know him as Virgil. Naturally, there’s no way you could have predicted Billy Black would have become any of these people the first time you watched. Unless, that is, you happen to share Alice’s ability to see into the future.
Jacob’s hair definitely got better with time
Once you’ve watched the entire Twilight Saga series, there’s no doubt that the Most Improved Player award should go to Jacob’s hair. Re-watching the first film makes it painfully apparent how horrible the wig worn by actor Taylor Lautner really was! This isn’t a matter of conjecture either, as Lautner explicitly agrees. “The wig, it was a very important co-star,” he told MTV. “Right now I’m not missing much. There was a hatred between both of us. It did not like me, I did not like it. Not fond memories.”
Thank goodness for coming-of-age werewolf manifestations, right? If it weren’t for Jacob going through “the change” — at which point he starting sporting a shorter ‘do — he may have been stuck with Twilight’s long wig for the duration of the series.
The apple is a motif
In the cafeteria scene when Bella first sees the Cullens, Rosalie holds an apple in her hand much like the one on the cover of the book. Coincidence? Probably not. Choosing an apple for the book’s cover proved to be part of Stephenie Meyer’s grand design.
The author explained on her website, “The apple on the cover of Twilight represents ‘forbidden fruit.’ I used the scripture of Genesis (located just after the table of contents) because I loved the phrase ‘the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.’ Isn’t this exactly what Bella ends up with?… The nice thing about the apple is it has so many symbolic roots. You’ve got the apple in Snow White, one bite and you’re frozen forever in a state of not-quite-death…. Apples are quite the versatile fruit. In the end, I love the beautiful simplicity of the picture. To me it says: choice,” .
One more thing about the Cullens in this scene that seems off: it appears they are all eating something. Isn’t that kind of a no-no for vampires? Are they doing this to keep up appearances? Inquiring minds want to know.
