Before the Twilight books were adapted for the big screen, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and the vast majority of the cast were relatively unknown, with only a handful of jobs between them under their belts.
It was the vampire saga that put them on the map and the rest, as they say, is history.
But it was not always meant to be that.
Writer Stephenie Meyer had her own ideas about who should star in the movies, on her website tracked down by BuzzFeed, and multiple names were, as always, considered for the various parts.
“Just look at those lips!” she wrote. “Love her!”
Lily Collins (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Mirror Mirror) was also considered for the role of Bella.
“This (the audition) was many years ago,” she told CraveOnline. “I was new on stage, new to auditioning and it was always kind of like, ‘What’s going to happen?’ everyone in the waiting room waiting for you. One of those scary days as a young actor. “
But she finally decided against it, because she had already appeared in Buffy.
“I’m already done the vampire thing,” she added.
Jennifer Lawrence also read for the part.
Lawrence spoke on The Howard Stern Show about her audition, saying, “I did not really know what it was. You just get five pages and they are, ‘Act monkey.’ And when it came out I was, ‘Hot damn. Whoa!’ “
Ellen Page (Umbrella Academy, Juno) and Danielle Panabaker (The Flash, Shark) were also driven.
Henry Cavill – Edward Cullen
Photo credit: Karwai Tang – Getty Images
“The only actor I’ve ever seen, I think, could come close to taking down Edward Cullen,” Meyer wrote. High praise.
Cavill (The Witcher, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) was considered too old to play the role in the end, but she thought he might be a good fit for Carlisle Cullen, the Cullen patriarch.
Dave Franco (The Disaster Artist, Now You See Me) took a shot at Edward.
“I do not know how close I was,” he told MTV.
When asked if he thought he had a chance at the part, he said, “No. No, no, no. At this point I do not yet know what I am doing. At that point I was over my head. “
Another name attached to the role was Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek, 90210).
“I did my best Edward Cullen,” he told AccessHollywood.com.
Then he joked about losing because he did not have a British accent.
“That, I did not get the job,” he added.
Photo credit: Tibrina Hobson – Getty Images
Michael Welch, who ended up playing the man Michael Newton, was also auditioned.
Speaking to MTV, he said: “As much as I appreciate that my representatives think I could draw hauntingly more beautiful – the most beautiful creature you’ll ever see on the planet – it’s not very me … Then I auditioned for the role of Eric … I auditioned for almost every role before [being cast as] Mike. “
Other names considered were Shiloh Fernandez (Jericho, Tara’s United States), Ben Barnes (The Punisher, Westworld), Jackson Rathbone, later cast as Jasper, and Jamie Campbell Bower, who ‘ t finally played Caius in the New Moon.
Photo credit: David Livingston – Getty Images
Taylor Lautner was chosen to play werewolf Jacob Black, and a nice job he did.
But Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf) was also in controversy.
“I was very excited because I was a fan [Kristen Stewart’s], “he told MTV.
“I saw Taylor Lautner at all these auditions, and I knew he was also auditioning for Twilight. I remember seeing him a few months after an audition, and I was, ‘Hey man, what did you do?’ was, ‘I filmed Twilight.’
“That was when I found out I did not get the part.”
Inconvenient.
Michael Copon (Beyond the Break, Power Rangers Time Force) was also considered for the part.
Lucy Hale – Alice Cullen and Jane
Photo credit: Rodin Eckenroth – Getty Images
Alice Cullen’s part went to Ashley Greene, but Lucy Hale (Katy Keene, Pretty Little Liars) also threw her hat in the ring.
Talking to PopEater, she said, “I auditioned for Twilight. It was for Ashley Greene’s part. She plays Alice. I had no idea what Twilight was then.”
Hale also read to Jane, a vampire who was part of the Volturi Guard, but that went to Dakota Fanning (The Alienist, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
“I read it [for the role], “she told Twist magazine.” We’ve had conversations about it. But I think they just offered it to Dakota Fanning, the role I was interested in, which is great – I’m a big fan of her. “
Photo credit: Bruce Glikas – Getty Images
Julia Jones was cast as Leah Clearwater in Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, but Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical, The Princess Switch) was apparently in the running to play the werewolf.
Channing Tatum – Riley Biers
Photo credit: Lester Cohen – Getty Images
Eclipse’s Riley Biers, played by Xavier Samuel, was part of the vampire army assembled by Victoria, the great villain who wanted to kill Bella.
Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote the play for Twilight and New Moon, told E! Online that Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street) would be an ideal fit.
“There’s a very big battle with Riley in the end, and I think Channing would do that so well,” she said.
“There are some complexities to that character. He’s really tragic. He’s a puppet for Victoria. So he has to break your heart a little bit at the end when he realizes she does not want him. Channing could do that wonderfully.”
