Josh Peck Says He Almost Starred As Edward Cullen In Twilight

Apparently, Edward Cullen almost looked a lot like Josh Nichols. In a recent episode of his podcast Great Guys, Josh Peck told Twilight star Taylor Lautner that he almost starred opposite him in the major romance movie franchise, revealing that he auditioned to play the film’s lead vampire.

“I remember it's like 2006? 7?” Peck recalled to Lautner. “They’re like, ‘Audition for this movie, Twilight, it's based on a book, it's going to be great.’ So I send in my tape, for Edward.”

Peck’s Audition Process

The role famously went to Robert Pattinson, but Peck claimed he was close to nabbing the part. “A month later, I’m with my manager and he goes, ‘It’s down to you and three guys, you’re close,’” he said.

The Drake & Josh alum was shocked about this development. “I’m like, ‘Really?’” he said. “I hadn’t even had a tummy tuck yet, I’m like, ‘There’s no way. He’s got to be so shirtless, it’s not going to happen.’ Spoiler alert—didn’t get it.”

Naturally, this was all new information for Lautner, who would have welcomed Peck to the world of Twilight. “Did I know this? That’s amazing,” he remarked.

Actors Who Almost Played Edward

Peck was far from the only actor who put his name in for Edward Cullen. Scott Eastwood, Dave Franco, and Dustin Milligan have all come out and revealed they auditioned to play the vampire.

Some of the actors who went on to land other roles in the Twilight cinematic universe also initially auditioned for Edward, including Jamie Campbell Bower, who ended up playing Caius, and Michael Welch, who took the role of Mike Newton.

However, despite Peck’s claim that he was one of the final contenders to play Edward, he may not have gotten as far as he thought. In June, E! reported that the final four contenders to play Edward were Pattinson, Ben Barnes, Shiloh Fernandez, and Jackson Rathbone, who would go on to play Edward’s brother Jasper.

All four actors reportedly went to director Catherine Hardwicke's California home to do their final screentests opposite Kristen Stewart, who had already been cast as Bella Swan. And according to Stewart, who spoke about the final auditions with The New Yorker in 2021, she knew the right choice from the beginning.

“It was so clear who worked. I was literally just, like...” she said, mimicking a swoon motion.